|
|
The newsletter for this month is in PDF format.
01/10/2005
From David Berry
(Artistic Director of I.C.S & President of the Looking Glass, Clown Alley, W.C.A)
Hello Friends Of the Association for the Development of Circus Arts in Israel,
I have just returned from a two-week trip to the home and work of my good friend Arthur Pedlar in Ye Old England near Southport, on the central West Coast. I had a fabulous time and feel the journey was of historic significance for I.C.S.
Discovering a feeling for my Celtic roots after visiting preservation listed Castles in Wales we then headed down to “Black Pool Towers Circus” where I met the director of the Blackpool Tower Circus, Laci Endresz Snr. I must say his company certainly work hard doing three shows a day in the peak season. The British Clown of the Year, “Mooky” stole the show keeping the stooge on his toes and keeping the audience laughing between amazing acts from artists from all around the world in a show that was called “Around the World with Mooky”.
Then we where off to “Clowns International” in Weston-super-Mare, where I met Sunny and Rainbow the hosts of the Convention. Highly dedicated people worked hard to bring the 200 Clowns to entertain locals and one another for a week. For the second time in my life I won a raffle, an MP3 player and I thank the people who made me feel so welcome in workshops and lectures which abounded over the days. Clowns International has certainly held out a hand of friendship to us here at I.C.S.
HI!!, “Toto” the Clown from “Dharma” the Clown (:=} … and many other new-friends too! a BIG HI!! The Clown Convention was a real eye opener for me seeing the level of participation and the organization that went into its creation. It’s worth mentioning the fabulous performance of Nola Ray who performed her one-person show of the life of Mozart. This was done with the use of puppets, mime and a story full of clowning humor at the highest level of creative artistry. An inspiration to all who where privileged to see her work.
After the “Clowns International” convention we headed back to Southport where I prepared to give a second lecture about Israel Circus School to the Southport branch of Rotary. Here I was able to meet and to inform a group of 60 members about our ongoing work in Israel and to thank the members that have supported the Circus Center over the past three years. I had a very special meeting with Rabbi Sydney Kay just minutes before the Rotary lecture. Rabbi Kay had written a letter to the local Imam of Southport extending a hand of friendship and an invitation for dialog over the concerns of the community after the recent bombings in London. He showed Arthur and myself the letter of reply from the Imam who was very happy to hear from the Rabbi and agreed that interfaith conversation where essential for better community relationships.
In fact the message that was conveyed so strongly through the Clowns and Rotary was to do precisely with the interfaith dialog. At heart the message of most world faiths is that there is only one supreme divinity; ergo: the faithful of the world singing in different voices sing the “one praise”. Understanding through a sincere effort to learn about each other no matter what the cultural background leads to a relaxed acceptance of the superficial differences between communities.
The international-work that is being sponsored in this direction is in a class of its own and Israel Circus School is proud to be a member of this larger international community in its own small way. The peace workers I met where humbly going about their business mindful of one purpose, helping others to find joy and supporting people with the same loving grace to give and receive from each other. Old World concepts of win or loose are being eroded away with a New World concept of every one growing together in loving respect. This is also the core main mission of the Israel Circus School.
Since arriving back many people have asked me if the journey was fruitful or not and my answer to that is the fruit of doing good is its own reward and all the rest, hard and easy, just helps you to be creative about it.
My personal thanks to Arthur and his family for hosting me and thanks from I.C.S for the ongoing support from all the friends of the Association for the Development of Circus Arts in Israel.
On a final note for this letter is worth mentioning that the Israel Circus School has been primarily supported at a material and moral level by the International community over the last three years. However the seed idea of Circus Education is taking root at a local level, with a much stronger support from parents of the students that come to our Center. ICS continues to develop and improve our facility giving better service and instruction and looking for improved ways of Public Relations to our community to get people to come to us. At a personal level the trip to England did a great service in showing the way open for a road that young people can take into the future using the Circus as their vehicle. Many doors are open to ICS as other Circus professionals watch with keen interest how we will develop over the coming years.
