Circus for Everyone and Circus School El Samán

Many NGOs have taken advantage of the magic of the circus to motivate street kids, but Circus for Everyone is unique in considering itself a professional circus school for street kids. The results have been superb, and several program graduates are now professional circus performers.

The school begins its work in the poorest shantytowns of Cali and in shelters for street kids. Circus teachers give community workshops where kids learn rudimentary techniques. The most capable and enthusiastic kids are invited to the Samán Circus School to get professional training. Of a hundred kids who participate in the workshop, some thirty are accepted into the school.

The school offers a four year long program. During the first two years, boys and girls experiment with all the circus arts: tumbling, balance, juggling, dance, music, clowning. It is great to watch the classes, because the pride of the kids shows in their posture and their concentration.

The classes are rough, and not everyone can keep up -- generally two thirds of the kids drop out after the first year. The Circus does not see dropping out as failure, though, and after several minutes under the Big Top, you can see why. When a teacher shows how to ride a unicycle, everyone says, “I can’t do that!” Then, after a week of lessons, they learn that “I can do that! I can!” This lesson sticks with all the kids, even the ones who choose not to continue.

Shame can make learning tough, especially for the girls, but the teachers never push kids to do arts they don’t want to do. They always find that the next day, the kid is in a corner trying to juggle without anyone watching. “You just have to wait,” says the dance teacher, “and desire overcomes shame.”

Street kids learn circus quickly because they fear nothing -- not falling from stilts, not juggling flames. In fact, teachers must often explain the consequences and dangers of different arts. Boys are often too hyper to do dance or balance, but the circus has found that if they begin with tumbling, they calm down. Girls are often shy, but stilts and unicycles do wonders to bring out their enthusiasm.

In the last two years of the course, each student specializes in one art. Before graduating, each class does a performance tour, often in Europe. Older kids also become teachers for first and second year students. 18 students have graduated as of October 2003, 13 of which work in international circuses and 5 in Colombia.

All circus students also study in public or private schools, and take the circus classes in their spare time. Because they are motivated by the Circus, the program has dramatically reduced the drop out rate. All circus students must be involved in formal schooling.

The Circus was founded in 1994 by Felicity Simpson, an Englishwoman living in Paris, and Fabio Covo, a Colombian circus artist. They gave the name “Samán” to the school because the Samán is a huge tree that gives shade to everyone -- like the Big Top.


Circo para Todos
Felicity Simpson, Directora Ejecutiva y Fundadora
Pilar Escobar García Directora General
Annia Suárez, Maestra de Danza

Calle 69 con Avenida 4N-88
Parque de Amor, Barrio Menga
Cali, Valle
Colombia

57 2 390 3909 (tel/fax)

circo@colombianet.net o mail@cirquepourtous.org
Felicity Simpson: felicity @cirqueportous.org
Annia Suárez, dance teacher: annia31@hotmail.com

www.cirquepourtous.org