ENCI Shared Treasure

Shared Treasure

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2013 - 2015

Contents

CONTENTS

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3

Introduction

Company Profiles

4

Circus Central

5

Cirkus in Beweging

6

Cirqueon

7

Frappáns Cirkuszínház Hungary

8

Hangar Arts Trust

9

Valencian Circus Assoc

Workshop Outlines

10

Creative Juggling

11

Physical Contact in Circus

12

London Summer Circus

13

How to teach Clowning

14

Therapeutic Aspects of Circus

15

Contemporary Dance & Wellness Techniques

16

Multimedia in Circus

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CirqueMusic

18

Games played in Circus

19

London Spring Circus

20

Blind Circus

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Fire Performance Training

22

Project Timeline

Workshop Reflections

23

The Gift of Clown

24

Dance & Wellness in Valencia

25-26

My indoctrination into Circus

27

Multimedia & Circus

28

Resources & further reading

2

Shared Treasure

Introduction

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INTRODUCTION The E.N.C.I. project consists of six circus schools and educational institutions.

Over the next two years each organisation will deliver 2 x 5-day exchanges of workshops and meetings in their country. This will include a suite of educational learnings including a presentation that introduces their school, business model and creative, social and educational activities; a presentation of how the circus industry works in their country; and educational master classes in a chosen circus discipline.

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"Our theme is to better understand different methods of learning, teaching & organising through exploring & sharing the dynamic differences in the circus industry between cultures across Europe."

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Main objectives of the project are:

• Improve the training given to our staff and learners. To enrich the institutional training and study plans adding intensive high level workshops for learners. Develop an eclectic methodology for circus education with curricula for different circus disciplines

• Identify working methods and methodology, used in circus education which contributes to acquire skills like creativity, innovation and expression, which are very important in the modern international labour market

• Practice foreign languages in European countries and develop a concise Glossary of Circus terminology in English

• Spread the shared knowledge and expertise of the network between (circus-) educators and circus professionals

• Set up a network of circus training to increase and facilitate the mobility of circus professionals

• Develop at least one shared resource that uses online wiki-style technology, allowing a userlead collection of data specific to further education

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Shared Treasure

Partners

Circus Central Newcastle, UK

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Circus Central is the North East Circus Development Trust’s training venue in the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, in the North East of England, UK. As a centre for circus training Circus Central caters for a range of ages and levels including: children’s, youth and community, and professional circus. Our training programmes for adults ranges from beginner and entry levels to advanced masterclasses for circus artists, street artists and teachers.

Circus Central is well equipped for a range of circus disciplines and is able to host professional companies looking for a creative space. The charity seeks to build and widen opportunities for people in the North East of England to develop their circus skills and seeks to support the professional sector with local opportunities as well as ones connecting the North East to the rest of the industry and world.

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CONTACT Helen Averley Circus Central (0044) 0191 246 2836 helen@circuscentral.co.uk www.circuscentral.co.uk

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Shared Treasure

Partners

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Cirkus in Beweging Leuven, BELGIUM

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“Cirkus in Beweging” (Circus in Movement) is an open house for circus education. Artistic and social circus activities, developing the whole person, come together and lift each other to a new form of art education.

“Cirkus in Beweging” challenges children, youngsters and adults to taste from and experiment with circus arts.

“Cirkus in Beweging” uses circus play to stimulate the individual, social, physical and creative development.

In 1993 “Cirkus in Beweging” was founded as the first circus atelier in Flanders, whit some circus courses a week, some workshops and performances. Today we are with our 950 students and a large artistic range, one of the biggest educational circus houses in Europe, offering a well structured educational and artistic practice.

And as our name indicates, we are far from stopping here.

“Cirkus in Beweging” is a whirling, bubbling, dynamic organisation where content, structures and forms continuously evolve and move. A new form of organization with three coordinators is applied as from April 2009.

Cirkus in Beweging wants to: • Stimulate to self development • Stimulate participants to be creative and to change boundaries on the social and physical level through circus play.

• Offer an artistic platform and amaze an audience • Installing opportunities for presentation, with a low threshold, and develop an artistic growth track for young potential artists. Seeking, surprising, amazing, astonishing and addressing an audience in your own way.

• Being sensitive to the community • We want to lower the financial, physical and cultural thresholds to participation and give extra attention to risk groups.

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CONTACT Jonas van Soom Cirkus in Beweging jonas@cirkusinbeweging.be www.cirkusinbeweging.be

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Shared Treasure

Partners

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Cirqueon Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC

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Cirqueon is an umbrella organisation for the support and development of contemporary circus in the Czech Republic.

Cirqueon is a member of the international Circostrada Network.

The main purpose of Cirqueon is to provide information on domestic and European events in the field of contemporary circus, to support contemporary circus projects created in the Czech Republic and to aid the development of circus skills of professionals and the general public.

Cirqueon has opened a new area of application of circus techniques for therapeutic purposes: social circus. The first event in this field was an international workshop for professional contemporary circus lecturers organized by Cirqueon within the framework of the EDUCIRCATION project at the Bohnice Psychiatric Institution in Prague in the Fall of 2011.