All the best,
David Berry.
The Association for the Development of Circus Arts in Israel
END OF YEAR CIRCUS SCHOOL REPORT for 2004 / 2005
- In September 2004 Israel Circus School opened the doors of the newly renovated Old Cinema of Kefar Yehoshua. The new Circus Center has all the +basic facilities of a standard European Circus School and a professional training staff of 8. We work in a 700-meter square space that is fully dedicated to only Circus training related activities. In addition to this the Association that governs the Circus School is a volunteer group that dedicates many hours of free time to support the running of what is fast becoming a large organization.
- 2004-05 has been the most challenging year yet in the 13-year history and development of our work. The financial situation has hung on a very thin thread from the outset of the year. This has continued right up to the end of the year with a budget deficit that will mean we are unable to pay teacher wages at the end of June 2005 with out some sort of unforeseen assistance. If not for the generous support from benefactors both here in Israel and from overseas in England and America we would not have been able to give the high standard of creative training that was the standard of the past twelve months. The management team is looking for creative solutions to resolve this situation for our next year of operation.
- This has meant that student fees in 2004/05 have not been sufficient enough to cover the basic costs of running our organization. As to this a slight increase in fees for our bottom end minimum hourly rates will ensue in September 2005. The minimum one-hour and two-hour classes per week will be increased in price to 110 shekels and 220 shekels respectively per month.
- Our future outlook is far from gloomy however. Many behind the scenes and public successes have continued to mark our ongoing development and positive steps where undertaken through out the year to bring further growth and development to the Circus School. A copy of all our NewsLetters can be viewed at our web site for those interested in detailed documentation of our activities at www.israelcircusschool.com
- July-August Film Production where with us through out the year filming all our ups and downs both here in Kefar Yehoshua and in the Community Center in Margah. Their focuses where on the Children’s Circus, the Arab and Jewish youth group that has been working together for the past few years and in particular the development of the play “Aladdin and the Magic Flute”. This play written and produced by Addnan Tarabashi of the Community Center in Margah was performed to a packed theater in the Haifa Children’s Festival. Future joint projects are planned with our good friends from Margah and the Israel Circus School. And July-August Productions will release their documentary about our joint work in the coming months on Israel television channel 2.
- A feature of the Circus School this year has been that as we approach the end of year more and more children want to join our classes in the afternoons. Instead of a drop off rate at year’s end as in former years, there is a steady increase of students. This is a testimony that the direction the Circus School has taken in training methods is appealing to students and their parents. As the year has advanced we have honed our methods more and more to improve the standard and diversity of all our activities on our main days of activity. Further improvement will come about next year by offering students a choice in the beginning of September 2005 options of training. All class subjects will be given in blocks of one hour in order to focus activity suitable to the individual. A minimum of 2 hours training per week will continue with an encouragement to take a minimum of 4 hours training per week. Students who would like to develop their skills in Circus need to come to the Center a minimum of twice a week for training. However we understand here at the Circus that some students come only for the fun of being here with their friends, which is also fine. A balanced pedagogy between the professional knowledge of the trainers and the students interests is what we constantly strive for and as the understanding of students and trainers increase together we see the whole work of the Center elevated step by step. We understand how important it is to get it right and to develop trust, as very few people here in Israel really understand what Circus Culture is capable of giving to the education of young people. There is no competition at Israel Circus School but rather a slow development towards a healthy rounded education with students setting their own limits according to what they understand from instruction.
