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Well, its been a while since we updated our posts in English but if you look to the left of the screen you will see our links and at the top is our Hebrew site link and it is up to date. So for our local supporters please check it out and you will get an idea of whats going on.
July started with our end of year show rounding up the years work and putting a dividing line between the work of last year and the work of next year. Last years work was our strongest so far, bringing in many changes to our mode of operation. A process that we can do now that ICS is 10 years old and looks like it will go on for a while to come.
Circus summer camp was well attended and very successful in the first two weeks of July. Then we had a visit from Circus Galilee from Israel and Circus Harmony from St. Louis USA where they used our facility to prepare for their joint show that will now travel around Israel for the next two weeks. Their energy was great and prepares us for our (ICS) trip to Berlin at the end of July.
One year in preparation meetings and a major project has taken shape. The “Comedy Shake” project funded by the Youth in Action EU organization, hosted by the Shake Circus in Berlin, brings together 10 youth circus groups from the Middle East and European countries. 3 generations of Comedians, Clowns and Humorists will work together for two intensive weeks giving impulse to “Seeds of the Future” youth in performing Art. Our very special friend and official Ambassador of the World Clown Association, Mr. Arthur Pedelar and his partner Mr. Alan Whitely will be there to give experience from over 50 years of Clowning around internationally.  We are hunting inspiration to lift the world into a place of Love.
Contact: 0775030001
Feburary “Saturday at the Circus”
27/2/2010 – 11.00 to 13.00
for the whole family, donation at the door to help the circus grow…
Students practice their Art with a warm audience & professionals showcased
All at the Circus Center in Kefar Yehoshua, info: 077 5030001 at the office or 0542313134 to Hanita or 0542313135 to David
See you there!
First ICS student show of 2010 together with “Clowns without Boarders”
A quote from a good friend of mine Vercoe the Clown, “I can not listen to too many words I prefer to just do….”
In this spirit ICS has grown along its way from days of rice and eggs to a time where we stand on the edge of joining up with the international family of friends and companions in the way of Circus Arts. January 30th brought our local community into a new tradition which is as ancient as the trees. This date in the Jewish calendar is called” Tubisfat”, the day to plant a tree and connect with our growing nature. What a day it was for our youth circus in Kefar Yehoshua! Thanks to Mr. Ken Cholerton and Mr. Arthur Pedlar in the UK and to the Council of Emek Israel, also an anonymous donor from Israel our Circus Center was kept open and re-licensed by the Fire safety authorities. This “Getting our house in order” was an essential step in a strong shift of focus, to move the work of the students to a more highly developed sense of the Art with what they do. The 100,000 shekel safety upgrade was also supported by our good friend from the Bedouine village of Karbiah, Laffi and his family and friends donated work and materials to the circus and carried out the renovation in a spirit of help to our charitable organization. By way of thank-you the Irish ”Clowns with out Boarders” performed in the community hall of Karbiah and the occasion was dedicated to Laffi and his family in front of the hundreds of laughing children and their parents. Our first 2010 show at ICS supported by the Irish Clowns without Borders kicked off the seasons monthly Saturday showing of the students and professional performers at the Circus. Students develop their Art by practice and by seeing high level Artists performing, and high level artists have a great crowd drawn by the body of students and their families, an all round beneficial relationship to build confidence and inspiration and to showcase professionals. Door donations are then channelled back into the circus to improve background and to repair equipment. The very successful Saturday show raised donations that are being used for purchasing “lighting” equipment to improve the quality of our next show at the end of February. The benefits of this team work addresses many issues at one time and is an action of high creative value for the whole community. Great day to every one and for all those involved including the wonderful parents of the circus who sold coffee and cakes and helped to clean up afterwards, thank you all, really great and many more to come. In a final note about this day, our good friend Dr. Graham Jackson, invited members of the Chinese Embassy in Israel to see our circus and the show. The dignitaries came and where well received, their visit showed them that ICS has a good potential and a willingness to grow to professional levels in the Circus world. Dr. Jackson’s idea is to bring teachers from China to our circus and by all indications the officials where very excited by the prospect. However! more on this when it becomes relevant…….stay tuned and don’t miss this blog this year, we have now entered the Chinese ”Year of the Tiger” and ICS is ready to really show who we are to the world.
