The circus is a magical world. But none is more magical than the magical world of Magic Circus, the Dutch Urban Circus. A circus that appears in the suburbs of the biggest cities of The Netherlands. Even more magical: Magic Circus brings so much more than just entertainment to these areas. It helps to improve the quality of life and social cohesion. Simply by bringing people together to enjoy themselves.
Humble beginnings
In 1987 Maurice Veldkamp and Rob Ritman purchased the Circus Piste from Willem Boekschooten. After traveling under names such as Piste and Royal. They eventually created a formula in which a lot of emphasize was on magical elements during their performances. It called for a name change and the the magical world of Magic Circus was born. Magic Circus has since become a household name in many Dutch cities. They listen carefully to what their audience likes and dislikes and adapt their show and the kind of acts they book.
The magical world of Magic Circus is a unique circus as they are the missing link between highly subsidized theatrical circuses and the classical circuses. Magic Circus never featured big and/or wild animals in their performances, but always focused on human acrobatic accomplishments. Since 2010 they started slowly to fase out animals all together. Since the early retirement of the last performing chicken in 2020 the performances have been all human. Although a big ‘real’ Gorilla appeared in the 2022 production.
Circus as it wasn’t and isn’t meant to be
Regular society is already different from the circus world. The magic world of Magic Circus, especially, is even more peculiar. Its team is proud to present circus as it wasn’t and isn’t meant to be. Forget everything you think you know about circus. Prepare yourself to be not only amazed but also enchanted. Magic Circus tries very successfully to break with many circus conventions. Their position right in the middle between modern and classical circus makes them the rebels of the Dutch classical circus world and (in some ways) the conservatives of the modern Dutch circus world.
Every year a brand-new performance is created during the first weeks of the season. Acts and ideas are tested out on live audiences. As a matter of fact this is done deliberately. The circus team doesn’t care most about arty farty storylines or deep meanings. Obviously the Magic Circus productions have a message. But the team refuses to push it down people’s throats. Or to force them into a performance. Circus is entertainment with a capital C of Culture. This entertainment aspect is respected and best ensured by presenting a show most people love to see. As we are not funded by the government we need to give the people what they want as our existence fully relies on their visit.
Copy Cats
There are colleagues who try to use the popularity of the magical world of Magic Circus by using the words Magic or Magical in their name. So always be sure to check the tour dates on this website to be sure you are dealing with the one and only Netherland’s favourite circus. Another clear indicator is the colour of the big top. Magic Circus only performs in their Purple and White Magic Dome. Magic Circus doesn’t give performances in the winter period, so disregard any mention of “magical edition” as it isn’t the magnificent magical World of the real Magic Circus.