Interview with Swedish contemporary circus artists Louise Bjurholm von Euler and Henrik Agger

This autumn, the international contemporary circus festival Cirkuliacija welcomes back two remarkable artists from Sweden: Louise Bjurholm von Euler and Henrik Agger. Known for their unique approach to storytelling, the duo have performed in Lithuania several times before, always leaving strong impressions with their bold yet intimate performances.

At this year’s festival, they present TVÅ (“two” in English), a performance created especially for young audiences. Combining physical virtuosity with an abstract, poetic language, the piece invites children and adults alike into a world of imagination and personal interpretation. Ahead of their Lithuanian tour — five cities and seven performances — Louise and Henrik share their memories of Lithuania, their artistic journey, and what it means to create, live, and dream together as artists and partners.

Welcome back to Lithuania! This is not your first visit — how many times have you been here before? What are your impressions and memories from previous trips to Vilnius and Kaunas? And what do you think about Lithuanian audiences?

– We are more than happy to be back! It’s our 4th time in Lithuania and it was love at first sight. Our impression is that the Lithuanians are very open minded and eager to explore. Which has been very grateful when performing a relatively new artform like contemporary circus.

We have many great memories from Lithuania, walking in beautiful Vilnius and visiting hipster cafes in Kaunas, traveling by train from Visaginas and nature. We got to perform in very cool places, from a boxing gym in Kaunas to a brewery outside Vilnius.

We also want to credit the Cirkuliacija team for doing such an amazing job with curating, administrating and making this festival become such a beautiful event to take part in.

This year you are bringingTVÅto Cirkuliacija. Could you tell us more about the show and about the creative process behind it? Do you always work in the same way when creating new pieces, or is the inspiration and approach different each time? Can we even call it the “Acrobalance method”?

– TVA (which means two in English) is our performance addressed to a young audience. We made it because we felt there was a lack of performances for children that were not only easy entertainment, but could offer a more abstract language and inviting the young audience to an art experience that could be individually interpreted and attract your own associations.

We would guess one can recognize it’s a piece by Henrik & Louise, because it is very much us on stage. But in TVA we find ourselves in a more created world than in our previous performances which is more located in our private sphere, where we use a lot of documentary material.

What do you enjoy most about your life as artists?

– All the different people you meet, the freedom and the ongoing processes that you never know where they're gonna end up. It makes us keep dreaming (cliché warning 🙂 )

Working with your partner can be difficult even in business — and you are doing it in a creative field, with all the touring and inspiration (or lack of it). I remember you once joked that the most important rule is “don’t forget to eat.” Do you have any other rules you follow to balance home and work life?

– Lol 🙂 Eating is an important priority to stay balanced! May sound a bit primitive, but still working! But you are absolutely right it is a challenge working as a freelance artist duo. Because we do both business and creative work together (plus having a family life together) so we kind of need to be agreed on many levels. and getting the everyday logistics together doesn't make us idle in any case. We do not have any rules or conscious methods to keep balance. Guess it’s rather about not sinking than balance. Lol 🙂
One key for us to keep together may be to not plan too much in advance and to try to step out of the bubble every now and then and laugh at the situation…

This year you’ll be touring 5 cities in Lithuania. Is there anything you’d like to say to the audience before you arrive?

– We are very much looking forward to meeting the audience. Please feel very welcome and bring an open mindset!

All you need to know about the performanceis here.