Ever since the initial beginnings of Špancirfest, the special magic of the festival has always been the vibrant street program, as the streets, squares and street performers become the true soul of this festival. The all-day city feel-good-vibe and special charm has always been created by the carefully selected artists, who capture the attention of street audiences with their innovative and creative artistic performances. Interestingly, many debuted their first performances in Croatia at Špancirfest.
This year’s special anniversary edition warmly welcomes no less than fifteen artistic company groups with more than 75 artists from various European countries ready to perform across the city streets. As a visitor to the festival, you can expect more than 70 artistic street programs including a guaranteed special highlight – the Siren Orchestra, from the French company Mécanique Vivante, performing in Croatia for the very first time.
Over from Italy, the festival welcomes the fabulous family of performers, La Famiglia Mirabella. Combining playful performances up in the air, with acrobatics and juggling, all with bundles of emotions – this will no doubt grab everyone’s interest and intrigue. Frenchman Nicolas Bras will play as many as 18 different instruments, creatively made all from recycling various materials. Have you ever seen glowing robots on stilts? This is exactly
what the Global Drummers are all about – ready to share an amazing drumming surprise.
Those who know Špancirfest well, will already be familiar with the popular stilt-walkers from the Stolen Art group, who this year, come to us from the depths of the sea. Although they are aquatic creatures, they are just as charming on land. Equally, experience their friends – performers known as Special Conquest jumping high on spring-loaded stilts, followed by the indispensable member of this interesting trio with his strange vehicle, creating small cosmic flashes.
A special feature of this year’s festival is the large-scale production of the People Power Partnership dance-theatre project. This intriguing four-year European project unites 104 young dancers aged from 18 to 25 from 11 countries, and Špancirfest welcomes 32 dancers from Great Britain, Portugal, Germany to Varaždin. Together with the creative team, the young dancers will create a spontaneous performance on the spot that will transform into a multimedia spectacle, and with their premiere performance on the first day of the festival at Kapucinski Square, truly warming-up the festival atmosphere.
Artistic programs along the streets performed by numerous performers really become a truly magical experience, and many would say the signature of this festival, complemented by a rich cultural heritage that creates the perfect backdrop for the most beautiful outdoor stage.