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CONTACT Barbora Adolfova Cirqueon barbora@cirqueon.cz www.cirqueon.cz

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Shared Treasure

Partners

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Frappáns Cirkuszínház Hungary Budapest, HUNGARY

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The mission of Frappáns Cirkuszínház Hungary is to introduce and promote new circus forms to Hungary, as an art and as an education tool. In this project Frappáns CirkuSzínház works strongly together with the Hungarian Juggling Association sharing the opportunities with the members of the Association.

Under the name Cirkuszínház it runs several projects: •Teaching juggling to both professionals and hobbyists •Training methodology for teachers and social workers on how to introduce circus to their activity • Communication among circus courses and teachers with international possibilities • Consultancy to the National Acrobatic School • Juggling course for adults as a way of self-recognition With its international contacts, Frappáns Cirkuszínház Hungary helps Hungarian organisations to widen their knowledge and provides opportunities for networking and further expertise.

The company also works with professional circus artists helping them in their creative process and networks enabling them to perform inside and outside of the country.

We also organise events and festivals in order to promote circus to the public and provide entertainment for spectators, from the International Circus-Theatre Festival in 2006 to the 1st Circus and Street Theatre Festival (CUF) in 2010. We also contribute to the programmation of the Sziget Festival. Over the years, we have had the opportunity to present more than a hundred international circus performances at these festivals.

Our widespread international connections provide touring opportunities for Hungarian artists in Europe. We also do artistic research with our artistic company creating contemporary circus shows since 2008 and working on the crossover between contemporary dance and circus.

The success of CirkuSzínház Agency is also due to the collaboration of young talents and circus communities emerging in the country.

CONTACT Veronika Gallyas gallyas.veronika@gmail.com www.cirkuszinhaz.hu www.zsonglor.hu

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Partners

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The Hangar Arts Trust London, UK

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The Hangar Arts Trust (HAT) is a unique community space based in south east London that specialises in circus shows.

HAT uses the transformational magic of circus to rejuvenate people’s lives. We make circus training and artistic expression available for all ages and all abilities; we use it to help people grow in self-esteem, improve fitness, increase quality of life, develop soft skills, learn professional skills, and gain access to exciting meaningful work.

Some participants want to make a career in the arts, some have been damaged and need a positive and active ‘family’ to join, some just want to be fit, healthy and sociable. We offer our fully rigged professional space and our trained, professional and respectful expertise to liberate people and communities; we help them meet, play, exercise, train, create productions together, find work and celebrate successes – small and large.

We work with our local community to offer them exciting opportunities for personal development and we work with local schools to help them provide a rounded education for their children. We mentor young people to help them work towards a career in the performing arts and we use the learning methodology of a performance to teach enterprise, marketing, sales, catering standards, crowd management, Health & Safety, rigging, and basic First Aid. We make learning and getting fit extremely good fun and practically rewarding. HAT is a place where people are both challenged and cherished – it is about ordinary people helping each other to do extraordinary things.

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CONTACT: Katharine Ford Hangar Arts Trust info@hangarartstrust.org www.hangarartstrust.org

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Shared Treasure

Partners

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Valencian Circus Association Valencia, SPAIN

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The Valencia Circus Association was created in December 2003 by the need to create a space for contemporary circus in Valencia. It is a not- for- profit organisation created by ten Artists wanting to make Circus part of the cultural life of Valencia.

In April 2004, L’ESPAI DE CIRC was opened. It was the first space in the County of Valencia to focus on contemporary circus, with over 200 square metres of floor space for professional and hobby training, courses and shows.

Today there are nearly two hundred members, made up of students and performers,that participate in different ways in our activities. The CVA has created and shown XXVI cabarets quarterly and imparted many workshops and regular courses with some recognized professionals from all over Europe.

It is now working toward being the first CIRCUS SCHOOL in the Valencian County and is working with the town hall to create a STREET THEATRE CIRCUIT in Valencia, along with other projects.

VCA is the coordinator in the Educircation project.

The Valencian Circus Association organises Youth Rehabilitation Centre workshop in Valencia.

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CONTACT Sandra Fernández Hernández Espai de Circ espaidecirc@gmail.com www.espaidecirc.com

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Shared Treasure

Workshop Overview

Valencian Circus Association, Spain

CREATIVE JUGGLING !

