Eye of the Storm - Ivan (AUS)

photo from ICIMOD, by Shaun Plumtree

On the 14^th of September, Sapana will be performing at the British School. For the last two weeks, the kids have been busy with exams, and training has been off. It has been a truly hair-raising experience being so close to a performance, but not being able to actually rehearse or create material. Shaun has been making using the spare time to research and plan an upcoming Permaculture project, while I’ve managed to keep busy with the many unusual tasks that emerge organically from our office.

Now that exams are finally over, the kids have mostly returned to training and have to quickly get their performance hats on. In the creation of this performance, we will be collaborating with a social-theatre group called the Cambridge Rickshaw Theatre Project.

(http://rickshawtheatreproject2011.blogspot.com/)

As well as working with Sapana, they will be working with 30-40 of EBT’s rescued kids to create this show. We are keen to see how we can incorporate their knowledge of theatre, clown, puppetry, mask and music into this and potential future shows.

In helping to create Nepal’s first contemporary circus, we must often answer a difficult question: what is contemporary circus, actually? The easiest answer is that it is a reaction against traditional circus. Traditional circus has a colour scheme, a style of music, a big top tent, a particular act-by-act format, and of course, the animals. Contemporary circus ignores, avoids or even protests against these ideas, seeking inspiration from other artforms or from the world at large.

As a young discipline, it is easier to say what contemporary circus isn’t, than what it is. Cirque du Soleil have made their own mark on the style by creating vibrant worlds, with hordes of performers on stage at once, in abstract, colourful costumes, whilst musicians roam around, playing and singing in an invented language. Meanwhile Cirque Archaos from France performed in abandoned buildings and vacant lots, using large metal structures, cars, motorbikes and chainsaws and mock - decapitations to create an entirely different experience: visceral shows that were seen, heard and smelt. In Australia, we have Circus Oz, for whom nothing is beyond ridicule. Traditional circus elements will be used satirically, or even to make political statements (for example the human cannonball act which was, in one show, used to highlight Australia’s dubious immigration policy, and of course the minister for immigration was invited to opening night). More than any particular style, it is the individuality of each company that stands out, and it is this individuality which makes contemporary circus so exciting to watch, and sees its popularity grow across the world.

For us, working with CRTP is a valuable step. My vision is to see Sapana burst onto stages throughout Nepal and the world, with shows that the express the individuality of its members, their personalities, their energy and their freedom. By collaborating with other companies across other forms of physical theatre and self-expression, I feel that we are coming closer to this.

The long awaited photos - Ivan (AUS)

As mentioned in the previous blog, we ran a trial workshop a few weeks ago, at a transitional centre run by Kathmandu-based organisation Just One. We treated it like a pilot workshop, to look at the potential for doing some more social circus work. On the way there, I grumbled to Eli that we had talked ourselves into working on Saturdays, but as we left, we both agreed that there was no better way to spend a Saturday than to laugh, dance, make things, juggle, hula hoop and play games. We have now made plans to run fortnightly Saturday workshops at this transitional centre in Khusibu.

We didn't ask the kids to hold hands, but since they did anyway, we turned it into a game, sending a body-wave around the group. Fortunately, there were some avid hip hop dancers among the group, so this didn't take much explaining.

Name jump is a great drama game, which teaches principles of complicite and improvisation. It's also an excellent game for people who have trouble remembering names.

Meanwhile, back in the lab...

After learning my initial juggling-ball making technique (little bag, rice, balloons), the kids quickly improvised and added their own ideas to the process.

Some were eager to show off their juggling skills, while others were more concerned with making the most colourful possible juggling balls. The Nepali word for colourful, rangi changi, is one of my favourites.

The very first trick a juggler should learn is how to drop the balls, pick them up, and try again.

This was me quickly practicing before the kids got back, because I actually had no idea if my plan for the hula hoop making session would work.

Eli and I like to invent new drama games which help us to learn the language. In this one, when we call out different words, the kids must freeze in a certain shape. This is what they do when we call out 'sangla'

We let the kids go wild with our rangi changi tape, to decorate their own rangi changi hoops.

Eli's dance routine was very popular. Eli had neglected to warn me that at one point in the routine I would have to pretend to be a monkey and scare the children away. Luckily I'm more inclined to act like a monkey than your average person.

