If you walk into Madison Circus Space on Winnebago Street on a Sunday, you’ll find the place aflutter with jugglers, German wheel gymnasts and trapezists. On Tuesdays — parkouring seniors. Wednesdays — martial artists and contemporary dancers.
It’s a landing spot for out-of-the-ordinary people and talents. In an age when the arts face continued undervaluation, especially in Wisconsin, an entire space dedicated to circus arts feels relatively out of the ordinary, too.
Several residency programs across Madison recognize the need for spaces like this that provide artists and creatives the opportunity to hone their craft outside of financial constraints. That’s why the volunteer-run Madison Circus Space, or MCS, launched its artist-in-residency program. In residencies lasting four weeks to six months, circus professionals at all career levels get 24/7 access to MCS…