Remember every last Saturday of the month from 11.00am to 13.00 with a donation at the door to help grow our wonderful youth circus here in Israel……+972 (0)77 5030001 for office enquiries:
 Unless you have built something yourself you don’t really know and sometimes don’t appreciate the steps and efforts made. The so called invisible or behind the scenes work needed for something to run the way it should. Since the end of December thru to the beginning of January ICS has invested a huge amount of time, energy and of course resources to upgrade our Center and make the place up to standard for Fire Safety Regulations. This daunting task had to be done quickly in order for the Center to remain active and we took the great risk of starting the work without having all the capital we needed. Fortunately there are people who stand firmly behind what we are doing here in the Circus and they posted resources to us as soon as they where aware of what we needed to do. Workers, friends from Israel and from the UK donated time and capital to cover most of the costs and they are heroes to us for coming to our aid in the hour of need. The invisible people without whose help the Circus ideal would not be manifest here, we thank you all and honor your support by continuing our mission to bring Peace and Joy to this world in our own small way!
This is the last chance to join the Circus in 2009. Besides the classes that are all running now in the afternoons (last chance to join!), there are a number of activities we run that you might be interested in. “A day in the Circus” is a program we have been running for a few years now and we offer this program especially for school classes during the day. December is full of action with sponsored events from the lottery giants in Israel, Pais. Bringing Arab and Jewish youth together for an introduction to both the Circus and each other in a bridging day that sees ICS supporting the community in their efforts to bring cultural dialouge into regular meetings throughout the year and Pais giving the means to do this.
11th. December, 14.00 to 16.00 hrs, the students of the circus school will give the winter show to parents and friends in Kefar Yehoshua Circus Center. 10 shekels enterance at the door to support the efforts of the Association in maintaining the center.
NEW YEARS or Silvesta as its known in Israel, on the 31st of December, ICS is having a party!! Live latin music, top Israeli Circus artists and great food.
Enquiries: 077 5030001
Classes for Children and Youth
ICS office enquiries: Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday 16.00 hrs to 20.00hrs, on Telephone 972 (0) 77 5030001 or other times on mobile 054 2313134.
Training in the Circus happens all the time through out the week. Afternoon classes are especially desingned for activities after regular school hours. Catagories of beginner, elementry and advanced are determined by how many hours per week a student trains. Beginners come once a week for 2 hours, elementry comes twice a week for 4 hours and advanced trains 3 times a week for 6 or more hours per week. Costing of classes is based on yearly program and is payable in advance at the start of training, together with a one time non refundable insurance fee.
Many options of classes are available to the student and parents are encouraged to participate in activities while the child works out.
TIME-TABLE: Starting September 1st -09
Sunday: 16:30 to 18:00 Parent & Child – Acrobalance – Yani
17:00 to 19:00 Open Circus – Acrobatics & Juggling – Larisa
18:10 to 20:10 Open Adult – Acrobalance – Yani
Monday: 11.00 to 13.00 Advanced Clown Class – David
17.00 to 19.00 Elementary – Acrobatics – Larisa
17.00 to 19.00 Elementary – Trapeze – Natalia
19.10 to 21.10 Clown Class Open – David
Tuesday: 16:00 to 18:00 Elementary – Trampoline & Acro – Gregory & Larisa
16:00 to 18:00 Elementary – Tissue – Nammah
18:10 to 20:10 Open Adult – Acrobatics – Larisa & Gregory
20:10 to 22:10 Open Adult – Tissue – Nammah
Wednesday: 16:00 to 17:30 Begginers – Juggling – Sharon
17:40 to 19:10 Elementary – Juggling – Sharon
Thursday: 16:00 to 18:00 Elementary – Acrobatics – Gregory
16:00 to 18:00 Elementary – Trapeze – Natalia
16.00 to 18.00 Elementary – Tissue – Nammah
18.10 to 20.10 Advanced – Accrobatics – Gregory
18.10 to 20.10 Advanced – Trapeze – Natalia
Summer 2006 Newsletter
Dear friends of the Israel Circus School,
There is an old Chinese curse: “May you live in interesting times!” Certainly July and August 2006 will be known historically as an intensely interesting time. Like millions of people in this part of the world our lives where thrown into turmoil quite suddenly and all meaning in life took on a completely different point of view. Our summer started off in the usual way with a two week intensive Circus Workshop attended by 20 students. The days of the classes during this time where filled with challenge and excitement for the participants ending with a demonstration of skills that happily surprised parents and gave the kids a yearning to develop more their circus skills.