Old friends, new friends - Ivan (AUS)

In Kathmandu, we the volunteers live in a community that is continuously shifting and changing. Familiar faces depart and new ones arrive in an unpredictable yet constant pattern. It makes a nice change when an old friend arrives. Last week we were joined by Shaun Plumtree, a fellow Australian circus performer who, like me, came here following the dream of working with a company like Sapana. Social circus - circus training that is used for personal empowerment, healing and community building - is something that we have both had a lot of experience in. It is a rare opportunity to do social circus work with a group with such skill and enthusiasm. The trainers here all agree that Sapana has the potential to grow into a world-renowned circus company. Shaun and I have been friends for six years, and have worked together in one way or another for most of that time. Arriving last Thursday, he has hit the ground running. In his first class with the Sapana group he showed Sheetal and Shital some new aerial silks moves, including a nice drop he'd invented. In the second, we made use of Shaun's knowledge of aerial hoop and rigging, so that now Pramilla and Sharmilla can add spinning and swinging to their hoop routines.

Shaun has also made plans to contribute to EBT's other projects, using his photography skills to help put together a jewellery catalogue, and his knowledge of integrated farming to help in some community development projects. Remarkably, he has managed to incorporate his three passions (circus, photography and permaculture) into his volunteer role at EBT in less that one week!

Eluned will be leaving us in two weeks, to continue her overland journey. She has been great to work with, and her circus and dance expertise has been an excellent addition to Sapana's training. It will be sad to see her go, but we will be wishing her all the best on her epic journey. For the next two weeks, we will make the most of having three professional circus trainers on board, as well as our ever-helpful volunteers. The next several classes are going to be action-packed.

Meanwhile, preparation continues. Days are filled in the office, planning lessons, projects and events, keeping regular contact with our people in the UK, researching, or escaping to go on missions around Kathmandu, to find, fix or make new equipment. Highlights include sitting on the back of a motorbike, holding a pair of stilts like jousting-poles as we looked for a metal-worker who could make us another pair.

Two weeks ago, Eluned and I visited a transitional centre near the monkey temple, to explore the possibility of doing social circus work with the children there. We came back a few days later with balloons, rice, poly-pipe, and coloured tape, to do an all day workshop with the kids there. After teaching the kids how to make cheap and effective hula-hoops and juggling balls, we taught them how to use them. We ended the day with dance and drama games, and everyone had a lot of fun. After the success of this pilot-project, we are planning to run fortnightly circus workshops there. We are considering the idea of bringing some of the Sapana performance troupe along to help. It will be valuable teaching experience for them, as most professional circus performers I know end up padding out their unpredictable incomes by working as circus teachers. Also, the Sapana group would be great role-models.

We had a surprise visit yesterday from Tristan, our key sponsor for the Dubai show.  After meeting with us, he came and visited the Sapana performers at the refuge, to deliver a rousing speech about the future of the group. He speaks excellent Nepali, unlike me, and even though I understood only a little of what was said, the effect it had was clearly visible. As he spoke, the faces around the table began to lift and shine with inspiration, and everyone left feeling really positive about the upcoming show. We took the opportunity to bring over some hula hoops that we'd made with our leftover materials. I look forward to being able to set the hula hoop girls some homework.

So, as always, opportunities seem to be flying through the air like raindrops in a monsoon. Exciting times ahead.

Namaste - Ivan (AUS)

Greetings from the latest of the volunteer circus trainers, Ivan and Eluned. Ivan here, I'll be looking after the Sapana Circus blog for the time being. Two weeks ago, I arrived in Kathmandu, all the way from Sunny Brisbane, after hearing about the opportunity to work with Sapana and being truly inspired by their story. I had little idea what I was getting myself in for, although I did know that with one week to learn the ropes before Zoe made her way back to the UK, I would really have to hit the ground running. I was pleased to discover that another volunteer trainer, with extensive experience in dance, aerials and social circus, was arriving that same weekend. It has been a hectic two weeks. As well as bothering Zoe with constant questions up until she left, we have been meeting the rest of the EBT team, learning how to find our way around nameless streets, haggling with the bus and taxi drivers, moving from the office into our temporary home up in the beautiful hills of Godawari, and creating a training schedule around the many performances and opportunities that are popping up, and all the while trying to make each circus class as productive, engaging and fun as possible.

Last Monday I asked the Sapana performers to show me some of the pyramids they've learned so far. They grumbled and made excuses for a while, and so I asked if perhaps they'd like to do some more handstand conditioning instead. Presto!