- Through out this year professional Circus people from outside Israel have visited us, including Michael Finkel and his wife Sandrin from France who gave free workshops and a show for the Circus School. Mr. Arthur Pedlar from England made his annual visit to us for the opening performance of Aladdin. We are fortunate for the great moral support we receive from people of this high caliber and their efforts to spread the word of our work here. Given that we have operated our first year here in the large hall, we are now in a position to invite all the Circus professionals in Israel to a meeting on the 21st of June 2005. This is to brainstorm on Circus here in the Circus School and in the rest of the Circus Community. Our intention is to deepen relationships in the Circus community and to bring a much richer variety of learning experiences to the Circus student. The future of the Circus movement depends on support from many sides and it starts from education but does not end there. Parents who start to see the benefits of Circus education on their children could help enormously if they lobby their local council members with letters saying how good the education is for their child. Professionals in Circus performing need to remember to give thanks to their teachers by giving young students some of their time and experience. The whole Circus community is involved in a culture of bringing joy into the world as it always has been and it is very easy to get lost in the making of business and rules to fulfill the requirements of insurers. Circus is an affair of the heart and that it why in this time here in Israel, Circus is gaining more and more appeal for students looking for truths of the heart, courage, kindness, patience and genuine healthy fun.
- Israel Circus School’s end of year performance on the 1st of July will show these things to the parents of the students that have been with us this past year and we hope that your continued support will ensue from what will be seen at our end of year party.
David Berry (Artistic Director of I.C.S)
Association for the Development of Circus Arts in Israel
Registered Non-Profit Organization in Israel: Number 58-039-562-2
P.O. Box 216, Kefar Yehoshua, 30063, Israel
Tel: +972 4 9532856 Fax: + 972 4 9833425 E-mail: israelcircusschool@hotmail.com
The Association for the Development of Circus Arts in Israel
SPRING NEWSLETTER 2005–04–30
Well Friends,
As they say in the Clown business it’s been one Whiz bang of a week!
The World Famous Clown “Vercoe” opened the performance of Aladdin, a Production of Adnan Tarabahsi from the Community Center of Margah in the Northern Galilee area of Israel. I.C.S has been coaching students of the Center in Margah for the past five years. On the 25th May 2005 the Children’s Circus made up of students of the Israel Circus School and the newly established Circus Margah group formed their second co-production in performing “Aladdin and the Magic Flute”. Before an audience of 900 excited children and Parents in the opening program of the Haifa Children’s Festival, 23 young Actors gave the show of their lives so far; to show that deep friendships exist between children when they freely work side by side. No matter what culture you are in, if you work in a circle with others and no body is higher or lower in Respect then Miracles can certainly happen. Against all adversity, the Children’s Circus performed Aladdin, with even the threat of a bomb scare at the end of their show. Proving beyond any doubt that good and great things are certainly possible when you are willing to create together on a base of love and mutual trust.
Vercoe, Benito and Dharma from left to right, at the opening of the Children’s Festival in Haifa Spring 2005
A week of awakening dreams ensued and while fresh in the mind I take fingertips to keyboards to note down the main points for all you eager readers.
On the 26th.April a small convoy from I.C.S set off to meet Imka at her open-air kitchen at the 12th Annual Israeli Juggling Convention.
Imka is the head of the Pompony Family Circus and as our host provided us with love and nourishment for two days while we all met and played in the glorious Three Garden National Park.
Sad news greeted us at the convention, in learning that the Free-Dome team is splitting and winding up business in Binyamina Circus. Our love goes out to them that they all find a way to continue their efforts to bring Circus to Israel. Visit the Free-Dome website.
Over the course of the following days much discussion took place to find a plan of action over the next twelve months to ensure the success of the Circus Center. A new management group of volunteers was elected for the “Association for the Development of Circus Arts in Israel” just before Arthur Pedlar arrived and with his good counseling a course of action can now be given to the new members of the committee.
This will include a joint project with members of the Antidote Children Theater from Cyprus, Israel Circus School; Circus Margah and a group of English volunteer students possibly sponsored by Rotary and the British Arts Council. The idea is to bring a group of 20 young people to Israel to participate with the Children’s Circus in a weeklong workshop and performance for the local community. So pencil in those dates right now for Monday the 17th of April until Sunday the 23rd of April 2006. Israel Circus Convention 2006, will be the culminating day of the project and a pilot event to invite the Circus Groups in Israel to come on Saturday 22nd April 2006 for a “Circus Open Day” at the Circus Center in Kefar Yehoshua; creating a day of fun and Circus Shows. Arthur Pedlar will be giving Master workshops to Clowns along with Ruben Madsern over the course of the week and workshop students will gain guidance in an array of multi disciplinary skills related to the performing Circus Arts.
