In the performance Runners by the circus company Hippana.Maleta (Germany), three artists take the stage: two masterful jugglers and a versatile musician. The two treadmills serve not only as a scenic element but also as a symbolic playing field — a space where the jugglers are subject to the constraints of predetermined movement, mechanical rhythm, inevitable repetition, and the unyielding laws of physics, all while controlling countless flying balls. Spanish multi-instrumentalist Moisés Mas García creates not only a vibrant soundscape but also becomes an additional source of grotesque, comedic tension. Together, the three performers generate a positively charged atmosphere, making the juggling in this piece strikingly choreographic and musical.
Runners is a vivid, dynamic, and physically demanding circus performance that highlights running as an exhilarating and uniquely coordinated form of movement — inseparable from human states such as stress, survival, adrenaline, desire, and fear, whether one is fleeing or pursuing. In this performance, the artists demonstrate that juggling embodies similar dynamics.
Created in 2021, the show received Germany’s ZirkusON award. To date, it has been performed more than 100 times across Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Liechtenstein, Ireland, Belgium, France, Poland, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Luxembourg.
Hippana.Maleta is a contemporary circus company based in Cologne, founded in 2018 by Irish circus artist Alex Allison and German circus artist Jonas Schiffauer, combining the creative practices of Jonas’s Hippana Theatre and Alex’s Maleta Company. The two artists share a passion for juggling as a form of artistic expression.
Creators: Alex Allison, Jonas Schiffauer
Composer: Moisés Mas García
Performers:
Juggler: Alex Allison
Juggler: Daniel Mackel
Musician: Moisés Mas García
When: February 25 and 26, 7:00 PM
Where: Riga Circus Arena, Merķeļa Street 4, Riga
Performance duration: 60 minutes
Recommended age: 6+
Accessibility: wheelchair accessible; suitable for people with hearing impairments
Seating in the Riga Circus arena and balcony is unnumbered, and tickets are not assigned to specific seats — upon arrival, visitors may choose the most comfortable seats within their ticket zone.
Ticket prices will increase as the performance dates approach.
