Circus has the power to bring people together, no matter their culture, language or background.
How it all began…
The travelling circus brought dazzling performance art to people where they were, uniting rich and poor, old and young, under the canvas of the big top. Its power to break down social barriers gave two Belfast pioneers a brainwave.
It was 1985 and the Troubles were raging across a city divided by walls and mindsets. Donal McKendry and the late Mike Moloney had been trying to engage young people in theatre workshops. “The kids weren’t that interested in being ‘blades of grass’ because in the evening they were out rioting, ripping off lead roofs, throwing petrol bombs,” Donal remembered. They realised that for these kids, drama didn’t have enough challenge. They needed something that was physical, and that provided the kind of adrenaline rush they had become hooked on. And it worked.
OUR FIRST OUTREACH PROGRAMMES +
The first Saturday circus workshops were held at Ormeau Park Recreation Centre and kids were bussed in from some of the most troubled parts of the city to learn juggling, stilt walking and acrobatics. Before long, children from opposite sides of the divide had learned to work together, cooperate and form close friendships.
Word spread fast and soon social workers were asking for workshops for children in care homes. "There were so many kids coming in from care homes, around 1988 we set up Circus 1 to 3 in St Pat’s Training School (a care home for boys) because they were people who didn’t have their own family," Mike remembered. "They were adopted into this other family, and they achieved and were given recognition and encouragement."
SOCIAL CIRCUS REVOLUTION +
It was the beginning of a ‘social circus’ revolution which would eventually span the globe. Similar initiatives were springing up across the United States, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia as people discovered the power of circus as a tool for personal development and social inclusion. As pioneers of social circus, Mike Moloney and Donal McKendry were soon in demand in war-torn Bosnia. It was 1997 when a call came in from Sarajevo. "There was a person working in Sarajevo who wanted a circus group and they approached Cirque du Soleil. They said, we can’t do it but if you want somebody to help you, Belfast Community Circus will help. They are a frontier circus," they recalled. "Food was important to the kids, water was important for them, just the struggle to live was important. But they loved seeing us coming."
The Sarajevo project took place on the late Will Chamberlain’s watch. In post since 1996, he had already spearheaded social circus work in Manchester where inner city rioting had taken a toll. "I was struck by how advanced the work here was, the extent to which projects had developed and taken on their own life: Circus 1 to 3 and projects that had been going on in the Shankill. That was taking community circus to new levels as far as I was aware."
UNITING A DIVIDED CITY +
In 2004, Will had the inspired idea of putting on an annual circus and street theatre festival in Belfast to bring the divided city together. "We wanted to make it a place of celebration after so many years when the city centre was unsafe territory, and to declare that normality was here," he recalled. The Festival of Fools brought in top street acts from across Europe and beyond. "You had crowds of people across all age ranges, all social class backgrounds, every religious viewpoint, different ethnic minorities – not just one slice of arts-goers or one section of society, it was everybody. And literally, the streets did echo to the sounds of people’s laughter." That’s no small thing in a divided city.
INTERNATIONAL EXCELLENCE +
Under Will’s stewardship, Belfast exported its unique brand of social circus all over the world, travelling to Peru, Australia, the US, Canada, Denmark and Italy. Today, it has an unrivalled international reputation and is one of the most respected community circuses on the global social circus scene.
This commitment to international social circus, excellent pedagogy and trainer development remains central to the work of Circusful.
OUR FIRST DEDICATED SOCIAL CIRCUS OFFICER +
Hillas Smith has worked with BCCS for more than 20 years as a circus tutor and performer and is now a member of the core team as our Outreach Officer. One of his key projects has been with inmates of Hydebank Young Offenders’ Centre. "We brought a group of untrusting, suspicious young men on a journey of self-exploration and self-expression where they learned to trust us, the circus tutors, as well as each other and to gain in confidence sufficiently to get up in front of their peers and perform slapstick and comedy in an environment where being laughed at is a big cultural taboo."
His team has also done exceptional work with young adults with additional needs at Belfast Metropolitan College. "I have witnessed incredible transformation," he said. "It is extraordinary to see the incredible joy, and often surprise from these participants as they achieve feats that were way beyond what they could have imagined themselves doing at the beginning of the project — and the opportunity to then perform alongside internationally renowned street performers at our annual Festival of Fools is the icing on the cake.”
