How to Relate. Out on the Street Arts Festival of Spoffin
Spoffin in the medieval city of Amersfoort, in the Netherlands, offers a weekend of international performances to discover in the city centre. The program reveals its multidisciplinarity by mixing contemporary circus, dance, and street theatre in the outdoor arts. I spent three days there capturing the vibes and wrote about the 2023 edition, collaborating with the platform Around About Circus.
Cecilia Rosso, Frammenti #1 at Spoffin 2023 © Marc Lourens
A kiss on the forehead. A shoulder to lean on. A helping hand. A big hug. Also, a ‘no’ gesture with the index finger. A pull on an arm. A push away. A disappointed look. Some physical gestures become symbols that describe a specific way to relate to each other accurately enough that no words are necessary, or maybe just a few. We build familiar relationships with a parent, a relative, or a sibling. Friendly relationships grow on companionship and trust in society affects us. How we relate affects ourselves, thoughts, wishes, memories, and the subconscious. Lastly, we can even connect with strangers in a random moment. In a street, a square in public, or even in the open spaces of a small medieval city in the Netherlands, Amersfoort.
For the 13th edition of Spoffin(25-27th August) the whole city of Amersfoort was filled with circus, dance, and outdoor arts. This article shows what I kept during my visit.