Once they'd warmed to the idea, we started trying some different shapes, and I showed them a few advanced acrobalance positions which they picked up almost instantly.  As a circus trainer, it's such a rare blessing to work with students that have so much talent and raw potential, and are at the same time so humble and friendly. We have a lot of work to do to get ready for the upcoming shows, but I feel confident that the Sapana crew will knock the audience's socks off.

On top of the performance in Dubai this coming October, Sapana will also be performing at the British Embassy on the 14th of September, with the help of Cambridge based group Rickshaw Theatre. There are several other smaller opportunities in the pipeline, so it looks like we're going to be really busy. Luckily, the next two months will see a number of incoming circus volunteers, two of whom are friends and fellow graduates of the National Institute of Circus Arts in Melbourne, Australia.

Kathmandone! - Zoe (UK)

So this will be my last posting for the Sapana blog.  I leave Kathmandu tomorrow to go back to London.  I am very sad to go, especially since I didn’t get to see all of the kids and say goodbye to them before I left.  This week there have only been five attending the training sessions as the rest have gone back to their respective villages to get their identity cards in order to be issued passports.  But, this is obviously a very important step to go to Dubai in October.

Last week we received Ivan (from Australia) and Eluned (from the UK), the two newest circus volunteers.  Ivan will be staying with us for three months but potentially for up to five months, and Eluned will be here just over one month.  Ivan trained at NICA and although he is a trained juggler/manipulator he also knows quite a lot of acrobatics, hand-to-hand and corde lisse.  Eluned originally trained at Circomedia and has since gone on to complete a dance degree.  We’re all really excited to have both of their skill sets and the Sapana group has already been very kind and welcoming to them.

In my last days in Nepal I have been handing-over my work to Ivan and Eluned (no I didn't go on holiday in the end), brainstorming lesson plans and ideas for shows and just generally filling them in on the ins and outs of how everything works here in Kathmandu.  We finally bought a lock-box for the equipment in the gym and we visited the British Embassy on Tuesday where we are hoping to stage a fundraising show in September.

On Wednesday, Tristan (who is sponsoring the show in Dubai) came along to training and was able to visit a bit with the kids.  They were all really pleased to see him again, and as he speaks Nepali it’s obviously very easy for him to communicate!

Handstand class with Ivan and Eluned



Sheetal having a rest after running her silks routine

Tristan trying out some hula-hoop moves

The entire Sapana group is advancing in their various disciplines but the crunch time will be in the next few months leading up to the Dubai trip.  Tensions will run high, stress will creep in, and managing circus and school will become more complicated.  I will be watching their progress from abroad, rooting them on and wishing them the best of luck for October.  I have every confidence in them and I know they will be fantastic.

I have enjoyed this project so much and in a way that I never expected.  This group of young people is so fantastically talented and they are such great kids, I will miss them immensely.

I’m not leaving! (Trying to hide out in the newly purchased lock box...)

I now hand this blog over into the capable hands of Ivan who will carry on the updates for the next few months.

Zoe x

Back to Business as Usual… - Zoe (UK)

So now that the excitement of the British School show has worn off, we have gone back to our normal training regime—Pramila and Sharmila on aerial hoop, the “Sittals” on silks, the boys doing group acrobatics, and Anjali, Doli and Saraswati practising hula hoops.  These days I’ve been having quite a lot of extra help from local volunteers which is great!  Peadar, a juggler from Ireland who is based in Kathmandu with his wife, has been helping me on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays.  Because of a recent back injury, he is not really able to participate physically but his presence has been of invaluable help as he has been overseeing the work that the two Sittals are doing on aerial silks.  Sometimes I can’t spread myself thinly enough and I notice that they are perfectly happy to sit and gaze out the window of the gym unless someone is there to encourage them to continue working hard!

Megan also comes to help twice a week; either supervise the hula hoop training, or the acrobatics; teaching a bit of hip-hop dancing to compliment the boys’ break-dancing tricks.  This Saturday Megan managed to accompany me and Anya to the refuge in Godawari to help with the ballet class.

Our resident ballet teacher, Anya, has not only been teaching the kids dance classes on Saturdays (both to the Sapana group and the other kids housed at the refuge) but she has also been attending most of the weekly sessions to lend a helping hand.  Anya was previously trained as a gymnast, which is fantastic as I can leave her on her own to work acrobatic basics with the students that need extra attention. 