Arthur with trainers and students of I.C.S at the Circus Center
Summer workshops, Festival Events, a Performance Group, a new weekly time table for 2005/6 at I.C.S, special assistance programs for talented youth and an array of guest workshops are all penciled into the Calendar for I.C.S over the next twelve months. The work of the preceding twelve months since Arthur last visited us has lain even stronger foundations for the future of the Circus School’s continuation. Our week with a great friend has left us all here inspired to reach to further heights.
Finally Arthur took with him from Israel, the names of a newly formed Clown Alley to be inaugurated by the World Clown Association from the 1st of May 2005. Looking Glass Clown Alley is based at I.C.S and is open for membership to all interested Clowns.
As usual your support is needed and we would like you as members of our growing community of teachers, students, artists and friends. If you would like to join our Association for the Development of Circus Arts in any way please contact us with your name and email address.
Israel Circus School now celebrates its third year in the new Circus Center and it first year of full operation under a 9-year rental contract. We still have a long way to go along the road of creating our vision of a School of Excellence recognized by the Education authorities in Israel, however I feel we are well under way and with continued effort will achieve our long term goals. This last week of mental and emotional assessments has seen us fit to continue.
With the greatest of appreciation and best wishes to all,
David Berry (Artistic Director of I.C.S)
Association for the Development of Circus Arts in Israel
Registered Non-Profit Organization in Israel: Number 58-039-562-2
P.O. Box 216, Kefar Yehoshua, 30063, Israel
Tel: +972 4 9532856 Fax: + 972 4 9833425 E-mail: israelcircusschool@hotmail.com
The Association for the Development of Circus Arts in Israel
February 2005 Newsletter
by David Berry
Dear Friends,
Many exciting things have been buzzing at the Israel Circus School (ICS) over the past few months and it is now time to reveal some of them to you.
Circus Center Action
We have been operating in our new Circus Center for about six months. The twice-weekly “Circus Day” is very popular with the youngsters that get to develop a range of challenging circus skills all in one afternoon of fun activity. The basic class is acrobatics however there is plenty of time to try stilt walking and juggling, not to mention trapeze, trampoline and rope – all guided by professional teachers with experienced assistants on hand. There is an exciting atmosphere in the Center that has three year olds in a one-hour play group, intermediate classes and more serious older students that do a full four-hour afternoon program. Our Circus Center now attracts a lot of curious attention from local residents, serious students from elsewhere in Israel, international supporters and some guest artists from abroad. Another growing activity is our training for young adults, some hoping to become local professionals and some dreaming of joining an advanced European Circus School.
The Children’s Circus
Friday afternoons are dedicated to the Children’s Circus activity and the production of “Aladdin”. Rehearsals for this new show have entered a regular working rhythm and we are developing acrobatic, acting and dance sequences with an original associated musical score. Twenty young people from the Israel Circus School and Circus Maghar are strengthening their working relationship and focusing their efforts to create an artistic presentation that will stand at any venue. The Children’s Festival of Haifa will show the production of Aladdin in their main hall for two days at the beginning of the Festival on the 25th and 26th of April 2005. After this, the Children’s Circus will be at the 12th Israeli Juggling Convention and we also plan to present the show to a broader public in Israel.
Special Workshops
The Circus School has given its first professional in-house workshop to a group of young dancers from the Ben-Tzvi High School from Tel-Aviv. The Arts enrichment program gave 45 students workshops in Acrobatics, Dance, Clowning and Juggling over an intensive two days. Students and teachers of the High School where impressed with what they learnt and enjoyed the friendly atmosphere and staff of our Circus Center. We at the Israel Circus School very much enjoy this direction in the work and see it as a way to offer quality assistance to Dance and Drama students studying for their exams in the performing Arts.