DATES: 25 – 30 January '14 LOCATION: Valencia, Spain TUTORS: Victor Garmendia Torija

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Objective To uncover creativity and inspiration in the new discovery of juggling tricks. Using different methods to train, develop and explore the technical form in order to find something new Participant Profile Participants didn't necessarily need any knowledge about juggling but it is was not bad to have it Schedule Four days workshop time exploring skills, concepts, creativity and the creation of a routine. The week began with a cultural trip to the fire festival Kaotik in Sot de Chera, organised by the Association Tutors Victor Garmendia Torija is a circus performer, teacher, director and producer. He's worked for Cirque du Soleil, Gandini Jugglers in China and Carampa Circus School in Madrid. He teaches initiation and improvement of juggling techniques at the Valencian Circus Association and at schools including Circus Space (London) and festivals of various juggling (Zaragoza, Alicante etc) about juggling and movement

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Methodology The workshop covered the following juggling methods: sideswap, prechac, diagrams, take-outs, theatre exercises, movement exercises, performance exercises, social juggling and brain-storming with some inspirational material from Luke Willson, Tim Robers, Marco Paoleti, Alessandro Sciarroni, Stefan Sing, Gandini, And ofcourse Victor Garmendia

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Outcomes Participants gained theoretical and experiential understanding of how to apply a variety of creative approaches to juggling techniques. Through exploration and play, this inspired the creation of new and individual styles of juggling, acts for the participants and ways to create solo and group routines

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Shared Treasure

Workshop Overviews

Cirkus in Beweging, Belgium

PHYSICAL CONTACT IN CIRCUS !

DATES: 31 March -4 April '14 LOCATION: Leuven, Belgium TUTORS: Rika Taeymans, Hanna Mampuys, Kevin O’Keefe and Fred Versonnen

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Objective A workshop exploring the importance of Physical Contact in circus education focusing on four methods or approaches to experience the importance of physical contact; Circomotoriek, Physical Movement: Partnering in Dance, Circus Yoga and Physical Contact Games

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Participant Profile Aimed at circus teachers and artists wishing to transition into teaching and those working with children or those with disabilities.

Schedule Five days training incorporating sessions in all four approaches.

Tutors Circomotoriek is led by Rika Taeymans who has been teaching and developing this method for more than 20 years in Cirkus in Beweging. Hanna Mampuys is a dancer and acrobat who has been exploring link between these two movement arts. Kevin O’Keefe is the artistic director of Circus Minimus and has travelled the world to both teach and study circus, theater and yoga since 1985. He teaches with Erin Maile O’Keefe, a certified Kripalu Yoga and Rasa Yoga teacher who has taught movement studies since 1981. Fred Versonnen has been teaching circus and circus theatre for more than 15 years and has developed within Cirkus in Beweging a very specific viewpoint on circus theatre.

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Methodology The two main goals in Circomotoriek are awareness of the body and relationship to play, using very natural and simple playful exercises make the children aware of their strength and their power. In the Physical Movement: Partnering in Dance workshop participants explored how movement can be initiated from physical impulses given by a partner, they learned about giving weight, supporting each other, and trust which is so important in partnering. Circus Yoga incorporated flying, thai massage, games to bring together a group and tools and techniques. And Physical Contact Games focused on different degrees of physical contact in games.

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Outcomes Participants gained new skills and practices to their teaching repertoire, refreshing their inspiration to teach and play! They explored accessible practices and techniques that supported collaborative learning fostering communication and connection through physical contact.

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Shared Treasure

Workshop Overview

Hangar Arts Trust, UK

LONDON SUMMER CIRCUS !

DATES: 22 – 26 June '14 LOCATION: London, UK TUTORS: Various from: Hangar Arts Trust AirCraft Circus Gorilla Circus

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Objective The aim of the workshop was to take participants through the journey of creating their own act, working together to turn their acts into a show and presenting that show to others at the end of the week. The mobility was planned to coincide with Greenwich & Docklands International Festival (GDIF) so participants could enjoy this free celebration of circus, street arts and performance

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Participant Profile From the inexperienced to the experienced, those who want to create to perform and collaborate.

Those who want to get their work into venues and who have an interest in how circus is funded in the UK and how circus works in London

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Schedule A week long course with morning training sessions from 9.30am – 1.30pm with optional afternoon visits to London venues and evening optional activities including circus shows and classes Tutors Members of Hangar Arts Trust, AirCraft Circus and Gorilla Circus Methodology There were daily practical sessions that led working towards act creation alongside theoretical classes and discussions about creating circus for an audience. Meetings were planned with senior management of London venues to understand how they commission work and partner up with artists to create and host shows as well as tours of circus venues. Evening events included the opportunity to see shows as well as skills and knowledge sharing amongst participants

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Outcomes Participants learned how to create circus acts and shows and how to get them in front of and into venues, as well as how to teach that thought and action process with their students. They also gained an insight into London venues specialising in showcasing circus and their commissioning and programming policy. They also got to see inspiring circus theatre as part of the Greenwich & Docklands International Festival

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Shared Treasure

Workshop Overviews

Circus Central, UK

HOW TO TEACH CLOWNING ! !

DATES: 25–31 August '14 LOCATION: Newcastle, UK TUTORS: Joe May

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Objective An active learning experience looking at the fundamentals of clowning, reflections on pedagogy and how to teach Participant Profile Aimed at circus teachers and artists wishing to transition into teaching. No previous clowning experience required Schedule Five days training incorporating two sessions per day and reflection. The final day included a performance for the young people of clown acts that they had developed Tutors Joe May is a professional clown, fool, and mentor. Trained at the Jacques Lecoq International School of Physical Theatre, Joe is also a accredited school teacher, and award-winning teacher trainer. Joe regularly performs at major festivals in Australia, the UK and Europe

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Methodology The workshop was delivered in 2 daily sessions. In the first session, participants took part in workshops with Joe exploring clowning and how to enable learning for others. In the second session participants taught a range of young people the same skills they had explored themselves in Session 1 (these were different groups of children and young people). Each day ended with a group reflection on the day's successes, challenges and solutions.The course ended with a showcase of simple acts/exercises developed by young people during the course

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Outcomes Over the five days participants gained a variety of skills, including a repertoire of clown games and exercises, workshop plans and experience delivering these to young people. Participants also gained experience in directing and mentoring clown acts. Discussion and reflection provided a useful forum to share experiences and discuss pedagogy and different teaching approaches and challenges

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Shared Treasure

Workshop Overview

Frappáns Cirkuszínház, Hungary

THERAPEUTIC ASPECTS OF CIRCUS !

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DATES: 8 – 12 December '14 LOCATION: Budapest, Hungary TUTORS: Practitioner Exchange

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Objective The aim of the workshop is for participants to exchange of knowledge and brainstorming with a focus on social circus and the therapeutic effect of circus exercises and especially on the possible ways to work with people with special needs

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Participant Profile The workshop is intended for circus teachers with social circus experience, or therapists working with people with special needs Schedule A five day seminar including practical sessions where the participants could try out what they learned.

There was also a visit to see social circus sessions of the Hungarian Juggling Association and their work at a psychiatric hospital and in suburban Roma communities

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Tutors The workshop is not led by one professional but it is an exchange work of the participants facilitated by the hosts Methodology The seminar and professional exchange aimed to develop a training program for therapists – who have no circus background – which would allow them to integrate circus as a tool in their work. As a group they defined what competencies they would have to improve, collected the adequate methods and practices, offered a collection of exercises and incorporated them into the program of a course

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Outcomes The interactive seminar allowed participants to share their professional experience and various approaches to teaching with each other. They were able to engage in discussion and debate and collate exercises and tools to return to their home and individual practice

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Shared Treasure

Workshop Overview

Valencian Circus Assoc, Spain

CONTEMPORARY DANCE & WELLNESS TECHNIQUES !

DATES: 19–25 January '15 LOCATION: Valencia, Spain TUTORS: Roseta Plasencia Fenollosa

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Objective To give different training tools to participants, based on contemporary dance and wellness techniques, to increase their training options and technical skills. Participants also learned how to use them in the creative process

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Participant Profile The workshop was intended for professional circus artists, circus trainers and people who have worked with the body before. Participants should have corporal/body awareness and be in good physical shape Schedule Five days of studio based workshops working from 9.30am – 4pm. At the end of the five days participants were taken to participate in a weekend festival, in Sot de Chera called Festival Kaotik Tutors Roseta Plasencia Fenollosa is a multidisciplinary artist, graduate as an actress for El Estudio Dramático in Valencia, as a dancer for the Koninklijk Conservatorium of Antwerp (Belgium) and as a choreographer for the Conservatorio Superior de Danza of Valencia (Spain). Her interest in the body and its limits made her to explore different circus and wellness techniques as well, specialising in trapeze and yoga

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Methodology The daily workshops focussed on; stretching through techniques such as Yoga and Contemporary Dance, physical preparation using Contemporary Dance, Pilates, Yoga and Gymnastics to prepare the body for circus training and body awareness using dance, and Alexander Technique to study body and posture and learn corrective techniques

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Outcomes Participants experienced learning and understanding through the daily movement workshops, from learning choreography, improvisation using weight, rhythm, balance and unbalance to relaxing techniques including stretching, massaging and manipulation

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Shared Treasure

Workshop Overview

Cirqueon, Czech Republic

MULTIMEDIA IN CIRCUS !

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DATES: 9 – 13 February '15 LOCATION: Pilsen, Czech Republic TUTORS: Veronika Caye

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Objective To discover multimedia techniques and ways that various circus disciplines and multimedia techniques could be combined Participant Profile For experienced or professional circus artists specialising in different fields of contemporary circus who were interested in possibilities of using multimedia in their acts or performances Schedule Over four days, participants worked in small groups with multimedia students to devise, create and perform a short presentation using multimedia techniques, sound and light design led by director and dramaturg Véronique Caye

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Tutors Véronique Caye is a French theatre director and dramaturg. She is also a film maker who brings a sense of theatricality and design to the films that she creates Methodology The workshop was a collaboration with students of multimedia and animation at the Arts and Design Faculty in Pilsen. In small teams, circus disciplines and themes were chosen by each group, which gave a focus for the performance, multimedia, lighting and sound design. Over three days of intense creation presentations were put together and on the fourth day teams finished technical details and finishing of video materials. The last day involved a technical run-through, the setting up all lights, projectors and circus equipment and the presentation of the final pieces

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Outcomes Participants gained practical experience in a creative process of incorporating multimedia, lighting and sound design with a circus act to create a performance. Through the process they learned about different multimedia and technology possibilities and how they can enhance live performance photos by Robert Haáb

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Shared Treasure

Workshop Overview

Circus Central, UK

CIRQUEMUSIC !