Then quite suddenly every thing from our busy summer schedule was canceled. The percussive shock of war burst upon us all. Needless to say with heavy heart we followed the unfolding play of events looking for ways to sustain a sense of normality. Weekly classes where arranged for students that had signed up for a project of Circus and cultural exchange with youth in Berlin. Volunteer work in the bomb shelters with children earned us some brownie points. During the last two weeks of July time seemed to drag by. The one ray of sunshine in all the gloom for us was the planned trip to Berlin to be hosted by Circolibre in the east side of Berlin.
As the Israel Circus School and our partner group Circus Mragah is in the North of Israel it was exceedingly difficult to bring every one together at one time for the needed meetings and practices before going to Berlin. Finally as the time was drawing near to make our trip we convinced all the students and their parents to come for an afternoon practice, conversation and meal together at the Circus Center in Kefar Yehoshua. That morning of the meeting it was still unclear if anyone would show in the afternoon. It turned out that everybody was of the same feeling arriving with a feast in hand for an afternoon that was a great success despite the constant bombing in the north. Where else can you test your convictions except in difficult circumstances with support from all your friends? The mixed cultural Circus group took on a quiet importance that showed courage in the face of immense odds. Focus set to Berlin the youth had a point of light to aim for and we finally set off (23 of us in total) in the early hours of Monday 14th August uncertain of what we where leaving behind us. Touch down in the Shenfield airport was a little sigh of relief and as the fresh cool air swept over us on the way to the Circus the feelings of anxiety that where building for a month started to surface. Tears, little accidents, emotional exhaustion and the realization of a different environment burst forth in the group and the Germans where there with open arms to lovingly receive us. This first day was the hardest for us all.
The Circolibre project is set up for Israeli and German youth exchange using Circus as the common medium. The German and Israeli groups quickly got into the routine of training for a show, sightseeing around Berlin, shopping and talking late into the night with each other. Days passed, friendships developed quickly and the show started to take shape. The Circolibre team in Berlin created a full program of activity that helped to very successfully integrate all the participants of the project. The rich experience nourished us all and has inspired the Israeli’s to take their Circus practice far more seriously and inspired the German’s to come to visit us here in Israel. The “big show” with clowns, acrobats, jugglers, dancers and ariel work arrived all too soon and to the great credit of the mixed group the smooth team work backstage and on stage produced a magical evening that all who watched commented that it was the best show that the project had done to date.
Plans are now in the making to meet all together again in the end of March 2007 here in Israel. Bridging the gap new opportunities await the students of Circus into the future.
On the last day in Berlin all the group met in a park for a finishing circle. Every one was able to say what was good and what was bad from their experiences. All the time that people where talking I could not help myself from smiling. All I could see was another dream come true as have many of the dreams I have had since starting the journey of Circus for children here in Israel.
Another year of dreams awaits us now as the vision grows ever larger.
Thank you, David Berry (Artistic Director of I.C.S)
A.K.A Clown Dharma
The 2005 end of year newsletter is in PDF Format: End Of Year 2005
April 2006 Newsletter
Dear friends of the Israel Circus School,
The last month was one of the most exciting times that we have been through since we began here in our Circus Center.