The following letter came from Yael Grinwald, who is the head of the Dance Department at the Ben-Tzvi High School, in response to the workshop that the ICS ran for her students.
“Dear David and all staff,
I want to thank you on behalf of all our students and teachers for giving us a wonderful time and wonderful experience during the two days we have stayed with you. The whole program was full and fulfilling, and was organized very well. All of the “madrichim” (Teachers) that work with you extend lots of love and patience.
I’m very glad that I had the opportunity of meeting you and your team.
Thank you again.
Best regards.
Yael” 6/2/05
Development of the Circus Center Building
The Circus Center is in the renovated old Community Hall of the village of Kefar Yehoshua and the village council is continuing to bring the 1940’s building back to its former glory.
The recent restoration of the columns surrounding the lawn at the entrance to the Hall and the repair of the outside toilets has gone a long way to improving both the service and appearance of the public building. While the community of Kefar Yehoshua has received grants and donations over the past two years to restore the building, further repairs and public support are needed to finish the work so that it can be used for large public events.
Donations and Development
The Association for the Development of Circus Arts in Israel has received significant donations over the past two years, especially from our friends in England. These donations have been used to equip our Circus Center with essential training equipment for use by students of the Circus School. This year we have acquired a trampoline, trapeze, spring floor and mattresses and the students have shown a significant improvement in their skills as a result of using this equipment. Thanks to the donations we have been able to purchase paint and other materials to restore the training hall and repair the stage area. Unfortunately we are still lacking funds to repair and upgrade the hall and stage lighting. Our sound system for the stage has been patched together and is workable but needs improvement for public events.
We have funds to purchase and install stage curtains, but they must meet public safety standards and therefore be treated with fire retardant – which will be an unexpected expensive job. We apologize to the donors for fulfilling most but not all our promises at this time and hope to find a way in the near future to complete our tasks.
Annual General Meeting, 2005
The next Annual General Meeting of our parent “Association for the Development of Circus Arts in Israel” will be held in a few weeks time, and we invite all interested people to come and join us in creating a Circus School of excellence. The exact date of the meeting will be announced shortly.
All the best to all of you,
David Berry (Artistic Director of I.C.S)
Association for the Development of Circus Arts in Israel
Registered Non-Profit Organization in Israel: Number 58-039-562-2
P.O. Box 216, Kefar Yehoshua, 30063, Israel
Tel: +972 4 9532856 Fax: + 972 4 9833425 E-mail: israelcircusschool@hotmail.com
The Association for the Development of Circus Arts in Israel
October 2004 Newsletter
by David Berry
Dear friends of I.C.S,
It has been a while since we last updated you on the activities here in the Circus School. The school year has begun in our newly renovated main hall with a new style program that includes many activities that we have not had before. We now offer two days a week of what we call Circus Program in the style of our workshops. This means that children of all ages (4 ½ to 17 years) come to the classes in the afternoons and after a warm up session together are divided to groups according to ability and then are rotated between the various activities that are on offer. Activities include Acrobatics, Juggling, Trampoline, Trapeze, Clown and Magic; however we are still giving training in stilt walking, rolla-bolla, rope walking, performance, make-up and what ever comes to mind that we feel is needed for individuals with special needs. This new approach appears much more satisfying for most of the students and their parents and allows for the various interests of the students to be balanced by what we feel is essential for students to learn. Other days in the week are dedicated to more serious students in special interest classes such as acrobatics, trapeze and trampoline. There is also an adult group that has started to meet and work on a regular basis once a week with Larisa, our acrobatics teacher.
The Children’s Circus, which consists of students from Circus Maghar and I.C.S, continue to work together twice a week and we are now in the beginning process of creating a new production of “Aladdin” due for completion by March 2005. More updates on that as we progress.