Hillas believes the social circus mission is the most important work BCCS does. "We provide an environment where children and young people are free to be themselves, without judgement, and can learn through the process of ‘try, fail and grow’ in a supportive atmosphere where everyone's successes are celebrated. This also applies to adults and by meeting participants where they are, we are able to engage with all abilities including those with special or additional needs, be they physical, mental or emotional."
BBC CHILDREN IN NEED FUNDED PROGRAMMES +
We have an important relationship with BBC Children in Need who fund some of our outreach work. Hillas leads this important work, through which we seek to bring young people from different communities together, we work to build trust, openness and understanding and to bring joy, creativity and an element of surprise.
Every Tuesday we bring young people from two different youth centres together, here in our building. We also offer a weekly class for a group of young adults with disabilities from Belfast Met and have been running our group in Suffolk for 13 years. These classes are all free at the point of access and whilst circus is the means by which we deliver the outcomes more commonly related to changes in behaviours, attitudes and relationships across communities.
Our outreach programme is now one of the largest of its kind
Our team is skilled at creating engaging content, bringing people in, ensuring success and creating connections between participants, even if they’ve never met before or come from different communities.
In 2019-20 over 1,000 children and young people took part in our outreach workshops and events. In 2020-21, in spite of the pandemic, we have worked with over 1,300 between April and September alone.
We tend to deliver outreach in three different ways…
Long-term weekly programmes, ranging from 1hr - 3hrs per week.
Medium-term programmes, with around 4 - 8 sessions at a time/date/frequency to suit you.
Short-term programmes or one off events, lasting an hour or a full day - the choice is yours.
…but we are always open to ideas and we are very ready to listen and to learn more about what you need. You can find out more from the Outreach section in the main menu.
If you would like to talk to us about an outreach programme or event for the children and young people you work with, fill in our enquiry form or give us a call on 028 9023 6007.
Social Circus (outreach)
Strategies and Impact
Our goals:
To improve young people’s resilience, health, self-esteem and ability to focus
To build their confidence to improve relationships within and between communities
Our challenges:
The existence in Belfast of more than 90 walls, barriers or interfaces which attest to continuing tensions and fears
Anxiety and division triggered by Brexit and the introduction of a customs border, wherever it may lie
A recent upsurge in paramilitary activity
Suicide rates of 18.5 per 100,000 in N Ireland compared with 9.2 in England.
The highest rates of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and physical inactivity in the UK
Chronic lack of confidence, problems with focus and listening, lack of trust in authority, and suspicion of those from other areas among vulnerable young people
Our methods and values:
Our participants’ needs are paramount
We boost confidence through the process of ‘Try, fail, grow’
We are flexible. When needs change, we adapt our programmes
Bespoke strategies
We tailor our social circus work to the needs of our partners and participants. Our expert tutor teams are flexible and will adapt the direction of a programme in response to changing needs.
One example of our bespoke strategies and flexibility is our work at Belfast Met where our cohort includes three wheelchair users. Our lead tutor worked with the group, the Met staff and the individuals to better understand their needs. As a result, all three wheelchair users have learned to walk on a tightwire.
Another example is our provision of home to project transport for young members of VOYPIC (Voice of Young People in Care). This is not something we normally offer, but when our team saw the need, they were quick to respond.
Our outcomes:
Young people’s resilience, esteem and ability to focus improve through our social programmes. They demonstrate:
An improved ability to focus and listen. This is clear from their behaviour when in a group, their attentiveness when things are explained and their patience in turn-taking.
Increased resilience, which means accepting that failure is part of successful learning. Other adults in their lives report that the ability to cope with failure is transferring to new places of learning/development.
Enhanced self-esteem. They develop the confidence to take part in public performances and play an active role in the creative process.
Enthusiasm for physical activity. Circus provides an enjoyable way into both cardiovascular and strength-building activity.
Teacher confidence and fulfilment. This is clear from the sheer number of tutors putting themselves forward for social circus work following completion of the training course.
By developing young people’s physical health, confidence, and ability to make good choices, circus helps them to bounce back and define their own future. In these communities, that is hugely important.
Our partners: Please see ‘Funders and Partners’ section