Education Russia Project #46276

Circus for disadvantaged youth

by ANO Upsala-Zirk

Project Report | May 11, 2021
Winter in Upsala Circus

By Victoria Sarycheva | Project Leader

During January-March 2021 the funds that were raised via GlobalGiving were used to partially cover the costs of the winter camp and training sessions of the children and teenagers of the Upsala Circus Hooligan and Inclusive Projects. The winter camp was organized for the first-year artists of the Hooligan Circus Project (program for teenagers from social risk group). Funds, that were raised also via GlobalGiving, were used to rent house and purchase food for the participants, pay fees for the trainers and to make costumes and buy equipment for new performances.

Through the fundraising activities Upsala Circus achieved following results by the end of the 1^st quarter 2021:

67 children and teenagers attended circus classes on a regular basis
171 training sessions on circus disciplines, choreography, rhythm, acting classes, acrobatics were held for children from all groups
9 inclusive workouts were conducted together with children and teenagers with disabilities and with the participation of children and adolescents with disabilities and their neurotypical peers
1 winter camp — 19 children and teenagers from the 1^st course of the Hooligan Circus participated in winter camp that was organize in Leningrad regions
11 online trainings and 9 street workouts were organized for all hooligans during the quarantine period in 2021
We conducted 1 master class on game technologies for coaches for the Upsala-Circus Trainers

Circus Inclusive Project

For the period from 01.01 to 31.03.2021

33 children attended circus classes on a regular basis
113 training sessions on circus disciplines were conducted offline

Plays and performances

We showed our repertoire performances "Pirosmani's Dreams" and "Feathers" 7 times at our circus tent

Hooligans from the 3^rd-year 2 times showed concert program for children from NGOs "Anton is here nearby" and "Children of St. Petersburg"

Some stories from the first quarter of 2021

In January, one of our trainers — Gosha, held first offline training sessions. The session was organized outside our circus tent as any inside activities were forbidden due to Covid-19 restrictions. The first attempt of the outside winter training session was a success.

Despite temperature –7 C, the mat under the open air and a whole snow field provided many opportunities for creativity and experiments. Therefore, we kept on training outside our tent, on the streets of the city and in the yards near our artist’s houses.

Training outside in winter is certainly good, but have you tried returning to a warm tent after quarantine? We have, and it is wonderful! Children again rush to us after school, not leaving circus till nightfall, doors slam, shoe are all over the corridor.

Shortly after returning to offline trainings, teenagers and children from the first year of circus program went to camp. Camp program included basic disciplines — acrobatics and acting, as well as classes on circus genres: plastic art, pair acrobatics and aeromechanics, training sessions on balance that require calmness and unity of spirit, body and head.

For most children this is the first experience of such a long trip without parents - they are worried, but everyone is excited. From the first days of camp, it becomes clear that freshmen hooligans have a high level of team motivation and starting physical skills, so the "camp" quickly turns into an "art residence" and aims not only to form a team, but also to create a sketch for the first stage performance. This performance would be demonstrated during the 'Dedication to the Artist' scheduled on April 1st.

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Dec 3, 2020
Autumn in Upsala Circus

By Victoria Sarycheva | Fundraiser

Youngsters from Upsala-Circus don’t just study circus art and learn about friendship and acceptance. They also create new cultural products.

In August, we could not stay away from what is happening in the neighboring country. We made a video manifesto to support all brave people who want freedom and do it honestly and peacefully: https://youtu.be/M4-5g5jNT_g

Feathers
In September Upsala-Circus professional troupe (young men and women who graduated from Upsala-Circus social programs) presented a new performance Feathers.

In Feathers, the artists of Upsala-Circus explore the 90s (was this decade wild or free remains a question) and try to remember what kind of characters their grandparents were, what they tried to teach them, what made them happy and what they are remembered for, how they grew up and who taught them how to love. The artists are trying to understand how all these memories affect their current life.

https://youtu.be/aN6W3CFIfhw

Art laboratory

In September, we also started regular circus trainings for youngsters. Some of the classes were online.

Young artists spent the end of October in an inclusive art residence in the countryside. Together with a professional theater director, acrobatics trainer, choreographer and sound designer they created art laboratories and experiments every day to prepare a new circus performance. We hope to tell you more about it in the next report.

Carnival of death = celebration of life

For Halloween, teenagers prepared a festive carnival in the style of the Mexican El Día de Muertos. The show was directed by an artist of Cirque du Soleil Andrey Kislitsyn.

Youngsters presented what they had learned during the year and made an amazing open-air performance (funny and scary) for ordinary urban dwellers of St.Petersburg. Dressed in huge black jackets, decorated with red roses, with faces painted in the style of the real Day of the Dead... They juggled, walked on stilts, showed tricks and even improvised lambada dance with people.

Watch the video to feel the whole atmosphere of this crazy holiday:

https://youtu.be/kCQYlWr4UsE

Links:

The day before carnival (article in the Russian language)

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Aug 5, 2020
Once upon online

By Victoria Sarycheva | Fundraiser

Lusya learnt to ride a unicycle

Online circus activities for disadvantaged youth

End of Spring and beginning of Summer are usually very dynamic months as we end the circus season and get prepared for the Summer period. This year we improvised in online format and redesigned our activities. Our core goals were:

to support youngsters who survive social isolation
to provide direct help to those families of our youngsters whose financial stability had been shaken in the coronacrisis
to keep our relations with youngsters: we want them to know that they social distancing should not bring abandonment and despair; we wanted to maintain friendly and supportive environment for them
to promote further development of physical abilities, circus skills and creative potential of the youngsters

We managed to succeed! All these months we have been receiving empowering feedback from families. Parents told us that virtual trainings at Upsala-Circus was much more suitable and friendly for the teenagers then online school classes. We encouraged the youngsters not only keep but develop their abilities and skills as well (in juggling, stretching, acrobatics). We managed to produce creative results in two major circus groups: teenagers with Down syndrome and other mental and physical disabilities prepared their home circus video, and youngsters with at-risk social status prepared virtual dance performance.

Online peacemaking residence Rebels for Peace.Isolation

In July we organized our annual art residence Rebels for Peace in online format. During three weeks, youngsters from Russia and Germany (including teenagers from Afghani and Syrian refugee families) used creative methods of contemporary circus, sound design, dance and visual art to reflect on the phenomenon of social isolation — not only in times of global pandemic, but also in various unfavorable social circumstances (like isolation in prison or in closed social institutions). A short video from one of the art lab is available via the link.

We finished the residence with online streaming of virtual content created in art labs — in St. Petersburg and Berlin simultaneously.

Circus by the windows

In the times of overall lockdown Upsala-Circus professional troupe (young men and women who graduated from Upsala-Circus social programs) performed by the windows of the closed social institutions, hospitals and residential houses where children with disabilities, elderly people and cancer patients live. A 1.5-minute video from one of the performances is full of light and hope.

Circus performance by the windows

ZOOM circus camp

Outdoor circus training

Circus girls

Links:

Circus never stops (article in the Russian language)

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