Premier’s Coca Cola Active Lifestyle Scholarship
Circus skills—An alternative to team
sports and conventional physical
education for reluctant exercisers
Michelle Carr
Robert Townson Public School, Raby
Sponsored by
‘Circus is Physical Education.’
—Donal McKendry,
Australian co-founder
of the Belfast Community Circus,
Northern Ireland
Circus skills consist of a variety of performance skills mainly divided into four distinct
areas of:
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Acrobatics—tumbling, balance and contortion;
Aerobatics—flying/ static trapeze, ropes, silks, webs;
Manipulation—juggling, diablo, stilts, rola-bola, globe, unicycle, poi;
Clowning—drama, comedy and mime.
Since my current school, Robert Townson Public School, began a circus troupe within
our creative and performing arts program every Tuesday afternoon I have noticed that
children who are reluctant to participate in physical education lessons and team sports
were more than willing to get involved in the many circus activities provided in this
session. These non-competitive and non-threatening activities provided the children with
different choices and therefore they didn’t seem to notice that they were involved in
physical activity.
Most American states and Canadian provinces have at least one circus school or access
to circus skills via a travelling troupe. There is even an Hawaiian school which travels to
public and private schools on the mainland sharing the circus experience. There is an
abundance of summer camps available to all ages, many of them totally devoted to the
teaching of circus skills and others providing some circus activities in their summer
holiday programs (flying trapeze being a popular drawcard). Due to the length of the
summer vacation many children attend a wide variety of camps and workshops. These
facilities are essential in large cities as many families live in apartment blocks and there
are few or no places for children to play, let alone participate in physical fitness activities
that will entice them away from their playstations.
Circus schools
Several different types of circus schools were visited. These are outlined and described in
the following table:
Government sponsored
circus schools
San Francisco School of
Circus Arts
National Circus School,
Montreal, Canada
Community-based circus
schools
Belfast Community Circus
Privately owned and run
circus schools
Toronto School of Circus Arts
Cirkids, Vancouver, Canada
Seattle School of Acrobatics
and New Circus Arts
There are also travelling circus troupes and circus schools available to come to schools
for teacher training and student workshops, such as Hawaii’s Hiccup Circus.
Focus of the study
My research focused on enticing reluctant students to get involved with physical fitness
by engaging them in activities that were fun and non-competitive to improve health and
mobility, providing one strategy for combating childhood obesity. Many of the schools I
visited catered for children with special needs, such as those with hearing impairments,
physical and/or intellectual disabilities. Some, mostly the community-based schools,
conducted outreach programs for children from low socioeconomic districts and public
schools, as well as for street kids and “at risk” youth. These programs were made
possible through local council, state and national grants, public and private sector
donations and/or sponsorship.
Most of the big cities I visited provided very few playgrounds and even less green space
for children to play in. Almost all of the cities’ populations lived in apartment blocks;
therefore, they had no backyards, so people were seeking healthy ways to entertain their
children and allow them to exercise within the confines of limited space.
We are breeding generations of couch potatoes who have forgotten how to have good, clean
fun. Circus gets them out of their living rooms and away from video games and television.
—Decker LaDouceur, Toronto School of Circus Arts
Belfast Community Circus, Northern Ireland
The Belfast Community Circus was the best example of a circus that provides for
everyone, regardless of race, religion or ability level. Their vast outreach programs, held
in local community halls or big tops in parks, allow children to attend twelve-week
workshops free of charge, resulting in a performance enjoyed by the whole community,
even in remote regions. They run programs in all types of schools, catering to all students
needs and providing them the opportunity to display the children’s talents culminating in
a production held for parents and family members.
I hope that in another 20 years time, it will be more likely that the world will know
Belfast for its extraordinary circus, than for the odd night of rioting.
—Will Chamberlain, Director, Belfast Community Circus
A sample session at Belfast Community Circus would include:
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A running game warm up;
Stretching and balancing;
Rotation through apparatus, for example, static trapeze, aerial hoops, silks, webs,
tumbling and acrobatics;
Manipulation—rotation through hand-held apparatus, for example, juggling balls,
unicycle, rola-bola, chair balancing, hat and ball balancing;
Clowning routines;
Cool down and bonding session.