Besides teaching, maintenances, administration and general enquiries a core group of staff and students have been giving clowning performances, magic shows and juggling shows to the disabled, in community events, festivals and to other interested groups over the past three months of the summer. Our efforts to bring circus to the community and to raise general awareness of our work locally have taken on the importance of sharing very limited resources in very hard times. The public very generously gives what little they can afford along with encouragement for our sustained efforts to bring a little light into the ever growing economic gloom which affects us all in these times here in Israel. This year Israel Circus School has no special budget like the one we had last year with the European Union. However the local council has taken an interest in our work, as they see how we can fit in to their scheme of things, but another year may pass while we wait for the real benefits of their involvement with the School.
A film group called “July-August Productions” has taken up the story of the Children’s Circus and will be with us for the next six months documenting classes, performances, individual interviews and what ever other interesting things that might come up. I.C.S sees this as very good for public relations as the end result of the film is to produce a 1 hour professional documentary to be released locally and internationally. July-August Productions have exclusivity on our story and we will not be allowing other film groups to be here until the completion of their project.
The business of running a Circus School in Israel is certainly not an easy matter at the best of times; we mostly have to invent from thin air our way to survive and this takes a lot of energy. The team that has grown up around the Circus Center has many questions to face on a daily basis and quietly we do our best to answer. We also have some very good friends that believe in us enough to contribute support and when this comes it is like a shower of rain in the desert. With out doubt every one that comes in contact with us has mostly praise for what we manage to achieve and people are impressed by our relationships with our neighbors from Maghar and the community of Maghar are impressed by the circus work we do. We are building up a group of young men and women who already have a different out look on life. They have traveled and are influenced by other cultural perspectives and they can not turn back on the path they start to walk now. There have been moments of disappointment and moments of great joy, but these young people know that they are bringing something good into the world and they have the determination to continue growing and show by example a better way of co-existence. It is impressive to watch a group of young Circus people patiently work with other youngsters and share knowledge of skills. These teachers of the future need all the support we can give them, to encourage their efforts and strengthen their ongoing resolve to develop as young Artists and performers.
Benny, a young clown at I.C.S has returned from a very successful one month engagement with Interkunst, in Berlin. Instant Acts was a compilation of different performers from around the world that focused on anti-violence through their acting, singing, performing and was put together to give a total of 23 performances and workshops in schools, public events and prisons through out Germany. Benny not only represented I.C.S but was also the only participant from Israel and his special contribution was warmly received and much appreciated by the organizers and his fellow co-workers.
Our little Circus family made up of golden hearted odds and ends from many different walks of life starts to bloom and grow. We are very much like the desert Rose that lays dormant in the ground until a little rain comes along to give us life and then we sweetly bloom for a season and then wait for the next rains to come. Our waiting is not idle, we train and develop, we take care of our Circus Center and we make the things we need and we are very happy for our friends to know what we do and hope that all can learn by example that nothing is impossible with the right attitude.
All the best to all of you,
David Berry (Artistic Director of I.C.S)
The Association for the Development of Circus Arts in Israel
June 2004 Newsletter
by David Berry
CIRCUS helps to make people smile in ZEMER!
 Saturday afternoon arrives with kids turning up for warm up and costume fitting. By accident or design I paint on the biggest smile I have ever done as a clown and test out faces on the kids warming up in the Kefar Yehoshua Circus Center (Israel Circus School) The other group from Circus Margah turn up and we load up our stuff to go to Zemer. Well off the main roads and quiet near to the Occupied area of Palestinians Zemer has been an isolated community of Muslim Arabs since the State of Israel has come into being. We arrive to the sports area where a book fair and side shows have been set up by our friends from Margah. Straight away we begin to set up our stations and begin work with the crowds of Children, mothers and fathers.
In Arabic speakers passionately talk about their rights to cultural freedom. That as well as being good Muslims true to the culture that they wish to see shows and be exposed to the influence of the outside communities. This I find out after our show from Adnan who organized our event. All the time smiling faces greet us as we give our workshop, “how much for the face painting?” one father asks me and I say for free… My big smile greets very shy Muslim girls who religiously speaking are forbidden to talk with strange men, but clowns have their ways and more smiles are produced.
