Cirque Mania #21: The idle hour

Makers:	Motus Murmuri: Samuel Rhyner en William Blenkin
Duration	60 min
Part of	Cirque Mania

Hamster in the wheel?

There you sit, facing a life-sized hamster wheel center stage. You watch a mesmerizing interplay between two acrobats with opposing personalities: one restless, the other calm. 

Welcome to The Idle Hour, a striking reflection on our relentless drive for productivity. The madness of our times—the race towards elusive happiness—comes alive in this performance by Samuel Rhyner and William Blenkin. With acrobatics, dance, and pulsating sound, a wordless journey unfolds in search of stillness within the chaos. How can we, as humans, pause long enough to stop the wheel from turning?

Samuel Rhyner is a Swiss circus artist who graduated in 2020 from Fontys Academy for Circus and Performance Art in Tilburg. He is fascinated by movement in all its forms and constantly seeks out new knowledge. In addition to his main disciplines of acro-dance and acro-dance partnering, he studies piano, trumpet, electronic music composition, and the Cyr wheel.

Samuel collaborates on diverse projects as a co-creator, performer, composer, acrobat, acro-dancer, and producer. He has participated in Exit (2022–present, acro-dance, directed by Piet van Dycke), On Point (2019–2023, partnering duet), Hug (2020–2022, duet with Saphia Loizeau, partnering and music), and Entre deux mondes (acro-dance and trampoline).

Since 2023, he has also pursued his own solo work with La vieille souche, a whimsical encounter between acro-dance and a tree.

Concept, Sound Creation & Direction: Samuel Rhyner
Performance: Samuel Rhyner and William Blenkin
Artistic Coaches: Luuk Brantjes, Britt Timmermans
Musical Advice: Pierrick Bacher
Set Design & Construction: Job Schuermans
Choreographic Advice: Pia Meuthen
Lighting Design: Eligio Membrez
Video & Photography: Mastershot – Maïm Dedeene
Technical Director: Jef Delva
Administration: Melanie Lamon, Samuel Rhyner, Vanessa Lixon
Production: Motus Murmuri

Project Partners:
Loterie Romande (CH), Canton of Valais (CH), Fondation Ernst Göhner (CH), Mira Miro (Ghent, BE), Migros Culture Percentage (CH), Circusstad Festival (Rotterdam, NL), Cultural Fund of the Swiss Authors’ Society (SSA) and ProCirque, Corodis (CH), Espace Parallèle (St-Maurice, CH) and Quartier Culturel Malévoz (Monthey, CH), Fondation Engelberts (CH), Korzo Theater (The Hague, NL), Circuswerkplaats Dommelhof (Neerpelt, BE), Banque Raiffeisen de Monthey (CH), Cirklabo (Leuven, BE), festival cirkL (Leuven, BE), Panama Pictures (’s-Hertogenbosch, NL), Station Circus (Basel, CH)