San Francisco Circus Centre, United States
The mission of the San Francisco School of Circus Arts is to inspire passion for circus
arts through training, performance and community outreach programs.
—Circus Centre Spring Schedule, 2006
The centre is funded by national grants and contributions from private companies. They
have both a professional circus troupe and a youth circus. Profits from performances are
used to buy new equipment and costumes and to provide world-class teaching staff.
Government art scholarships are available for talented individuals from all around the
country to attend the National Circus School in San Francisco.
Sponsorship by loyal arts-devoted companies can also help individuals who are living
away from home to study circus arts. Fees paid by professional circus performers who
wish to use the centre’s facilities and train with master trainers from China, Russia,
Canada and Australia also contribute to the maintenance and running costs of this
incredible facility.
A board of directors controls the decision-making and directs funds into the necessary
areas. Funds are raised from regular performances by the youth circus, the Pickles Family
Circus, corporate events and festivals. They employ six administrative staff and 14 fulland part-time specialist coaches from famous circuses such as Barnum and Bailey and
Cirque du Soleil. They also promote an at-risk youth program (funded by local
foundations) for young people, developing self-confidence, self-esteem, teamwork skills
and trust in others. Children showcase skills learned in annual public performances such
as Stars of Tomorrow.
Aviatuia is a program for women and girls who have experienced violence to help their
recovery process. Clown conservatory students visit nursing homes and hospital
paediatric care units. San Francisco Circus regularly stages shows for community festivals
and civic celebrations, and provides scholarships to low-income and disadvantaged
children to attend workshops as well as nine-week annual summer camps.
The Pickles Family Circus distributes free tickets to organisations supporting the
homeless, seniors, low-income families, people with disabilites, aids victims, at-risk youth
and disadvantaged schools to attend their annual shows.
These programs are the cornerstones of the circus communities outreach benefits. Many
participants go on to become performers, coaches and directors of circus companies.
Children start at the same skill level, progress and achieve together discovering their
strengths and their common humanity. Circus is a powerful means to build community.
—www.circuscenter.com
A sample session at San Francisco Circus Centre would include:
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Warm up games;
Acrobatics and contortion;
Hand balancing;
Tumbling;
Individual routines practice;
Aerial skills;
Clowning skills;
Cool down.
Circus training has given me discipline and focus that carries through all aspects of life.
—Joel Baker, Clown Conservatory student, San Francisco Circus Centre
Acrosports, Physical Performance and Circus Arts,
San Francisco
Since Acrosports (www.acrosports.org) began in 1993, they have been striving to provide
entertaining physical performances to the community. They provide classes and
workshops in gymnastics, physical conditioning and circus arts. They hold specialty
circus camps and offsite performances and workshops called Acro Around Town.
Today, their City Circus is a high-level circus troupe of 11 multiskilled young and aspiring
artists ranging in age from 10 to 19. City Circus performs regularly for preschools,
schools, nursing homes, street festivals and special events.
City Circus bounds through acts with a vibrancy and skill of true professionals.
—Dave Roe, circusnews.com
A sample class at Acrosports would include:
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Fitness and conditioning warm-up;
Tumbling track;
Dance;
Rhythmic gymnastics;
Ability groups;
Recital practice.
Acrosports Annual Recital Practice for ‘Where the Wild Thing Are’.
A tumbling session at Cirkids, Vancouver, Canada.
Cirkids Vancouver, Canada
Cirkids was founded by a group of parents who took their children to see the Flying
Fruit Fly Circus from Albury, Australia, who were performing in Vancouver for the
children’s festival. They decided to form Cirkids to give their children a once in a lifetime
chance to perform in a circus troupe.
As a nonprofit organisation, Cirkids remains true to its original values of collaboration
and inclusiveness (Cirkids Core Program 2005–2006).The core program runs for 10
months of the year, with group and individual instruction for people aged 5 to 21
finishing each year in December with a Cirkids showcase for parents and friends. The
children are instructed in all circus skills but also encouraged to develop their own
routines in favourite areas.
