Naked juggling and hair-hanging: CircusFest 2014 - in pictures

Cløwns and Queens at Shoreditch Town Hall was devised by Gandini Juggling. The company's co-founder, Sean Gandini, likens juggling to 'doing maths in the air' Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian

Lyn Gardner calls Cløwns and Queens 'a constantly shifting dance of desire' in which 'sex is laid out like a cold corpse on the mortuary slab' Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian

The Finnish duo Sanja Kosonen and Elice Abince Muhonen perform suspended by their hair in Capilotractées. 'The real secret is in the hairdo,' writes Lyndsey Winship. 'Each performer ties and braids it differently, and never reveals their formula' Photograph: Daniel Michelon

Alice Allart's show Bikes and Rabbits examines the mind of a solitary woman Photograph: Olivier Wicquart

Company 2 perform She Would Walk the Sky, which they recently presented in Brisbane. 'Each performance is visually poetic: unhurried, unexpected, precise,' wrote Zenobia Frost Photograph: PR

The Swedish company Sisters perform Clockwork, one of the UK premieres at the festival Photograph: PR

Puffball, directed by Mark Storer, is presented by performers who identify as LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning) Photograph: PR

French acrobats Companie la Meute perform their UK premiere of The Wolf Pack. 'Six bare-chested men work as a pack, showing off their prowess and engaging in some tomfoolery and one-upmanship as they test the limits of bravery and trust,' writes Lyn Gardner Photograph: PR

Expectation, a world premiere performed by the aerialist Maddie McGowan and the writer Talia Randall Photograph: Ben Hopper

Graeae and Circo Crescer e Viver present their world premiere of Belonging. CircusFest runs until 27 April 2014 Photograph: PR