Grassroots - Episode 6 Galway Community Circus
This is episode 6 of ‘Grassroots’. This short form radio series is an Athena Media Production for Newstalk 106-108fm funded through the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland Sound and Vision Scheme. Radio producers Lisa Essuman and Robert Hope are traversing the country looking for local initiatives that are fuelling positive change from the ground up. This episode was recorded in Galway City where for the past decade a community initiative has been using the art of the circus to bring joy and fun to young people's lives. This episode was broadcast on Saturday December 15th on ‘Shenanigans with Sile’ between 12pm-2pm.
Below is a text transcription of the episode.
Galway Circus - Episode 6
(ACT=Actuality)
00:00 (Actuality: Kid’s noise, cycling) Fiachra Tutte: I’ve been doing Unicycle and juggling and tightrope and aerial, and the rope and Diablo. Diablo is two sticks with a string, and a thing of metal in it and you throw it up and try catch it on the string.
00:29 (ACT: Kid’s noise) Fiachra: I’m Fiachra Tutte and I’m 8 and I’m a member of the Galway community circus. (ACT: Kids noise, cycling and instructions) I’d like to travel around the world and be a member of the circus.
00:51 (ACT: Kid’s noise) Ulla Hokkanen: Galway community circus is a youth focused community circus, we teach young people circus skills such as acrobatics, juggling, cycling. Also we run some adult classes and we’ve recently started a weekly parent and toddler circus group as well. I’m Ulla Hokkanen from Finland and I’m the project manager of the Galway community circus.
(ACT: Kid’s noise, cheering)
01:18 (ACT: Kid’s noise) Ulla: What we are trying to achieve is to bring circus skills and circus arts to people of all ages in the community. People from all backgrounds. (ACT: Children running around) When I was growing up in Finland I was very involved in the youth circus over there. My parents founded a youth circus in my home village when I was 7 years of age and that kind of took the whole family into the world of circus and we never looked back. (ACT: Circus atmosphere, piano)
01:48 (ACT: Circus atmosphere) Ulla: It started when a group of local people decided there was a big need for circus arts training, especially for young people, as a form to promote healthy physical activity and non competitive after school activities for young people. And from there on it’s grown. (ACT: Ulla addressing group)
02:21 (ACT: Circus atmosphere) Matthew: I’m Matthew and I’m 8 years old and I’m a member of Galway community circus. Yeah I really wish they had circuses in my school. Because its really fun and they should have it in school hours, instead of homework you should have to do circus like doing cartwheels and front wheels in your back garden. (ACT: Kids noise)
02:41 (ACT: Kids noise) Matthew: I’ve met loads of friends here and they are all my best friends. I feel like I am going to be in the circus when I am older because I am good at it, its fun and I like it. (ACT: Music, Matthew enthusiastically describing activity)
03:02 (ACT: Circus atmosphere) Blue Hanley: I’ve always wanted to join the circusI’ve been pretty much obsessed with it since I was younger. When I got to join Galway community circus I was delighted. I’m Blue Hanley and I’m a senior member of Galway community circus. I’m on the board of management and I’m a substitute tutor. In classes I specialize in stilt walking and trapeze. (ACT: Blue teaching her class)
03:28 (ACT: Circus atmosphere) Blue: As a traditional circus fan, I always think of trapeze as been the original kind of aerials. Aerial is basically an umbrella term for the circus arts that are all involved somewhere above the ground. They are generally just basic props that are manipulated around the body like rope, trapeze, hoops and silks.
03:49 (ACT: Hazel teaching class) Hazel Crimmons: I got into circus just through evening classes, I used to be a graphic designer and I just started doing it as something to do in the evenings to get me active. And it was classic case of a hobby becomes an obsession which ends up been a career. I’m Hazel Crimmons and I’m the youth circus co-ordinator here at Galway community circus.