- Starting off the month we where visited by the Boomchucka Circus group (www.circus2iraq.org ). Matt Boomchucka with Devil-stick Peat, Dark-Faie Andy and Theo Price started the month off by bringing their enthusiasm and Clown show to the Circus School and the Community Center in Margah. They left behind repaired unicycles and donations from Home of Poi (www.homeofpoi.com ).
- International guests start to arrive to our Circus Center. With performance preparations well under way the “Children’s Circus” headed off to the 13th Israel Juggling Convention managed by Itsik Orr and his team (juggler@012.net.il ). The one hour show was received by a first evening crowd of 400 with cheers and laughter giving the performers confidence in their ability to take the stage with zest.
- Two days after this in the wee hours of the morning, Mr. Arthur Pedlar and Mr. Alan Whitley from England and journalist Birgitta Engfeldt with photographer Catarina Nielsen from Sweden, all arrived to Israel. Their arrival began a marathon of performance, travel and intensive conversations that led up to the First Israel Circus Convention.
- Arthur and Alan donated their performance to Circus Margah, directed by Adnan Tarabashi (mrar@matnasim.org.il ) Israel Circus School is a partner and co-creator with Circus Margah since the year 2000 and we continue to forge and develop our mutual relationship into the future.
- Arthur and Alan gave a second donated performance at Diwan Ellajun in Nazareth Old city (diwanellajun@gmail.com ), together with Le Petit Travers (lepetitravers@free.fr ) a superb juggling act from France and “Looking Glass”. Diwan Ellajun Theater is managed by Hanita Hendelman who has set up a number of initiatives for the poverty stricken community, to empower women and children. Israel Circus School gives frequent workshops and performances at the theater to help keep stimulating cultural development.
- Finally the day before the Circus Convention, Swedish Clowns without Boarders, Pelle Hanaeus (pelle@komonq.org ), P.Nalle Laanela, Camilo Monasterio and John Henry Larsson arrived to join the festivities.
- Guest performers from Israel, Ronnie and Michael, Shakar Kamerie and Uval Rot completed the list for the day of action at the Circus Center. At last we could say that the Circus is in town and this was due to the wonderful team work evident especially in the month of April.
- The highlight of the month and perhaps the whole year so far was the very first Israel Circus Convention hosted by our Circus School. After monthly performances from the beginning of our working year (Sept. 2005) the “Children’s Circus” guided by the team of “Looking Glass”, together with our ever growing circle of friends put on a day of shows, workshops, outside fair and an air of magic that amazed and enthralled a crowd of 600 from all around the area and around the country. April 22nd 2006 will go down as a day to be remembered for a long time to come and to begin an annual event where we open our arms to friends from around the world. Get ready and plan ahead to join the festivities in 2007 here at Israel Circus School, the “Looking Glass” will be here to welcome you.
- It is important to mention that the efforts of parents from the Circus School contributed greatly to the overall success of all our activities for the general public. Their quiet behind the scenes efforts made sure that activities went smoothly and that our guests where well looked after while here.
- The steps we have taken from the beginning of the year have ensured a higher level of successful activity at the Circus Center. The frame work of action has been built and people now believe that we can do what we say we can do. Our improvement is going hand in hand with our experience and creativity. Our first spring month this year has been full of joy, the flowers of activity blooming with color and sweet fragrance in the well worked bed of the circus soil.
- Finally I would like to invite you to continue supporting our pioneering efforts to establish a Circus School of excellence here in Israel. Only strong foundations and determined efforts from the I.C.S team supported by our international friends will give the Circus Center credibility to approach the Education Ministry for official recognition. The path must be walked all the time and support must be constant if we are to continue with our peace work here in Israel between Jews and Arabs.
- “Looking Glass” Clown Alley invites you to look into the mirror, to smile and ask yourself what would YOU like to see in this wide world of ours!
May all your dreams of friendship and teamwork come true just as ours have over the past times.
Kind regards to one and all,
David Berry (Artistic Director of I.C.S)
The newsletter for this month is in PDF format.
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