LPAC Hosts Circus Performances and Public Arts Conference as Part of NYC’s Down-to-Earth Festival
Presented by The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center at The CUNY Graduate Center, Down-to-Earth events are free and open to the public.
LONG ISLAND CITY, NY (August 4, 2025) — The LaGuardia Performing Arts Center (LPAC) at LaGuardia Community College/CUNY will serve as a key venue for Down-to Earth, New York City’s first international festival celebrating multidisciplinary performance in public spaces, running August 29–September 7. This citywide celebration brings world-class performances—including contemporary circuses, opera, and more—to parks, greenways, and cultural centers across Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. Presented by The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center at The CUNY Graduate Center, all events are free and open to the public.
At LPAC, the festival will feature the In Via Publica: Performance and Public Assembly symposium on Wednesday, September 3. This daylong gathering will bring together artists, scholars, urban planners, and cultural leaders to explore how performance can activate civic space and community imagination. Participants will include representatives from global networks like IN SITU (the European commissioning network for artistic creation in public space) and Circostrada (the European network for contemporary circus and street arts), alongside NYC institutions such as NYCDOT and NYC Parks.
Highlights of the festival will include an afternoon performance of SenCirk Duo on the LaGuardia Community Greenway—the outdoor community space on 29th Street between Skillman to 47th Avenues—and an evening performance of Ancrage by Cirque SenCirk on the LPAC Mainstage. The day will culminate with the official launch of CUNY Stages, a new consortium of theater venues across CUNY campuses.
Rounding out LPAC’s festival programming, on Friday, September 5, LPAC will host SANTÉ! by Le Cirque Kikasse on the LaGuardia Community Greenway. This 45-minute mobile circus show from Québec, performed from a whimsical food truck, features awe-inspiring acrobatics, comedic flair, and a towering balancing act built from everyday objects—inviting audience members of all ages into a joyful, immersive experience.
“LPAC is honored to be a Queens anchor for this unprecedented festival,” said Handan Ozbilgin, LPAC Artistic Director. “By hosting artists like SenCirk and convening dialogue around performance in public spaces, we are continuing our mission to make the arts accessible, inclusive, and rooted in community.”
“We are thrilled to collaborate with LPAC, bringing world-class international performance, theater, contemporary circus, and participatory events—absolutely free—directly to New York City’s vibrant, diverse communities,” said Down to Earth Festival’s director Elena Siyanko. “Outdoor creations, international contemporary circus, and in-situ participatory performances are ideal means of reaching new audiences: they are powerful expressions of communal space, championing public assembly, and democratizing access to the urban commons. Down-to-Earth is a crucible of ideas in action, forging connections between community organizations and CUNY Stages, affirming art’s critical role in the economic, political, social, and mental well-being of all New Yorkers.”
With strategic partnerships across New York City, Down-to-Earth highlights the power of art to transform public space and foster connection.
“Through LPAC’s platform, the festival reaches immigrant communities, students, and families in Western Queens—demonstrating how culture lives, breathes, and belongs in our streets,” said Ms. Ozbilgin.
The full schedule of festival events is available at www.downtoearthfestival.org/calendar.
Featured Down-to-Earth Events at LPAC
- In Via Publica: Performance and Public Assembly
September 3, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. | LPAC
A daylong gathering exploring how performance can activate civic space and community imagination.
- SenCirk Duo (Outdoor Performance)
September 3, 3 p.m. | LaGuardia Community Greenway (29th Street between Skillman to 47th Avenues)
Founded by former street child and acclaimed performer Modou Fata Touré, SenCirk blends raw acrobatics, visual poetry, and West African storytelling.
- Ancrage by SenCirk (Indoor Performance)
September 3, 7 p.m. | LPAC Mainstage
A powerful exploration of migration and harmony with nature by Senegal’s only circus troupe.
- SANTÉ! by Cirque Kikasse (Outdoor Performance)
September 5, 3 p.m. | LaGuardia Community Greenway (29th Street between Skillman to 47th Avenues)
A dynamic circus troupe from Québec featuring extreme acrobatics and a food truck stage.
About LPAC
Located at LaGuardia Community College/CUNY in Long Island City, Queens, LaGuardia Performing Arts Center (LPAC) is a venue featuring a 740-seat Mainstage Theatre and a 220-seat Little Theatre. Known for its diverse programming, LPAC hosts a range of performances from theater and dance to music and multimedia art, serving as a cultural hub that reflects the vibrant community of Long Island City.
Attend a Show: Guests attending shows at LPAC are encouraged to enter at 45-50 Van Dam Street, Long Island City, Queens (see Maps and Directions). For more information, please email lpacboxoffice@lagcc.cuny.edu or call (718) 482-5151.
Stay Connected: Follow @LPACinNYC on Instagram and subscribe to the LPAC Newsletter for updates, behind-the-scenes content, and more.
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The LaGuardia Performing Arts Center (LPAC), located at LaGuardia Community College, is a cultural hub that fosters artistic excellence, education, and community engagement. LPAC provides a platform for dynamic artists and storytellers to create, collaborate, and inspire. Through diverse programming, LPAC’s mission is to make the arts accessible to all. It is the stage for productions of the award-winning Theater and Music Performance programs of LaGuardia Community College, as well as works from partner institutions, including Carnegie Hall, Joffrey Ballet School, and the Drama League of New York.
LaGuardia Community College (LAGCC), a Hispanic-Serving Institution, located in Long Island City, Queens offers more than 50 associate degrees and academic certificates, and more than 65 continuing education programs to prepare New Yorkers for transfer to senior colleges and rewarding jobs and careers. An institution of the City University of New York (CUNY), the College reflects the legacy of our namesake, Fiorello H. LaGuardia, the former NYC mayor beloved for his advocacy of the underserved. Since 1971, LaGuardia’s academic programs and support services have advanced the socioeconomic mobility of students from Queens, NYC and beyond.
About Down-to-Earth Festival
Down-to-Earth, NYC’s First International Festival of Multidisciplinary Creation in Public Spaces, downtoearthfestival.org, brings world-class international performance, theater, contemporary circus, opera installation, and participatory events—absolutely free—directly to New York City’s vibrant, diverse communities. An initiative that embraces global exchange and democratizes cultural expression, the inaugural festival runs from August 29–September 7, 2025. The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center at The Graduate Center CUNY serves as the festival’s producer, organizational and curatorial home, and fiscal agent.
Here in NYC, partnering with parks in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens and collaborating with more than 10 dynamic cultural and community organizations, Down-to-Earth is staging performances and workshops across multiple urban spaces. Citizen expression beats at the heart of the festival’s artistic vision. Down-to-Earth affirms art’s critical role in the economic, social, and mental well-being of all New Yorkers. With a focus on how artistic presence transforms the experience of place, and the powerful role of outdoor creation in transforming communities and spaces, Down-to-Earth seeks to expand access to cultural expression, privilege public assembly, and combat the injustices inherent in socio-economic exclusion. Central to the festival’s mission is our commitment to dismantling cultural barriers by offering free programs for students, youth, immigrant communities, and families. By attracting a diverse public to free outdoor arts and in-situ performances that are accessible and inviting, the festival will redress the shortcomings of an expensive system of cultural dissemination. Down-to-Earth Festival Co-Directors: Elena Siyanko and Frank Hentschker, CUNY Graduate Center, Martin E. Segal Theatre, Downtoearthfestival.org.
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