 The Children’s Circus give workshops in acrobatics, juggling, balance, face painting and also show off their own skills to admiring onlookers. The deaf theater of Margah give a show on the stage and are enthusiastically received. All taking place next to an old cemetery, a breath of fresh air enters this little town of 5,000 with almost 900 of them at our show. Departing hands are extended to us as we pack up to leave and hour and a half after schedule. I think about the little girl in the main street of the town as we arrived begging for alms and the bus drivers casual giving of a few shekels to her and how clean and plain she looked. The poor are taken care of in this poor community.
 Afterwards Adnan in relating the story of Zemer to me says that this was the first time anybody had ever given a performance and workshop in this town since Israel was declared a State. Astounded by this fact I felt honoured to have been the first Clown to enter this town and that our Jewish and Arab Children Circus group played such a mission of diplomacy as to bring joy to a community that will talk about us fondly for some time to come.
Have a wonderful summer break and we will still be here when you get back.
The Association for the Development of Circus Arts in Israel
January 2004 Newsletter
by David Berry
Dear friends of I.C.S,
The last couple of months have mostly been dedicated to the slow mixing and applying and drying of cement on the walls, floors and ceilings of our Circus Center in Kefar Yehoshua. The first stage of the structural work nears completion and I.C.S expects to have the keys to the building on the 1st. February 2004. The Association management signed a contract with the management of Kefar Yehoshua under the watchful eyes of lawyers from both sides giving Israel Circus School a nine year lease on the whole building. Well done to the people in Kefar Yehoshua responsible for their decision to trust our endeavor and give I.C.S the support and backing by giving us a building that is full of good memories of former times, when it was the main community hall and cinema for all the local area. I.C.S hopes to transform the derelict energy of the last 10 years and make the historic 1949 Bauhaus design building, a thriving center of activity in the times to come.
In other news our 3 day workshop in December 2003, sponsored by the European Union grant for the Children Circus project, attracted other children from the area to participate in Circus Skills training. Participants of the Children Circus project where given the responsibility to look after young members of the workshop and guide them in various activities such as stilt walking, acrobatics and juggling skills. The European Union grant has allowed I.C.S to implement many ideas in youth education using Circus Skills as the basis. This on going work over the last months has equipped our young friends with technical abilities in the various fields of training as well as allowing all the members to see themselves as people at work and at play with each other. “Not Arab, not Jewish, Just Kids” together with all the quirks that young people have. In some ways we have already achieved 90% of the original proposal in bringing young people together and building firm foundations of trust. We now get ready to test the strength of this relationship in taking our young friends as a group to Cyprus in a few months time.
Finally the afternoon classes for ages 5 to 17 years old in the studio have seen a slight increase in numbers and a good level in stability. The air of anticipation as to when the activities will extend to the main hall upstairs acts as a background motivation for us all.
Realistically the program will not change that much for the rest of the school year. As we install our new equipment current students who now have strong foundations in technical abilities will be given a chance to develop new skills. This will be done slowly in order to get used to the new settings and in preparation for a much stronger push in the summer workshops, July-August 2004.
All the best for the New Year of 2004,
David.
The Association for the Development of Circus Arts in Israel
July 2003 Newsletter
Dear Friends of I.C.S,
The last few months of activities in I.C.S have been very exciting for us. The main news from this time has been the start of our “Children Circus Project” that received funding from the European Union in September. The support of the World Clown Association and Mr. Arthur Pedlar, their current World President, means that we have some basic training equipment that has enabled the children of the project to develop new skills. In addition a strong working relationship with our Arab friends from the Community Center of Mugrah, through the project, has opened new vistas of opportunity for Jewish and Arab co-operation.
