Circa’s Yaron Lifschitz receives ISPA Distinguished Artist Award

Lifschitz joins the likes of Taylor Mac, Robert Lepage, Laurie Anderson and Pina Bausch in receiving the accolade from the International Society for the Performing Arts.
Artistic Director Yaron Lifschitz (right) in rehearsal with the Circa ensemble. A shaven-headed man in black-framed glasses and black clothes gesticulates as he explains something to a group of shirtless men and women in dark green dresses in a rehearsal studio.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the names of people who have died.

Yaron Lifschitz, the Artistic Director and CEO of Brisbane-based, internationally renowned contemporary circus company Circa, has been announced as the recipient of the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) 2025 Distinguished Artist Award.

The prestigious award recognises artists who have made an outstanding contribution of talent, artistry, dedication and service to the world of the performing arts, and whose contribution goes above and beyond their prowess as artists.

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Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in 2020. In 2021 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association. Most recently, Richard received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts