Performance company Circa has launched a new project in Queensland for people with disability to learn circus skills and techniques. The series of month-long workshops and participant performances will be held in Brisbane, Cairns, Ipswich and the Gold Coast, from March 1.
This new initiative from CircAbility, is a collaboration between local artists and disability community members, that enables participants to stretch limits, discover capacities and enjoy social contact.
CircAbility, artistic director, Yaron Lifschitz, said the program brings the experience of circus to people with a disability.
“We have worked closely with members of the community to tailor a program that is accessible, inclusive and impactful. We would love to grow this initiative into an ongoing program, that celebrates the potential in everyone.”
Leading the project is Circa resident director, Laura Hansford, writer and director of Opera Queensland’s touring production Are You Lonesome Tonight, who described CircAbility as a union of everything exciting about circus. “The circus is a binding agent, a place where you learn to trust and be trusted, to encounter risk amongst friends knowing you will be caught, held and lifted.”
Circa’s team has worked in partnership with a group of artists living with disability to create a structured program for all abilities. A range of low sensory classes are available throughout the program and all of the host venues were chosen with accessibility in mind.
Programs may be eligible for NDIS funding.
Circa Contemporary Circus has performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) and London’s Barbican Centre as well as major Australian festivals.
Workshop details:
Brisbane:March 1-25: Brisbane Powerhouse Stores
Ipswich: March 29-April 23: Studio 188
Gold Coast: May 3-28: HOTA Studio 1
Cairns: May 30-June 25: Cairns CBD
To register and for more information go to: www.circa.org.au/circability
Image: Jan Button