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What to expect - Generation Youth Circus

First of all...the Warm up!
We always start with 10-15 mins of fun games and challenges to warm up the body and mind. These are the sort of games circus people love, and all circus artists play! They introduce you to performance skills and working as a team / troupe. They increase confidence and focus and start to give you an awareness about what amazing things the human body can do.  

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Skills Skills Skills

We will teach aerial every week, but sometimes have a little play with ground-based skills like juggling, hula-hoop and acrobatics.
There'll be a mix of aerial - rotating through the following pieces of equipment so you get confident on all three.

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Static trapeze 

Static trapeze is a fixed bar between two ropes. It’s not flying trapeze - you will swing slightly as you get on the bar, but that’s all. When you start learning trapeze, you will be able to reach the bar from the floor. You will learn how to move around the trapeze (getting onto the bar, sitting, standing etc) and as you gain confidence, balances, poses and dynamic movements. Once you are more confident you can try doubles trapeze (if you want to), where there are 2 people on the bar at the same time.


Rope
If you have tried (and failed) to climb a rope, we will change all that for you!! Our ropes are thick and soft and we will teach you proper technique, breaking everything down for you, and working at your own pace. You will be able to climb easily in no time. But climbing is just one aspect of rope - we will learn all sorts of balances, wraps and drops as well. You work low to the ground at first. None of it is easy but you will be amazed at how quickly you improve.

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Silks
Silks are two pieces of fabric and have some elasticity to them. There are all sorts of wraps, balances and when you are more confident - drops - to learn. And as with everything, this will be all at your own pace. It’s similar to rope, but you can split the silks and do moves in between them.

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What to Expect – Other Things to Know

  • You’ll be going upside-down a lot! Aerial and acrobatic work is a big part of what we do — and it's great fun.
     

  • We want our classes to be fun, friendly and non-competitive and we encourage a spirit of cooperation, kindness and respect amongst members.
     

  • Everyone progresses at their own pace. Abilities will vary in each class, and that’s completely normal.
     

  • We build a big vocabulary of skills. Expect to go over the basics regularly and keep practising everything — it’s how we get stronger and more confident.
     

  • You’ll get to perform (if you want to). At the end of each term, we invite friends and family to see what you’ve been working on — and there are sometimes opportunities to perform at local and national events!
     

  • Generation Youth Circus is a performance company. Some of our members train with professional circus careers in mind, others come just for fun — all are welcome.
     

  • Aerial skills take time. It can take a while to feel confident on the equipment — we encourage patience, playfulness and persistence.
     

  • There are special opportunities. Members get to see professional circus shows and take part in workshops with visiting companies and artists.
     

🔗 Please also read:
Our Code of Conduct - how we ensure that we train safely and support others during class.

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