DATES: 10–14 March ‘15 LOCATION: Newcastle, UK TUTORS: James Keay (UK) and David Insua-Cao (Peru) from Gifford’s Circus

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Objective An experimental workshop for musicians & circus artists and teachers wishing to find techniques to integrate live music into circus. It would be useful for those who wanted to explore ways for circus music to move beyond accompaniment of circus act

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Participant Profile Aimed at music or circus teachers, circus artists and/or musicians wishing to transition into teaching, or who wished to seek experimental and playful methods for crossing over between circus and music Schedule A 5-day long workshop consisting of daily sessions including improvisation sessions with jugglers, youth and aerial classes. The week culminated in a performance Tutors James Keay (UK) is the Music Director and pianist for Gifford’s Circus Band and David Insua-Cao (Peru) is the percussionist/Drummer for Circus Methodology The workshop was delivered in 2 or 3 daily sessions, around 6 hours total. In the first sessions of the day participants took part in workshops with James and David exploring CirqueMusic and how to enable learning for others. Sessions 2 and 3 mixed things up with participants training alongside other artists, and sometimes leading sessions with the youth circus sharing skills they had learned themselves in Session 1

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Outcomes Participants explored different ways to incorporate music into a circus setting and particularly integrating it into acts in more ways then just as an accompaniment. Techniques included musicians following the action, the performers following the musicians, the musicians picking particular body parts to illustrate and the performers choosing different instruments to mimic. Participants developed their own acts in groups with which were shared with an audience at a scratch-cabaret evening at the end of the week

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Shared Treasure

Workshop Overview

Cirkus in Beweging, Belgium

GAMES PLAYED IN CIRCUS !

DATES: 21 – 26 March '15 LOCATION: Leuven, Belgium TUTORS: Jono Dragt, Kris Devisser, Isabel Van Maele, Fred Versonnen & Steve Cousins

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Objective To discover how can games be used in our circus education and to exchange, collate and categorise games that are used to create a framework for the development of new games.

Participant Profile The workshop is intended for experienced teachers and trainers who use games in their classes. The participants should be willing to share their games and actively participate in the different workshops.

Schedule Five day workshop sharing games and approaches to using games in a circus context presented by different tutors Tutors Jono Dragt is a circus trainer at Cirkus in Beweging specialising in parkour and aerial acro. Jono will explore game adaptation. Kris Devisser will look at the creation and transformation of games. Isabel Van Maele is a trainer at Cirkus in Beweging and an expert in multi and air acro. She will explore games of circus training, Fred Versonnen has been teaching circus and circus theatre for more than 15 years.

Fred will look at circus theatre and the use games for the creation of circus performances. Steve Cousins is a clown, circus trainer and passionate advocate of play and the use of games in circus and other education. Steve is working to compile an online resource of games: http://www.circusgames.net/

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Methodology Exploration the different possibilities to use games in (circus) education. Depending on the objectives we want to achieve we examine how we can alter and modify games. We will also explore the adaptations of games when working with different groups and individuals. Through collating and categorising games that are used in circus education we can create a framework for the development of new games.

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Outcomes Practically, participants shared and experienced a various types of games that could serve different objectives. Through discussion they were able to analyse the games and outcomes, categorise different types of games and the examine the possibility of modifying the games to work in different contexts.

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Shared Treasure

Workshop Overviews

Hangar Arts Trust, UK

LONDON SPRING CIRCUS !

DATES: 16 – 20 April 2015 LOCATION: London, UK TUTORS: Various from: Hangar Arts Trust AirCraft Circus Gorilla Circus

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Objective The aim was for people to have developed their potential in a range of different ways so that by the end of the convention they would have developed new skills, developed existing skills, increased networks, and improved chances of employment and chances of creating their own international conventions

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Participant Profile Experienced aerialists, keen to try new disciplines, teachers and those who have an interest in running their own skills-based circus convention or their own space for circus creation, practice, and classes Schedule A 5 day long weekend course delivered as an ‘aerial convention' with one day either side for theory, feedback, specialist skills development and planning and evaluation work Tutors Members of Hangar Arts Trust, AirCraft Circus and Gorilla Circus Methodology The daily workshops delivered as part of the aerial convention two days for theory, feedback, specialist skills development and planning and evaluation work. Activities included: An explanation of how we run our circus practice and performance space at HAT, theoretical classes and discussions about creating and running skills-based conventions, action-learning involving the creation of skills-based conventions, introduction to aerial yoga, facilitated networking with other aerial artists, evening circus show at The Roundhouse and a range of evening social and cultural opportunities

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Outcomes Participating artists experienced classes in a variety of aerial skills as well as gaining practical, developmental and theoretical/organisational skills through knowledge/experience transfer sessions in the practical skills needed to put on a convention and a follow up session to discuss how participants might create a convention in their hometowns

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Shared Treasure

Workshop Overview

Cirqueon, Czech Republic

BLIND CIRCUS !