The start of the year in our Circus Center in Kefar Yehoshua saw us opening four afternoon groups aged 6 through to 17, training in mainly acrobatics with our two trainers Larissa and Alex. Their classes have been receiving many compliments from parents impressed with their training methods. The other afternoon classes are being run by David “yours truly”, Benny a young Circus man from South America who specializes in juggling and clowning and Tally who is employed as our afternoon administrator but she also has an excellent relationship with the groups and is helping out in our Circus Skills classes. The whole team works with the “Children Circus Project” and is doing an amazing job in training, support and getting the group up to performance level. Oh, and our very good friend Joseph from Mugrah, is the Arab coordinator and Circus struck all round helper and body guard in the group. All our activities have been taking place in the studio and once a week we travel to Mugrah to give classes there in the Community center. (These classes are open to other children free of charge.)
Renovation on our Center started over a month ago with very generous support from the Kefar Yehoshua village management committee. An incredible personal donation from Mr. Pedlar and a very generous donation from members of the W.C.A in the US, means that I.C.S will build a new stage in the Center, buy very expensive training equipment and get a computer for our new office. A big thank you also to Ted Morrell of Southport in England for 205 pounds sterling collected on our behalf. All this support gives us here at I.C.S great opportunity to fulfill our desires in creating the first Circus Center in Israel and you should all feel very proud at being involved in such a noble enterprise.
The part time employment of Tamar and Raya in secretarial/administrative/public relations has seen a 10 fold increase in our efficiency and not misplacing receipts or cheque and getting a bit of sorely needed advertising done. Their help over the next months will prove to add greatly to our overall success in keeping things running smoothly and eliminating many headaches.
Finally, the Children Circus experienced a big success in their performances in the recent Acco Festival, considered one of the main festivals in Israel’s yearly calendar. The performance of “Clowns” dedicated to Mr. A Pedlar, was received with great warmth, bringing together large audiences of Jewish and Arab families. There was really something for every one to look at and to cheer and clap. The V.I.P treatment of the group gave the participants a taste of how highly esteemed our work was for the festival. Artistically the work was entertaining, but spiritually the strength of the work will resound for a long time to come.
Thank you all so much for the great strength you imbue us with, with all your support and well wishes. We are in the beginning of the way and with your continued support we are certain to have a very bright future.
To finish with, below are some pictures from the recent Festivals…
All the best,
David Berry (Artistic Director I.C.S)
On behalf of,
The Association for the Development of Circus Arts in Israel (58-039-562)
P.O.Box 2101, Kiryat Haroshet, Tivon 36091, ISRAEL
The Association for the Development of Circus Arts in Israel
July 2003 Newsletter
Dear friends,
Another month passes us by and the beginning of the summer vacation in the schools sees I.C.S at the end of two weeks of Summer Workshops for children. In all 27 children ranging in age from 6 to 14 years old did classes in acrobatics, juggling, equilibrium, clowning, mask making and make-up design concluding in a small performance at the end of each week. The children with the assistance of teachers from I.C.S, Larisa Darnovsky our acrobatics teacher, Rani Izenberg our circus skills and juggling teacher, our new student teacher Elana, guest teacher and ex-student of the Circus School Smadar Jackson, my good friend Gali and myself David Berry enjoyed the company and loving environment of our work with each other. The timing of equipment from England before our course made this workshop for children and teacher’s one of the best workshops given for years. The harmony of the group was contributed to very strongly by this compassionate gift as the variety of props contributed to the enthusiasm, to learn something new all the time, eliminating boredom and creating a sense of well being and support. We all had a wonderful time and wish to thank you all for all your spiritual support, which is felt I can assure you, and material which makes the world go round in what ever way you choose. Thank you all for your trust and the successful and optimistic end of first year for all the work of Israel Circus School and friends.
On a final note we are all getting very excited about the Children Circus project funded by the European Union Commission of Cultural exchange. A lovely bunch of children start to form the basis to our proposed group project. Children from many parts of the north of Israel start to get interested in working with circus skills and coming to us.
My prayer is that we fulfill our next year with love and promise and that we continue in this work that brings so much genuine love to us all.
Loving kindness to you all,
David Berry (Artistic Director of I.C.S)
|
|
