The Warehouse Circus is putting on the Canberra Circus Festival all this week. Photo: Warehouse Circus, Facebook.
After three-and-a-half decades of juggling, tumbling and trapeze, Canberra’s very own circus group has one big wish for its 35th birthday: a purpose-built circus centre.
“We teach over 540 students in a given week. We’re running out of space to do it and running out of time,” artistic director Tom Davis says.
“What we really need is a custom space.”
The not-for-profit youth circus currently operates out of the Chifley Health and Wellbeing Hub and offers a full-blown circus elective for years 7–10 at Kaleen High School.
But Tom says the demand has long outstripped the facilities.
Training in the Warehouse Circus’ current HQ in Chifley. Photo: Warehouse Circus, Facebook.
“The South Australian Circus Centre or Flying Fruit Fly Circus in Albury are all massive buildings because we need height and width, and we need heaps of rigging points in the floor,” he says.
“There are five or six different aerial apparatus for ground to air, teeter board, pole, straps, dance trapeze, and then all the acrobatics. To accommodate everyone that’s enrolled, we need more room.”
A teenager founded Warehouse Circus in 1990. It has since grown into one of the country’s longest-running youth circuses and receives funding from the ACT Government’s Health and Community Services directorates. Its motto is simple: positively transform lives using the tools of the circus.
“Because it’s a really diverse set of skills – juggling, aerials, acrobatics – it captures so many different interests. You can view it as a sport, you can view it as an art, you can view it as both,” Tom says.
“It’s very physical, but you’re not in competition with anyone. Other kids find that it’s a non-competitive and supportive environment. So even though there’s space for soloists, they fit into a larger ensemble.
“It’s also really good for the ADHD-style kids, kids who just need to sit and fidget. They can get moving, follow their muses, find something they’re drawn to. And if they get bored, there’s always another apparatus waiting.”
Warehouse Circus puts on a major show every year and sends performers to various Canberra events. Photo: Warehouse Circus, Facebook.
Over the years, Warehouse Circus has produced performers who’ve gone on to train at Melbourne’s National Institute of Circus Arts and work with some of the biggest names in the industry.
“We’ve got graduates working in Circa, Gravity and Other Myths, Circus Oz, and French-Canadian company Cirque du Soleil,” Tom says.
“Some have made their own companies, others run youth circuses in other towns. And still others use circus indirectly – self-confidence, physical coordination – in a lot of different ‘normal’ jobs.”
It’s not all training either. Each year, Warehouse’s advanced troupe puts on at least one major production; every two years it hosts the Canberra Circus Festival.
This year’s festival is in full swing at the Chifley Community Oval with a jam-packed program including BMX trick shows, vaudeville acts, magic, pirate adventures and the debut of CIRCOSCOPE, a professional company formed to give local artists more opportunities.
One of the highlights, the festival’s free market day invites families to take part in workshops, watch performances and browse local stalls.
“You can turn up and we can try to teach you something. In a day, you might decide you love it and keep coming, or you might just have fun,” Tom says.
Circus is offered as a bona fide elective at Kaleen High School. Photo: Warehouse Circus, Facebook.
Alongside its dream for a new circus centre, Warehouse also wants to move into accredited training in the coming years.
“We’ve just purchased an RTO – a registered training organisation. We’ve started the Hand to Hand Academy and the goal is to increase the amount of accredited circus programs we can offer,” Tom says.
“There are plenty of artists who want to stick around in Canberra, so they default to hobbyists when they’d probably prefer a career. We want to be able to give them that piece of paper that will be recognised everywhere.”
For now, other schools apart form Kaleen have expressed interest in offering the circus elective while Warehouse Circus continues to lobby for grant funding. But Tom says the work is worth it.
“I really love the festival. It’s a lot of hard work and we really struggle with trying to get it funded enough.
“But it’s just a culmination of everything I love about circus. It’s community, family, diversity, inclusivity and creativity … and just really fun to watch and do.”
Visit the Canberra Circus Festival website for the full program of events.
