Forming a circus company and daily routines bring joy to Kerttu Opus’s life.
A few years ago, circus artist Kerttu Opus found herself in the middle of a serious crisis. Opus feels that it led her in the right professional direction.
Some years ago, you came down with arthritis of the spine. How did it change your relationship to the circus?
Completely. I had been training myself as an aerialist since I was a child. When I lost the skills that I’d used to become a circus professional, and to place a value on myself and what I did, I had to completely redefine myself. Around that same time—right when the pandemic was going on—I moved back to Finland from Montreal, where I had been studying and living for nine years. When everyone’s work disappeared the entire field of circus arts found itself rethinking its place in society. My own process of identity sort of struck a shared seam, and I had time to work at it.
Since that time, you’ve become excited about the quick-change technique. What opportunities for expression has it offered you?
What I’m interested in, is how you can use circus to express things that no other art form can. I feel like I’m on the right track now. Quick-change magic is based on precise technique, and on changing clothes in the blink of an eye. I’m intrigued by the interface between illusion and a seemingly impossible reality. I studied how the technique can be adapted by doing things like varying the tempo of the clothing change, while trying to say something essential about humanity at the same time.
You and your spouse have jointly founded the Opus Company. What’s it like to work with your own group, and in the circus field generally right now?
It’s really interesting. For instance, we were able to collaborate with the Cirko Center for New Circus on a set of Sphere performances. We’re grateful to all the support and funding organizations for the opportunities and resources we’ve found in Finland. With their help we can carry out projects even as an independent company. The fact that in Finland you can do things like make politically free art is also a privilege. The important thing for me is to take care of the wellbeing and survival of the community. Much more attention is being paid to the wellbeing of circus artists now.
Kerttu Opus, 30
circus artist living and working in Tampere
Opus and her spouse founded the Opus Company in 2022 graduated as a circus artist from the National Circus School in Montreal in 2014.
Significant works: Particle # B (2017), Colorsphere (2023), Suddenly: and other ways to change (2024)
Word you would use to describe yourself: real
The article was originally published in the Finnish Circus & Dance Magazine 2024 issue.