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DATES: 28 April – 3 May '15 LOCATION: Prague & Letohrad, Czech Republic TUTORS: Adam Jarchovský, Katka Klusáková, Terezie Kochová & Markéta Vachulová

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Objective To share tools and working practices developed by Prague circus teachers of Blind Circus, to teach circus skills to blind participants including; object manipulation, aerial and floor acrobatics and equilibristics

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Participant Profile The workshop was intended for circus teachers interested in social circus activities Schedule Five days workshop including two days in Prague for training preparation in the theoretical aspects of teaching Blind Circus in preparation for travelling to Letohrad to attend the annual meeting of the Association of Families with Visually Impaired Children to work with blind children and families and assistants and teachers

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Tutors Adam Jarchovský and Katka Klusáková are head teachers of youth classes at Cirqueon. Adam is a professional juggler who studied social work, Katka is a professional aerialist and also an absolvent of pedagogical faculty. They are leading Czech professionals in the field of youth and social circus.

Terezie Kochová and Markéta Vachulová are lecturers in sport activities and assistance to people with visual impairment. They are both active in the Czech Association of Families with Children with Visual Impairment.

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Methodology The daily workshops focussed on the methodology developed by CIRQUEON and the ethos of the program, which emphasises trust, closeness and cooperation. Risk is a fundamental element of circus and is true for both those who can see as well as those who are visually impaired. Modification of the environment allows for integration and inclusion and as such modified disciplines taught included manipulation, equilibristics and floor and aerial acrobatics. Participants learned theory and practical ways to create a friendly, non-competitive environment for learning through play which is the most natural way to acquire new skills for all abilities.

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Outcomes

Participants gained theoretical understanding and experienced practical learning about how to teach circus skills to blind participants. They were then able to use their experience in an environment that included blind children and families and assistants and teachers.

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Shared Treasure

Workshop Overview

Frappáns Cirkuszínház, Hungary

FIRE PERFORMANCE TRAINING !

DATES: 7 – 12 June 2015 LOCATION: Balmazújváros, Hungary TUTORS: Farkas Linda, Hermann Jusztina, Góra Krisztián, Zoletnik Zsófia, Kiss Gergely Geret

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Objective For fire performers to further develop their shows with theatrical elements, character and role play, polishing their aesthetic and dramaturgy, work on choreography, technical fire skills or acrobatics Participant Profile Participants who have experience and skill with fire and who have a show or piece that can be be developed Schedule Five days working in a studio with mentors to the development of an ensemble fire show Tutors Mesmerising fire costume creator, Linda Farkas brings skills in contact staff dance. Krisztián Góra, inventor and maker of “Gora Firetoys” has 15 years’ experience as a fire performer. Jusztina Hermann is a theatre theorist, circus and physical theatre performer and director and mentors Sophie Zoletnik and Geret Kiss from “Firebirds” enrich performances with acrobatic elements

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Methodology The daily workshop training focussed on building group dynamics with the participants. For act development there was an emphasis on developing a relationship with the audience, theatre skills and ideas for act development derived from improvisation, emotion, physical theatre,rhythm and dance.

Mentors then worked with individuals, duos and groups to create or hone existing acts. Participants performed their pieces to as part of the opening gala for the Hungarian Juggling Convention. There was also a discussion on Fire Safety as well as further skills development as delegates of the juggling convention

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Outcomes Participating artists learned the basics of show creation with a focus on audience, character, rhythm and story. They developed their own pieces, working as solos, duos or in groups and had experience of performing them within the context of a full show including fire safety and skills development

photos by Robert Haab

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ENCIPROJ ECTTI MEL I NE 16-20Apr T r ai ni ng : L ondon S pr i ngCi r c us L ondon,UK

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T r ai ni ng : Phy s i c alCont ac t i nCi r c us L euv en,BEL

T r ai ni ng : Howt ot eac h Cl owni ng Newc as t l e,UK

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T r ai ni ng : Cont empor ar y Danc e&Wel l nes s 7-12J un T ec hni ques 10-14Mar T r ai ni ng : Val enc i a,S P A F i r e P e r f o r ma n c e T r ai ni ng : T r ai ni ng Ci r queMus i que maz új v ár os ,HUN Newc as t l e,UK Bal

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Workshop Reflections

The Gift of Clown

The Gift of Clown

by Tracy Greener

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In August 2014, the 'How to teach clowning' workshop took place in Newcastle. Organised by partner Circus Central, and led by expert teacher, performer and clown, Joe May, the workshop was attended by 12 participants from Belgium, Hungary and the UK. The following is the experience of Tracy Greener from Newcastle: was delighted to receive a place on the teaching clown workshop at Circus Central in Newcastle. Although I didn’t have strong connections with circus at this time, I had been desperately trying to access affordable clown training in other areas of the country as I really wanted to learn more and wanted to be able to share what I had learnt with my local community. I feel that clowning offers the opportunity for creative exploration, laughter and community cohesion. The chance to attend this workshop for free was such a gift.

