Fenja Barteldres

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‘Fenja Barteldres shines with her innovative approach to the Cyr wheel discipline and her brilliant technical skill. By deconstructing the large metal wheel and using its individual parts separately, she creates entirely new images and possibilities.’ Menno van Dyke (Circusstad Festival)

New Creation ‚Tyr Auf!‘

To be premiered in the beginning of 2028 Find out more

BernadetteFink_TyrAuf! — Bernadette Fink

Silver Star at the International Young Stage Festival 2024

Cyrrealism#40 – live Music – Trailer

Find out more about Cyrrealism HERE

About

Hey there, this is Fenja. Nice that you are here! Thanks for checking me out, and my art of course. Here is a little biography as introduction of who I am. Find out more by coming to my performances and talk to me after! It will be a pleasure to meeting you.

Fenja Barteldres (1998, DE), is a circus artist, specialised in Cyr wheel.
She studied at École de Cirque de Québec (CAN) and completed her Bachelor’s degree at Codarts Circus Arts in Rotterdam (NL), in 2022. After her graduation, Fenja worked with companies such as GOP. , TeaTime Company and URBANATIX, while setting up her own employment and premiering her first solo show ‘Cyrrealism’ in 2024. Her art is characterized poetry, emotional depth, and beauty enhanced by humor and irony which act as counterpoints. Unlike anyone else, she deconstructs her own medium, creating a paradigm shift both within the Cyr wheel itself and in the themes she explores. This awaits us as well in her upcoming creation Tyr Auf!, set to premiere in 2028. With her performances she continues touring throughout Europe and overseas.

Upcoming Performances

Krystallpalast, Cyrrealism#7 & more

20.03. – 27.06.2026 | ‚SCHWERELOS‘, Varieté Show, Leipzig (DE) | More

Circusnext, Selecion of Lauretes | Tyr Auf!

07.-12.09.2026 | Théatre de la Cité international, Paris (FR) | More

The Great Catch Big NL-Tour | Cyrrealism#25 | More

März 2026
04.03.2026 | Orpheus, Apeldoorn
05.03.2026 | De Schuur, Haarlem
07.03.2026 | ECI Fabriek, Roermond

Winterträume Varieté, Cyrrealism#7

18.12.2025-06.01.2026 | Winterträume Varieté, Pforzheim (DE) | More

PERFORMANCE HISTORY Fenja Barteldres

Cyrrealism

7 – 40-minute performance, indoors & outdoors, Cyr wheel, touring

Life is not always what we want or imagine.
However, what may seem like an unfortunate situation ends up offering new and beautiful paths. The solo show “Cyrrealism” speaks of how these paths get discovered and new doors can be opened.

The Cyr wheel is a metal ring consisting of separate pieces usually tightly screwed together and used in its solid and round form. Fenja uses her apparatus without the screws, which makes it wobbly and unstable, questioning perfection. Thus, her wheel becomes a totally different device: Sometimes strangely curved, sometimes agile like a snake, and sometimes disintegrated into its individual pieces. The wheel stands as a metaphor to highlight life’s imperfections, proposing new perspectives that result in beauty.

In Cyrrealism, a whole world will grow out of a single metal wheel. The simplicity and perfection of a single round ring will be questioned and deformed into complex, imperfect chaos.
One becomes many, round becomes buckled, clean becomes dirty and confined becomes free.
There will be mesmerizing calm moments, satisfying rhythms in movement, beautiful stunning technique and a poetic relationship between the object(s) and the performer.

Trailer / Teaser / Dossier / Podcast

Outside eye: Kim-Jomi Alstadsæter

Music Production: Maria Di Pace

Costume: Loek Cruchten and Nastasja Jagodić, Ana Lekse

Light Design: Edwin van Steenbergen

Live Music and Composition: Flavia Escartin

Flavia Escartin, born in Gent and raised in a small village near Barcelona, began playing the cello at the age four. While her foundation lies in classical cello, she eagerly explores other styles: Scottish, Irish, American, Spanish folk music, and traditional jazz. Graduating from Codarts Conservatory in June 2022 under Jeroen Den Herder and Joachim Eijlander, she now studies Jazz Cello at the Amsterdam Conservatory. She collaborates with diverse bands spanning Contemporary Jazz, Free Improvisation, Classical Ensembles, Turkish traditional music, and interdisciplinary circus projects. Flavia is part of the Escarteen Sisters, Ayal, Hartwin Trio, Frida Trio, Java Collectief, and The Talking Hands. Since the summer of 2023, Fenja and Flavia collaborate for Cyrrealism.

“It’s a dance with risk for both sides. We know our choreography but we don’t know the variations, we will encounter in the moment of the performance. On stage we create a symbiotic relationship: The sound I make comes from what I see. It makes me experience Fenja’s physicality and serves her as a reflection and amplification in return. She opens her wheel, I breathe: Inhale. Silence.“

Cyrrealism exists in different lenghts and versions:

Cyrrealism#7 (indoors, 7 minutes) | Cyrrealism#10 (out- and indoors, 10 min) | Cyrrealism#20 (outdoors, 20 minutes) | Cyrrealism#30 (outdoors, 30 minutes) | Cyrrealism#40 (indoors, 40, minutes, live music)

For special wishes, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Contact

For inquiries, please get in touch with

RUDI-RENNER Agentur

Robert Sterzik
rs@rudi-renner.de
+49 (0) 1722906966

For artistic question contact me:

Fenja Barteldres
fenjacircus@gmail.com
+49 (0) 15755543260