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Circus has proved to be a huge growth area in Northern Ireland. Will Chamberlain explains how circus skills are providing common ground for young people from different walks of life.

Aerial skills training at Belfast Community Circus School

Twenty-five years ago, with Belfast at the height of the Troubles, two young teachers had the notion that what Northern Ireland really needed was a healthy dose of New Circus. In founding the Belfast Community Circus School, Donal McKendry and Mike Moloney could not have imagined the impact circus would have on the cultural landscape of Northern Ireland. It was clear from the outset that circus was able to deliver something very special for the young people of Northern Ireland. For ten years we have delivered community circus experiences for young people from both sides of the divide. We use circus as a dynamic way of bringing young people together in a positive, supportive, creative adventure. The many thousands of young people from across Northern Ireland who have benefited from the opportunity to step away from the conflict and find a welcome in the circus family are a testament to our success.

In 1999, the path of circus in Northern Ireland was changed forever when Belfast Community Circus School secured its premises. A derelict warehouse in the heart of the city centre was renovated for the purpose of becoming Ireland’s only dedicated circus building. The first year was spent running the world’s first full-time training course for community circus teachers. This resulted in 20 graduates emerging in May 2000 equipped with the skills and passion to deliver circus work with young people and to work on their own artistic performances. In the nine years which followed, we have seen the work of the Belfast Community Circus School increase ten-fold. This has involved a massive expansion of our work with children and young people to the point where we have a regular membership of 200 and an outreach programme working with a further 150 young people each week. Our members receive training from the most dedicated team of teachers I have encountered in 25 years working in the field. This training continues to help participants’ personal development, but also opens a whole range of other opportunities – the chance to perform alongside top international professionals in the Festival of Fools in Belfast; the opportunity to travel and participate on youth exchange programmes in Europe, Latin America and Australia; and the opportunity to participate in a peer education programme which can lead to professional engagements as teachers. This profusion of opportunities combined with word of mouth has generated a waiting list which now exceeds 500 names and shows every sign of increasing.

As part of the plans for the future, Belfast Community Circus School has just hosted the first Celtic Youth Circus Exchange. This brought together young people from Wales, Cornwall and the Republic of Ireland to spend a week in Belfast creating a new show and laying the foundations for an annual co-operation which has the potential to expand into a project including young people from Scotland and Brittany, and which could perform at the 2012 Olympics in London and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. But grand as it might be to feature in Cultural Olympiads or Commonwealth Games, we know that the real significance of our work happens here in Northern Ireland. We know that through bringing together people from different religious, political and economic backgrounds and creating new friendships and experiences, circus has had a lifelong impact on our young people, for our audiences and for Northern Ireland. The circus has come to town, and it’s here to stay.

Will Chamberlain is Director of the Belfast Community Circus School.
w: http://www.belfastcircus.org; http://www.foolsfestival.com