First International Circus Awards Nominees Announced From 12 Countries

The Contemporary Circus and Immersive Arts Center, a nonprofit organization based in Troy, N.Y., will present awards to winning productions on Oct. 9 during an online video awards ceremony. The ICA was created to recognize professional circus companies, artists and producers from around the globe for their outstanding achievements.

"This awards ceremony is a unique way to see what's happening around the world in circus as an art form today. The productions in consideration span from emerging circus companies to a new circus opera featuring original music by renowned composer Philip Glass and writing by Pulitzer Prize finalist David Henry Hwang," said Aaron Marquise, executive director of CCIAC. "We want to celebrate this exciting work, get it in front of more people and demonstrate the range of performance styles there are in the world of circus."

The Oct. 9 broadcast will begin with a choreographed opening number that explores the question: What is Circus? Viewers will then watch clips of each nominated production before presenters announce the winner in a format styled after the Academy Awards. Presenters will include Daniel Lamarre, the CEO of Cirque du Soleil, and Gypsy Snider, circus choreographer for the Tony award-winning revival of "Pippin." The broadcast was prerecorded this month, with Marquise hosting from the historic Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, world famous for its acoustics, and presenters joining remotely.

Tickets to view the broadcast are $5 single streaming access, $10 for group viewing (5 to 10 people), $25 for viewing parties of more than 10.

For information and tickets, visit: https://internationalcircusawards.com (redirects to: https://www.cciac.us/ica ).

Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the CCIAC and its programs.