The previous Circus: Arts, Life and Sciences (CALS) issue, “Transgressions and Challenges”, highlighted some of the works presented at or developed from the fourth Circus and its Others (CaiO) conference which took place in Bogotá, Colombia in 2024. The CaiO project promotes the inquiry of difference in circus, advancing the field of circus studies while simultaneously resisting its full institutionalization. This aligns with a part of our mission at CALS, as we aim to support the advancement of the circus arts by valuing and sharing both academic and experiential knowledge.

This special issue presents part two of the CALS/CaiO collaboration, “Futures”, with another set of works curated by guest editors Charles R. Batson, Marco Antonio Coelho Bortoleto, Karen Fricker, Julieta Infantino and Olga Lucía Sorzano. While the previous issue was composed of Arts articles and Book Reviews, this issue spans the Arts, Life, Sciences and Book Reviews sections of CALS.

Once again, many marginalized voices are featured in this latest installment; however, many more remain unheard. As you read this issue, we encourage you to consider which identities are not yet represented in this journal and invite you to submit a proposal to guest edit a special issue by emailing .

We wish to thank Charlotte Pescayre for the cover photo of a scene from Ndátuvi Ínuu photographed by Vic Landin. With this metaphorical pre-show announcement out of the way, we now invite you to enjoy the insightful words of our guest editors and the wonderful circus of others that they have prepared for you.