The workshop was an interesting mix of practical learning of clown skills in the morning and then sharing them with young people in the afternoon. Although I had done some clowning before, it was limited and I found some of the physical theatre aspects challenging for me, particularly ‘slapstick’. I realised that my physical skills were so undeveloped compared to the acrobats and circus people I was sharing the space with. But Joe May really helped us create a supportive atmosphere that with his guidance of doing 3 praises and 1 thing to improve when giving feedback for performances. I felt that there wasn’t any competition or expectation among the group and my mistakes were reason to laugh. These experiences were so useful for understanding how to build confidence of others learners and how to help them to feel safe taking risks and making mistakes. As the week went on my confidence grew and I was able to give things a go in front of an audience and the most important thing was to have fun. I think that the young people experienced this too.

As well as learning actual clown skills on the workshop, we were taught how to create lesson plans with clear goals and objectives and how we could break this down to make sure that the exercises we were doing met the overall objectives of a session. This was a useful framework to have. Although it is always nice to have the confidence to go with the flow in sessions if need be, I found having a clear plan with timings, an opportunity to introduce a lot of focused skills to fast learners and a way to move the skills of the group forward. This is a skill that I can revisit and use in a variety of settings for all sorts of group creative and personal development workshops.

Each afternoon we would work with the young people at the circus and share clown skills with them. I loved this aspect so much. I used to do arts with young people but hadn’t done so for few years due to funding cuts so I was really delighted being around them. I found them to be so inspiring, creative and daring. Each day it was wonderful to see how different individuals’ confidence grew, to witness some of the truly awesome pieces that they created in a short time and how they developed these pieces. It was interesting to note how the trust and communication between the adults and the young people developed as the week went on as well, how we all grew in confidence in working, playing and laughing together.

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Workshop Reflections

Dance & Wellness in Valencia

Dance & Wellness in Valencia

by Lilith Schaap

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In January 2015, eleven artists gather in Valencia for the Contemporary Dance & Wellness Techniques Workshop. Lilith Schaap from the Netherland, working for Espai de Circ in Valencia wrote about her experiences on the course: Eleven circus artists from different European countries. Five Spanish. One teacher. Vegan food. A week long training. The subject? Contemporary Dance and Wellness Techniques for a Circus Training Practice. With at the end of a week of training‌ a circus festival in the little town Sot de Chera. The week is led by Roseta Plasencia Fenollosa. She has a background in acting, dancing and choreography and shares her knowledge during the week. Her interest in the body and its limits made her explore different circus and wellness techniques. She is specialised in trapeze and yoga. During the week Roseta teaches various techniques for stretching, manipulation and body awareness. She uses exercises from Pilates, Yoga and Contemporary Dance.

There are choreographed dances that the students practice during the week. Every day the movements get more elaborated and complicated. Students master more and more. Playful dance exercises make a good balance with the choreographed dancing. There are a lot of improvisational exercises around weight, rhythm, balance and unbalance. At the end of the day the students look forward to relaxing their bodies with stretching, massaging and manipulation.

The KAOTIK festival takes place in Sot de Chera, a little village nestled in the mountains of the surrounding national park. It is the third time the circus festival is held. Artists and visitors come from far to attend the festival. On Friday evening bonfires light up (and warm up!) the town. A music group meanders through the narrow streets. People gather and while dancing follow the musicians. At the small square of the town the orchestra stops.

The festival consist of a collaboration between Hogueras and the circus. Concerts, a market, parades, cabaret and fire make a wonderful mix and complete each other. The weekend is full of activities. A dazzling circus show with three sensual presenters, Czech jugglers with enormous moustaches, luminous hoops lighting up the stage in changing shapes.

Workshops in acro-yoga, urban dance and acrobatics. Devils walk through the streets while their fireworks rain down on the audience. The stalls on the market sell handmade soaps, cakes, incense and belts from recycled tires. Concerts from big bands to single singers fill big and small stages.

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Shared Treasure

Workshop Reflections

My indoctrination into Circus

My indoctrination into Circus

by Kerrin Tatman

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Kerrin was one of the participants of the CirqueMusic workshops in March 2015 in Newcastle, UK. The workshop was organised by partner Circus Central, and led by James Keay and David Insua-Cao from Gifford’s Circus. The following is the experience of Kerrin Tatman (UK): As February was filled with playwriting, March has been packed with circus. Since moving to Newcastle in January, my close friend Rosie Bristow has been pushing me to get involved with Circus Central – the home of circus in the North East.

Circus Central, officially the North East Circus Development Trust, is run by Helen ‘Madame La Bonche’ Averley and her partner Steve Cousins – a multi-purpose centre covering youth work, agency bookings, adult training, research, performance, national development, touring, and community outreach. I have mainly been involved with two strands of the company so far, by working with the youth group – the Five Ring Circus, and participating in the week-long Cirque Music ‘Zig-Zag Universal’ workshop.

I have always been interested in the many attributes of circus, especially from a musical composition and academic point of view, but was apprehensive of actually trying out some of the disciplines myself. But, with Rosie’s encouragement, I found myself attaching (albeit small) stilts to my legs in the first week of living in the city.