04:15 (ACT: Hazel teaching class) Hazel: It’s fantastic for the children, confidence and community is the main thing they get out of it. Its an active course so they’ve got physical improvements, health and fitness and co-ordination but than we are all challenging ourselves at different levels, were not working against each other were working towards each other.
04:40 (ACT: Hazel teaching class) Hazel: It’s great for children that might not be so academic, who might be very energetic in school and that kind of thing. We can generally find somewhere for them to focus those energies in a positive way.
04:45 (ACT: Steven interacting with group) Steven McGinley: I would consider circus skills very, very important. I am lucky I am a teacher of circus skills, I travel around the country teaching them and I see all the time, the benefits…
05:12 Stephen: Its an opportunity to praise the young person that mightn’t get praise in Soccer or academically. It’s great for a young person with lots of energy, I see circus has a huge amount of benefits in that way. I’m Steven McGinley, I’m a tutor, a performer and chair of the board management here at Galway Community Circus. (ACT: Stephen’s class)
05:38 (ACT: Circus atmosphere) Stephen: I teach all age groups, my speciality is juggling but I also do lots of other skills I do the tight rope. I teach the unicycle class every week, and I can do a lot of other skills. (ACT: Stephen’s class)
05:56 (ACT: Circus atmosphere) Stephen: In the long run for sure there’s going to be demand for a circus school in Ireland, without a doubt, if you look at other countries it’s certainly going that way and we’re in a good position to do that, the administration structure is in place. I think we’d be very well placed, to take it that way in the future. (ACT: Stephen teaching)
06:16 (ACT: Circus atmosphere) Molly Dowling : My favourite part of been in the circus is doing aerials. It’s really fun to do some good exercise. It’s fun, you get a rush, it feels like flying. I’m Molly Dowling I’m 14 and I’m part of Galway community circus. If your not really into like, physical stuff, there’s juggling or clowning or Diablo or whatever…
06:46 (ACT: Circus atmosphere) Molly: …It’s not just acrobatics and aerials (laugh) there’s both. (ACT: Kids noise)
06:54 (ACT: Circus atmosphere) Gwen Le Guillou: Since I arrived at the Galway circus a year ago, I’ve seen an important increase to the weekly classes. We had about 50-75 kids who are coming in the classes and this year in September we have registered 150 kids who are going to come every week until December. It’s a huge success for Galway community circus.
07:21(ACT: Circus atmosphere) Gwen: I’m Gwen Le Guillou, I’m from France and I’m a tutor and an administrator at the Galway community circus.
07:33 (ACT: Circus atmosphere) Oisin: Well, I really like doing the cocoon because it’s great fun, and you get good exercise and you can go inside it and do lots of tricks. I’m Oisin, I’m 7 and 3 quarters and I’m a member of Galway community circus. (ACT: Oisin describing cocoon)
08:03 (ACT: Circus atmosphere) Oisin: It would be really fun to be a circus performer when I’m older and if I get any money I could give it for charity. (ACT: Oisin describing cocoon) It makes me really sad because there is no circus in school and it’s really fun.
08:22 (ACT: Ulla teaching class) Ulla: In Finland, circus arts is part of the curriculum on a national level which is something we should aim for here in Ireland as well. (ACT: Tom teaching class) We just like any other community group’s are find it quite hard in these recessionary times to find funding, the government is having to make some really drastic funding cuts.
08:51 (ACT: Circus atmosphere) Ulla: So unfortunately we’re in a position just like other organisations we’re we need to secure funding from alternative sources.
09:00 (ACT: Tom interacting with kids) Hazel: Everybody that comes to the Galway community circus, be it a toddler coming to the toddler group, to an adult coming to our aerial group, even the parents or even the siblings they all consider themselves part of Galway community circus.
09:20 (ACT: Kids playing) Hazel: Whenever we do fundraisers or when we did the St.Patrick’s parade, we just had an amazing response from people that just want to come together and work together and make things, that’s the definition of community.
(ACT: Kids cheering) The End