A sample session at Cirkids would include:
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Warm up ball game;
Dance routine (ex-Cirque du Soleil choreographer);
A strengthening session with balancing and stretching ;
Group rotation through:
o Acrobatics, skills and routines,
o Hand balancing,
o Static and flying trapeze,
o Ropes and silks,
o Manipulation/juggling, diabolo, rola-bola, globe, unicycle, stilt walking, poi,
o Clowning routines;
Warm down and stretching;
Discussion and feedback.
Two talented Cirkids performers were selected to join the National Circus School
(L’Ecole National Du Cirque), which is located on the same enormous site that houses
the many buildings comprising the ultimate in circus arts, Cirque du Soleil, based in
Montreal.
I was privileged to witness the annual performance of the National Circus School of
Canada, where students from all over the country had been preparing for at least a year
to display the talents and skills they had gained at this world-class complex. A high
percentage of the graduates of this circus academy are invited to join Cirque du Soleil or
other famous circus shows throughout the world. The school draws from all over
Canada, where each province or state has a least one circus school, even as far away as
Nova Scotia.
Since the success of the world renowned Cirque du Soleil, circus arts have become a
favourite pastime for many Canadian children and adults alike. Contemporary circus
troupes, which embrace all of the performing arts, are popping up all over a country.
Circus arts have a high profile in Canada and are regularly seen in shopping centres, at
conventions, at festivals and on television. Understandably, businesses are keen to back
these unique, extremely creative schools, with further government funding freely
available to all of the arts throughout Canada. With Cirque du Soleil currently showing 15
different shows all over the world, it has become a very lucrative business and therefore
gives grants to smaller companies, and with its own interests in mind, also funds the
National Circus School, a grant of $ C 1.75 million per year.
Toronto School of Circus Arts, Canada
Some of the worlds best circus performers have gone into business for themselves,
tapping into a fitness market that is being keenly promoted as television and video games
make couch potatoes of Canadian children.
Decker LaDouceur, chief executive officer of the Toronto School of Circus Arts, was
working in Byron Bay, Australia when he first experienced the flying trapeze. He went on
to become a world-class performer, travelling to many countries as a member of
professional circus troupes. On returning to his home town of Toronto with his physical
education trained wife, Decker began a circus school in an old warehouse. Today it is a
school for professional performers, circus troupes, youth and young children, as well as
providing fitness and strengthening classes for the general public.
This is an essential business in a concrete jungle like Toronto, full of tall buildings and
apartment blocks, with very little green space for children to play.
It also houses Decker’s Cirque Sublime performance troupe. Busloads of tourists seek out
this unique facility for flying trapeze experience workshops, which help to keep the
school financially successful. Cirque Sublime performs at corporate functions and their
unique, contemporary brand of circus arts is used for team building in the education and
private sectors. Decker acts as a circus arts consultant who is available to design and
create practical circus schools and performance venues.
A sample session at the Toronto School of Circus Arts would include:
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Aerobic warm-up;
Strengthening and conditioning;
Equipment rotation (using lowered ropes and trapeze for younger students);
Performance routines;
Improvisation.
Seattle School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts, United
States
The mission of the Seattle School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts (SANCA) is to
improve the mental and physical health of children of all ages by engaging them in the
joyous creativity of acrobatics and circus arts.
—www.astort.com/sanca
In Seattle this incredible school is dedicated to the fitness of all children from the ages of
2 to 20, but specifically caters for younger children. The preschool class is equipped with
a multitude of brightly coloured foam shapes, mats and padded equipment, creating a
safe, visually stimulating environment focusing on exploration, gross motor skills and
social development by developing balance, coordination, flexibility and self-expression.
A sample session for preschoolers included:
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Circle time—a dance/drama warm-up;
Creative movement ;
Stretching and balance;
Obstacle course—using nets, rope, mini-trampolines and climbing equipment;
Free play;
Warm down.
