Culture

By Agnes Valdimarsdóttir

|July 24, 2014

As soon as I walked into the Jökla circus tent at Klambratún in Reykjavík, a girl dressed in a limited amount of clothing and shiny red boots came down from the rope and seriously asked her circus friends if they had seen her sparkling underwear. I’m obviously in the right place.

From New York to Reykjavík
Skins (play on the words “skin” and “fair”) are part of adults Icelandic Circus, The only circus in Iceland, and for the first time this summer, the only travel circus in Iceland. The diversity show was created by former TV show host, Margrét Erla Maack, now the circus queen. Margrét had gone to New York again in 2007 where she had learned belly dancing. In New York, she befriended a comedian Reggie Watts, who had her call for a concert at a nightclub The box, as she was used to belly dancing between scenes. “That’s where I first discovered the concept of an adult circus,” says Margrét, “but that was before the Icelandic Circus was even founded.”

In the autumn of 2007, Margrét returned to Iceland and saw advertisements for stand-by time at Kramhúsið. There she met Lee Nelson, an Australian citizen, and the founder of the Icelandic Circus. The handstands were in fact the beginning of Sirkús Íslands and later Skinnsemi took part.

Is this going to work?
What the “box” in New York had and what was missing in Reykjavík was a place or club that had enough ceiling height to be able to practice acrobatics. This was a minor problem, but in 2011 the burlesque dancer and friend Lee from Texas contacted Lee and wanted to get 411 on the burlesque scene in Iceland. There was no one. It was at that point that Lee called Margrét and she decided that they needed to hold a show. They had a month.

The first Skinnsemi show was in 2011 at a club called Bakkus. It was in a tiny back room, which in a way added to the “je ne sais quoi” show, and it was packed. More than the space allowed were interested in coming. After a successful first show, Skinnsemi Adult Circus was alive and kicking, but it was not until the summer of 2013 when the Circus Festival was held in Reykjavík and Sirkús Íslands together with Skinnsemi appeared in a real circus tent. The decision was made: If Sirkús Íslands buys a real tent; Skinniness will be a part of all Sirkús Íslands events in the future.

Adult weave at a kids show
“What is fun and challenging is to take shit from a children’s show and spice it up a bit so that it is funny or shocking for adults,” says Margrét. While we are not doing much burlesque, we are taking elements from burlesque and using them in our shows. “Often we are sketching for a children’s show and we get ideas about how it would be funny to do it in a certain way, but these ways may not be suitable for children and that’s why Skinnsemi works so well, we found it fun and silly. of life ”. A large part of Skinnsemi’s activities involves holding private exhibitions of companies and they have recently appeared in the circus tent at 40^þ Birthday party.

“It’s not just about sex,” says Margrét, “but sometimes jokes go over children’s heads but appeal to adults. In the show we have a Beyonce shit and a Refractor shit, that yes, children would know the songs, but the jokes that come with it are aimed at the audience with a deeper understanding.

Travel circus
“We are the only diversity show in Iceland,” says Margrét, but mentions that when she tells people that they are not from Iceland, they look at her in doubt. It does not help her much when other Icelanders are asked if it is true and they have never heard of Skinnsemi. That should change this summer, however, when Skinnsemi, together with Sirkús Íslands, travels around the country and places its 800 square meters high. (8,600sqm.) Tent in five different cities / towns – beginning and end in Reykjavík.

And the best thing about a circus? “You do not have to speak Icelandic to enjoy the show, it’s the beauty of a circus show,” says Margrét before she runs to attend undressed, as Prime Minister Skinnsemi is about to take the stage.

Locations and dates of Sirkús Íslands for the rest of the summer:
Akureyri: July 23 – August 3
Selfoss: August 6 – August 10
Keflavík: August 13 – August 17
Reykjavík: August 20 – August 24