Cirque Exchange is proud to come together with Denver Rope Meeting 2026!
Denver Rope Meeting is carrying on the tradition of the gathering and meeting of minds over Corde Lisse, and bringing it to the Rock Mountains.
Denver Rope Meeting 2025 was the inaugural event and was a smashing success. This year, they are back and expect it to be bigger than the last one, and Cirque Exchange is coming along to help it grow.
There is a buzz around Denver Rope Meeting that is undeniable, excitement is teeming, and people are so thrilled to be able to bring their phrases, sequences, and tricks to teach, troubleshoot, and embellish.
Although the Circus Arts are highly independent, there is of course a great deal of collaborative and ensemble work that goes into it. However, I have to admit that there is something really shines through in the broader Circus community wherein its participant members of the community do not necessarily carry a fear over someone else being able to absolutely nail a skill that they have. Sure, there are cases where things may be kept closer to your chest. However, by and large, this is one arena where if someone is chasing after a skill and is really working on it, if someone else has it and can see where they are struggling, they usually offer a word or two, a different queue, or small correction to help the other unlock it.
I do not think this ethos has a specific name, but I am going to go out on a limb and call it the ethos of Candle Lighting. Simply - one candle's light is not dimmed by lighting another. Seeing someone else succeed in a skill does not detract from your capabilities. Carrying this ethos into today's age, where at the professional levels the industry is categorically more competitive than it perhaps once was, is something to be lauded and upheld as a value, it is part of the culture we participate in as Circus Artists.
This is not to say that we do not have to come face to face with our insecurities being triggered around people who are great, who may get the job over you, and so on. What makes this culture of Candle Lighting so special is that even despite the external pressures of competition in the industry, we still share our light so others can shine, too.
If there is one thing that comes to mind when I think of Rope Meeting - starting all the way back when, and of course carried forward here in the stateside iterations, is this culture of Candle Lighting. How very wonderful it is.
If for no other reason to come to Denver Rope Meeting 2026, just as a study in cultural anthropology, being immersed in Candle Lighting Culture probably does a world of good on a psychosocial level. (I'm definitely not a psychologist, nor an anthropologist...I'm a dumb sparkle jock that does really like to read.)
In any case - you should come join us. If nothing else for purely scientific purposes. Take notes on what you observe, and maybe come away with a new friend? I'm not here to tell you how you should live your life, but it could be fun.