A sample workshop for elementary students would include:
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Aerobic warm-up;
Dance/expression;
Tumbling using trampolines;
Ropes course;
Manipulation groups—using globes, rola-bola, juggling, unicycle and stilts;
Act development.
A sample program for high school students would include:
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Improvisation warm-up;
Pilates/stretching;
Balancing;
Strengthening and conditioning;
Acrobatics;
Aerobatics.
Students have many performance opportunities, such as community shows and festivals
and showcasing their talents at the popular Space Needle Science Complex, Seattle’s
foremost tourist attraction for children.
What does this mean for NSW schools?
My research showed that circus skills are indeed one answer to physically educating both
reluctant exercisers and children with special needs who are unable or unmotivated to
participate in competitive team sports and conventional physical education programs.
Circus skills provide such a variety of activities that can be modified for the needs of all
children.
Teachers and school administrators need to be aware of the expertise and funding
available to them to launch new, motivational programs such as circus skills. All of the
schools I visited were made possible because of the availability of grants, handed out to
schools to run programs for children, especially those at risk of obesity.
Applying for these grants takes time, which I realise is precious to teachers, so I think
government bodies should be allocating funds to schools who want to make a difference
instead of watching students avoid physical education lessons.
Children who don’t like team games at school, who are made to feel different, come
together and become part of group that gives them identity, fulfilment and enrichment.
—Mike Molony, co-founder of the Belfast Community Circus, 2005
My memory of P.E. at school was that the great ungifted, the overweight, the speccy ones
were left to the fringes of any activity.
—Donal McKendry, co-founder of the Belfast Community Circus, 1995
There are implications for schools to adopt a change of attitude to conventional sports
programs, and yet there are obvious drawbacks to setting up such radical new schemes in
both high school and primary school settings. These are identified in the plus–minus–
interesting chart that follows.
Plus
*Inclusiveness
*Appeals to all levels of fitness
*Choice of activities
*Variety of disciplines
*Non-competitive
*Performance opportunities
are endless
*Difficult skills can be
modified/lowered
*Manipulation skills require
no formal training from
teachers
*Manipulation equipment is
inexpensive and easy to
acquire and store
Minus
*Cost of technical equipment
is expensive
*More difficult skills require
coaching expertise
*High levels of skills needed
*Safety apparatus needs to be
installed
*Need of permanent space to
set up equipment
*Maintenance of equipment
*Time to set up equipment
*Dedication of staff may not
be ongoing
*Time constraints on other
key learning areas
Interesting
*Grants available from local,
state and federal governments
*Little disciplinary action
needed
*Mixed religions put aside
differences
*Scope of experiences are
endless
* New and improved
apparatus readily available
online
*Consultants available to help
you get started
*Circus skills are more readily
available overseas
Conclusion
My research took me to amazing circus schools with dedicated staff in foreign settings in
four different countries over three continents. I found that there was one element of
physical education consistent with every class I witnessed and every school I visited, and
that was engagement.
Younger students are able to engage in many varied manipulation skills as well as
modified acrobatics, balance and possibly even basic aerial skills, such as static and flying
trapeze, aerial hoops, ropes and silks on equipment lowered for amateur learners.
Although daunting, setting up a circus skills program can definitely become a reality in
any school. We need to offer children an alternative, to capture those individuals who
have fallen through the physical fitness net. All it takes to set up a circus skills program is
committed staff and a long-term plan, including an ongoing budget from the key learning
areas of Physical Education/ Health/Personal Development and Creative and
Performing Arts. A simple plan for starting a circus program would be:
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Juggling with bean bags, scarves and batons;
Homemade stilts and rola-bolas;
Unicycles;
Globes;
Spinning plates;
Poi;
Clowning routines.
Add to this some colourful costumes, make-up, and music and quite simply you have a
school circus troupe complete with very motivated, excited and willing students.
Something about Circus which is different from a lot of other youth activities is there’s a
real sense of celebration.
—Donal Kendry, co-founder, Belfast Community Circus