Swamp Circus Trust
Background Information
For 20 years The Swamp Circus Trust has provided training facilities, classes and shows in physical performance for community access. The Swamp Circus Trust provides training facilities, classes and shows in physical performance for community access. The project originated in Sheffield in 1986 and continues to work with a wide range of inner city projects, focussing in particular with young people subject to disadvantage and special needs groups. Our work promotes physical fitness, encourages group participation and cooperation, raises confidence and encourages the development of ommunication through sharing and learning comedy, movement, motor and balance skills. ‘Circus’ is a term used to describe performance that includes comedy, dance, mime, theatre, mask-work, puppetry, dance, acrobatics, costume and prop making, circus skills (stilts, juggling, clown, balancing) and music.
Why we exist
The work of Swamp Circus Trust is striving to benefit communities through circus and theatre activities.
Aims:
- To provide training facilities and classes in new (non-animal) circus and physical theatre (these include juggling, mime, acrobatics, aerial, balance, dance, movement and other activities related to new circus and physical theatre and expression and are hereafter referred to as ‘new circus’).
- To develop training courses in new circus to be recognised and accredited by training agencies and educational bodies
- To enable the development of co-ordination and motor skills amongst people who would not normally develop their full potential through conventional games and sports
- To promote and develop the therapeutic and educational qualities of new circus amongst the disadvantaged of all abilities and disabilities.
- To work for the benefit of the community by encouraging and providing opportunities for learning and participating in new circus regardless of age, sex, ability and origins
- To work towards animal welfare and communicate all positive steps for the preservation of our natural environment
How our work benefits South Yorkshire
The work of Swamp Circus Trust is aimed at the social regeneration of South Yorkshire. These projects can contribute towards addressing crime, unemployment and disillusionment.
Personal Development
Through developing personal development skills such as confidence, team working and teaching the processes of learning our community circus projects contribute to developing the employment and educational prospects.
Social issues
These projects can also effective deeper social problems such as crime through engaging and distracting young people who might otherwise be engaged in destructive tendencies.
The perceived danger of circus skills make our activities very effective at reaching young people who are disinterested in many activities and disengaged with school.
Education
Our workshops can help young people develop their understanding of the processes of learning. For example through breaking down seemingly impossible or difficult tasks such as juggling into small achievable steps young people begin to realise how to learn more complex tasks. This process can then be applied to other areas of learning. Through developing participants confidence about their ability to learn and achieve, they are more likely to access other forms of learning later on. Performances can raise awareness over issues that concern the world today and make these easier to comprehend. For example our ‘My green House’ TIE show teaches about environmental issues linked to national curriculum areas in science and geography.
Regeneration
The arts in general are a very powerful tool in regeneration. Through developing the image of a locality and the pride of residents the arts bring massive social and economic benefits. It is claimed that for every £1 invested in the arts an additional £9 of additional revenue is generated to the surrounding area through related business activity. We believe that due to the highly visible nature of our work and the specific focus of our activities that every £1 invested in our work by our clients and funders bring considerably more.
Fun
this isn’t just a service for select people though, every one can benefit from the teaching and social values that come out of having fun and meeting new people, if it’s used for keeping pupils minds off school, a day out with a youth club or just for a communal fun day, this proves to be an enjoyable and beneficial experience.
Community Circus Projects
We have been running successful community circus projects in South Yorkshire since 1986. These have been primarily focussed on benefiting communities. Following the success of the first stage of their Performance East community circus project Swamp Circus announce phase 2, and this time we plan to make it even better. We are now short listing groups to work with us on this next exciting stage of the project.
Partnership
If you represent a community or youth group in South Yorkshire and would like to work with us on a future project please get in touch with us at our Rotherham Office.
Future Projects include:
Eastern Steel – This is an Educational Circus project that will look into this history of the Asian Community in South Yorkshire and their work in the steel industry.
Engagement Through Circus – This project aims to connect young people with physical regeneration projects.
TIE (Theatre in Education) - using circus skills as a metaphor to illustrate issue based theatre.