Tilde Björfors
 

Tilde Björfors founded Cirkus Cirkör in 1995, with the goal to establish contemporary circus in Sweden. The organization consists of two parts: art and education. The artistic department has to date produced more than 30 shows and Tilde has directed the majority of them, among others the 99% unknown, Inside Out and Wear it like a crown, Knitting Peace, Borders, Limits, Movements and Epifónima. She’s also directed the circus opera adaptation of  Philip Glass’ opera Satyagraha at the Swedish Folkopera.
 

Within the educational section of Cirkus Cirkör, Tilde initiated the circus center which provides activities for 40 000 children and adolescents annually, an Upper Secondary School Program, and a College Program in Circus as well as circus training for disabled people. 

The artistic and educational parts of Cirkus Cirkör are closely intertwined. The Cirkör Lab for Artistic Research and Development is one example of a platform created for collaborations.  In addition, Tilde has organized several contemporary circus festivals with international guest performances, master classes and workshops in the home municipality of Cirkör - Botkyrka.
 

Tilde Björfors was Guest Professor of Contemporary Circus at the University of Dance and Circus from 2005-2012. Her research project Circus as trans-boundary in art and society, was supported by the Swedish Research Council.
For more info see: www.circusresearch.com

Awards

Tilde Björfors has consistently used the artistic process and circus disciplines as an inspiration for Cirkus Cirkör’s corporate structure and in her leadership of the company. She has received numerous awards  for her  progressive management style (Leader of the Future (business category), by Junior Chamber International 2003), for being an innovative entrepreneur (Svenska Dagbladet’s Stockholmer of the Year 2000, Ruter Dam’s Jubilee Award 2003, the Curt Nicolin Award 2006).

For her artistic achievements she has been awarded with The Publisher Natur & Kultur’s Culture Prize, The Swedish H.M. The King´s Medal of the 8th dimension with blue ribbon and The Reumert Award for best performance. In 2017 Tilde was awarded two prestigious awards the  Swedish Theatre Critic’s Theatre price and Expressen’s  Theatre Prize for outstanding theater arts (“A piece of George’s hat”) for her direction of Limits and Satyagraha.
 

In 2018 Cirkus Cirkör and Tilde Björfors awarded with XV Europe Prize Theatrical Realities European Theater Prize / Premio europa per il teatro was founded in 1986 at the initiative of the European Commission and is called the Oscar’s of European Theater. In 1990, a category, New Theatrical Realities, was added with aims to encourage trends and initiatives in European drama, considered in all its different forms, articulations and expressions, also considering dance and music in their theatrical expressions.