“Clothes and Us”.Photo by Dainius Putinas from Menų spaustuvė archive

Young circus artist Kęstas Matusevičius (b. 1994) got first acquainted with circus art through a fire show in 2008. In 2020, he graduated from the SaSak (Salpaus Circus Artist Education) circus school in Lahti, the only school providing professional education for circus performers in Finland. Matusevičius is also a certified translator with a degree from Kaunas College (2017).

Matusevičius has participated in fire show performances in Spain, Latvia, Finland, Hungary and Germany and took part in European jugglers’ conventions in Ireland, Finland and Germany. Between 2012-2014, he performed in the independent troupe Teatronas, based in Kaunas and led by director Gildas Aleksas, and has also tried his hand at directing.

Matusevičius works with partner acrobatics, acro-dance, clowning and juggling. After graduating, Matusevičius, together with his SaSak colleagues, founded the troupe Kanta Company.

In the autumn of 2020, the first contemporary circus centre for children and youth in Lithuania, Cirko Sapiens, opened its doors in Kaunas, where Matusevičiaus is one of the four teachers (he teaches acrobatics).

The performance Clothes and Us (2020) by Kanta Company raises the following questions: what do clothes mean to us? Who are we without clothes and how do they change us? Can clothes protect us? What do they hide? We spend many hours shopping, washing, drying, folding, wearing and taking off clothes. In this performance, clothes take over the world and fabrics change shape and come to life. The three characters embark on a journey that slowly becomes surreal. The performance includes object manipulation, acrobatics, a Chinese column connected by a cosy, intimate atmosphere intertwined with absurd visual comedy. According to the creators of the performance, anything can happen under the laundry rope.

kmatusevicius@gmail.com