Although I tried, and succeeded, to stilt-walk for a short space of time, I was still unsure as to whether involving myself in the performance side of circus was for me; but decided to keep my options open. After all, this move to Newcastle was all about trying new things and finding my ‘niche’. I carried on coming to a couple of the open-Monday sessions to try different skills, particularly juggling, but mainly to accompany Rosie in her aerial act on various instruments. We did begin constructing the foundations for a double-act though, incorporating a duct-taped together double-ended accordion and a huge suit…

Alongside gingerly dabbling in circus performance I began assisting Rosie with her tailoring business, Bristow and Sister – ‘Unusual Outfitters’, which specialises in designing and creating bespoke costumes for circus folk and other performers. As well as aiding her with all administration duties, I have so far helped make a giant lycra cube, stilt straps and a clown ruff.

CirqueMusic Week It wasn’t until March that I became properly enthusiastic about the whole thing, due to taking part in the Cirque Music workshop, led by the wonderful David Insua-Cao and James Keay of Gifford’s Circus. This week of marrying music with circus was the brainchild of Rosie, who encouraged the company director Helen to facilitate it in Newcastle, and with funding secured from the European Network of Circus Interchange (ENCI) it became a reality. I was especially excited to take part as I had previously worked with David as his musical director for the Research and Development 2 of Whole Hog Theatre‘s Princess Mononoke in London, early 2014, and knew what an amazing percussionist he is. Rosie had also been singing the praises of Gifford’s Circus for years after she worked with them one summer as a set design and box office assistant. As the

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Shared Treasure

Workshop Reflections

My indoctrination into Circus

workshop was part of ENCI’s international program, it meant artists from across Europe travelled to Newcastle to take part, and we had representatives from Belgium, the Czech Republic, Italy, Hungary and France.

The week’s aim was to look at as many different ways of incorporating music into a circus setting as possible, and in particular integrating it into acts in more ways than just as a accompaniment. We spent a lot of time improvising with aerialists, unicyclists, jugglers and clowns to explore different ways to do this. Some techniques included the musicians following the action, the performers following the musicians, the musicians picking particular body parts to illustrate, the performers choosing different instruments to mimic – we found countless ways of exploring this exciting inter-disciplinary platform. Rosie and myself had been attending a weekly improvisational dance and music workshop since February atDance City, so found these experimentations really useful as an extension of that. It was interesting using these methods with children, amateurs and semi-professionals alike throughout the week, and I found it rewarding, albeit challenging, to tailor what we were doing to suit the level of the group involved in a session.

The week began with Rosie holding a workshop on hat making, so that we all felt unified as a band. This worked really well as an ice-breaker before we had even picked up any instruments and we wore the hats throughout the week, both in performance and in rehearsal, to show our unity. This worked particularly well when we expanded outside into Newcastle city centre and performed samba band tunes up and down Northumberland Street.

The most useful strand of the week for me was getting the chance to develop our own acts, as we were split into groups and each had to participate in at least three of the nine shorts being created. The aim was to think as much as possible outside the box and use music in unique ways with circus. Some of the things that participants came up with were truly amazing – from the comical, the musical, and the dramatic – and there was a real range of ideas on show. At the end of the week we put on a scratch-cabaret evening and performed these constructed acts to an audience.

I would say this week-long workshop was essential to my musical and artistic development, and it really opened some possibilities to me that I thought I would not be able to really participate in previously. As well as enthusing me about circus, it aided my improvisational, compositional and musical director skills, and I am now raring to compose a score for a circus production.

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Workshop Reflections

Circus and Multimedia

Circus and Multimedia

by Barbora Adolfová

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The Circus and Multimedia workshop was organised by Cirqueon in association with the Faculty of Design and Art at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Czech Republic in February 2015. Here organiser Barbora Adolfová talks about the project: Based on previous cooperation of Cirqueon and the Arts and Design Faculty in Pilsen, we proposed to organise a workshop connecting circus skills and multimedia techniques. We brought a group of 17 international circus people consisting of jugglers, aerialists, acrobats, dancers, tight wire walkers, one musician and one lighting designer and mixed them with students of multimedia and animation. In the end, the group grew up to 25 participants! They were divided to four smaller groups working on their own little projects that were to be presented on the last day. All teams consulted their work with French theatre director and dramaturg Véronique Caye who was invited to lead the workshop.

The themes chosen by teams were “Voices” focusing on the inner voices of performers before their acts, “Numbers” working with Pythagoras´ theory of importance of numbers in geometry and all nature.

“Dream team” tried to find the boundaries between dreaming and reality and “Line” performance chose digital noise and affects of technical development on human relationships.

First two days were hectic and a little nervous but during third day all teams found their way and were successfully working on the presentations. Fourth day was more about technical details and finishing of video materials. The last day we went through technical run-trough, set up all lights, projectors and circus equipment and invited students from the university to see what we did in only four days.

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RESOURCES AND FURTHER READING

www.circusnetwork.eu

www.circusgames.net

thecircusdictionary.com

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This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication

[communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held

responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

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