I have been spending much of my time supervising the aerial hoop training, trying to find some interesting doubles hoop figures for Pramila and Sharmila.  They both work hard but they’re not used to being two on a hoop so things are still quite clunky and awkward at the moment.  Although what will be included in October’s show has not yet been finalised, I really hope that they will be able to show off some of their newly learned skills in Dubai.

Here is a video and some pictures of Saturday’s ballet class.  It was so cute to watch all the kids in rapt attention of Anya, trying to mimic her turned out feet and arm positions.  After the technical class she taught them a choreographed dance set to hip-hop music which they all really seemed to enjoy.

After ballet class on Saturday, Anya, Megan, Fiona, Noah (two other EBT volunteers) and I went for a walk in the hills of Godawari.  Along the way we stopped at the EBT mosaic workshop.  It was fascinating to watch the employees hard at work on their intricate designs.

We then set off on a gruelling five-hour hike up to the ridge which Noah assured us would only take two hours...ahem.  It was worth it, though, and it was truly beautiful.  I haven’t had that many chances to get out of Kathmandu so I really appreciated the fresh air, the views, and the quiet (no horns beeping, crazy dogs barking, or fruit sellers squawking...)

Only two weeks remain to my time here in Nepal.  I am very sad to leave.  I’m hoping to get away and do a short trek or at least visit Pokhara.  We’ll see though—both time and money are running out!!

Zoe x

Australians and Angels in America - Zoe (UK)

Last Thursday’s show at the British School was fantastically received.  The assembly hall was packed (and very hot!) mostly with children and their parents.  Sapana arrived around 2 pm to do a quick rehearsal and to check the sound and lights.  The group seemed pretty nervous and wanted to do the run with the curtains closed!  The Australian circus group, The Roof of the World, arrived shortly after we did—unfortunately they were one cast member down due to a sudden stomach upset…  After a quick word from EBT’s director, Philip Holmes, the show began, the curtains opening to all of Sapana’s girls unfurling in a group balance which revealed Pramila (the group’s most recent addition). 

The rest of Sapana’s performance went off without a hitch eliciting many delighted gasps and ruptures of applause from the audience.  The Roof of the World performed immediately after us showcasing their various talents (poi-swinging, mime, magic, clowning and stilt-walking).  The children giggled hysterically at the clowning and were suitably impressed by the magic tricks and the stilt-walker.

Here's the link to the article covering Sapana and the Roof of the World in the Himalayan Times this weekend.  http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Dreams+of+better+tomorrow&NewsID=290474

We all went out for ice-cream to celebrate after the show, getting our cold treats in batches as the café didn’t have enough bowls to accommodate us all.  The kids seemed happy and proud of themselves for performing in front of such a big audience.  About 400 people showed up which makes the biggest crowd that Sapana has performed in front of to date!

On Saturday, Anya, the dancer who is volunteering her time to teach ballet to the Sapana kids, was finally able to give her dance class at the refuge in Godawari.  The room is tiny and hardly large enough to run a ballet class but she managed somehow!  All the kids enjoyed it and although they were laughing at themselves attempting to be graceful ballerinas, they also took it very seriously, trying to copy Anya’s form exactly.

As well as organising the show at the British School, I have been busy performing every night at the Nepal Tourism Board, playing the role of the “angel” in a production of Angels in America directed by American Deborah Merola.  I offered my time in exchange for some publicity and fundraising opportunity for Sapana.  I've stuffed over 500 envelopes with information about Sapana and EBT in order for it to be included with the programmes!

I've been rushing off each night to arrive for the 3^rd act, just in time for my two short cameos.  It has been interesting albeit tiring work but it's all worth it if we can raise awareness about Sapana in the Kathmandu performing arts and theatre scene.

I have been feeling quite sad recently as I now have to wrap up my time here in Kathmandu.  I leave three weeks from tomorrow and will spend these last few weeks training with the kids on their various disciplines.  Now that I’ve been here this long, I don’t feel like going home!  It will be quite a culture shock to go back to the UK and I will really miss each and every member of Sapana...

In two weeks time we receive Ivan, the latest circus volunteer from Australia.  I will have about a week with him before I leave to show him the ropes.  He will be joined by another colleague from down under in July and the two of them together will be responsible for readying Sapana for their big Dubai premiere in October. 

I hope to write a few more post before I go after which time the next volunteer will take over this blog.

Zoe x