hello everyone, i am getting so many positive and encouraging emails from so many of you and want to write to thank you, i am however also keen to write this wee missive to encourage any and all of you to become official folowers and coment about the project, i know many of you are reading this and it would be lovely to connect on the blog!
thnks again!
chris
26 June 2009
22 June 2009
circus life continues as normal.
photos curtesy of Tristan Wheelock - www.TristanWheelock.com
so back to normal after the show, time to tape up damaged props, check the ropes and matresses are in good condition and everything is safe to continue our groundwork to make the fantasy of circus come alive in our minds and so, we can transmit the sense of wonder, spreading delicious moments of laughter reflecting life and showing what is possible!
19 June 2009
calm after the show
the day after the show (yesterday 18th june)
i am back to teaching groups of ten kids at a time, mainly because the children have other extra curricular activities to prepare for their "thanks day" on the 2nd july, but also makes the classes somewhat more managable for myself as i can spread my attention more effectively.
as a treat for all of us, the day after the show, i dropped my usual almost millitary approach to training and gave a gentle yoga class before allowing all the children to practice whatever discipline they chose!
i am back to teaching groups of ten kids at a time, mainly because the children have other extra curricular activities to prepare for their "thanks day" on the 2nd july, but also makes the classes somewhat more managable for myself as i can spread my attention more effectively.
as a treat for all of us, the day after the show, i dropped my usual almost millitary approach to training and gave a gentle yoga class before allowing all the children to practice whatever discipline they chose!
show in charan
note; photos curtesty of Tristan Wheelock - www.TristanWheelock.com
17th june 2009
20 children filed along the dusty dirt track through their tent village, past curious stares and calls of greeting from their families and friends -the vilage dwellers.- They squeezed past the small rickety stage and squeezed into the tuition tent to complete the face paints and practice in preperation for their first "circus stage show".
"get stretching" , "where's that hat" , does everyone know the line up?" i shouted amoungst efforts to get the rope walking structure set up with the help of local residents....
we had to put one of our matresses up to hide the excited jugling, acrobatics and last minute human pyramid preperation going on back stage as the smallest of the children were trying to peek in to see what we had in store for them.
before too long (maybe half an hour after the planned start time) we got the show underway, myself as self appointed ringmaster and "Vishal" the smallest of the boys burst on to stage and as it was our "great pleasure to announce" acrobatic acts, devilish deeds of diabolo, and loads of tricks and laughs with balls came poring onto the stage!
after the first 7 acts or so, the circus (spontaniously christened as "circus milega") took a 5 minute pause backstage while the health section of the tong len project played a medical skit encouraging the local people to use doctors and medicines which are being made available to them through the tong len charity to reduce illness and improve the quality of life in the village!
back to the show and the second half brought onto stage ropewalking, club manipulation and a few other acts... there were plenty of drops, some acts needed help to get there balance on ropes or unicycles, but most importantly, the object was accomplished! everyone got the cance to be up on stage, to taste the thrill of performing and to feel the rewards of audience apriciation!
12 June 2009
kids showtime for charan
so, it is time to get things up on stage.... i think the first and most important public will be the friends and families of the children in their homes in Charan (the tent village itself) we have set ourselves the task of getting a show ready within a week and encouraged the children to focus on only one discipline, to turn it into only one act and for the first time, we will look at costume including the new red noses which right now are white ping pong balls but watch this space and see what a splash of red paint can conjure up!
reporters reporting!
so many people have been really cool in that they are supporting this concept.. bringing circus to these wonderfull children, a few days ago i made a small performance for the raja of kangra and his gusts at his home and used the opportunity to promote all the work tong len is doing and especially about circus! ...today being international no child labour day reminds us that it is important for children to enjoy their right to play!
two other interesting supporters just turned up at a training session one day when i was training alone near my guest house, they are independant reporters from america and with the permission of Lama Jamyang (the founder of Tong Len) we invited them to experience some classes!
the kids loved the attention and i think it made them work even harder and the reporters enjoyed their time also! -hopefully we can get some of the shots to put up on the blog before too long!
two other interesting supporters just turned up at a training session one day when i was training alone near my guest house, they are independant reporters from america and with the permission of Lama Jamyang (the founder of Tong Len) we invited them to experience some classes!
the kids loved the attention and i think it made them work even harder and the reporters enjoyed their time also! -hopefully we can get some of the shots to put up on the blog before too long!
who nose..
introducing clown was a joy, when the kids took themselves up in front of their friends to put on a persona with "funny voice" ..."funny walk" ...or in some cases, just downright funny, we all enjoyed laghing and any thughts of the hardships of life including bumps and scrapes from bad landings and muscle pains fromso much excercise all pailed into insignificance! it seems true, "laughter is the best medicine.
the only adjustments to the class will be the invention of some slightly smaller noses and a good bit of elastic!!!! though i will miss the laughs about the nose falling down.
04 June 2009
Showtime
In honour of Alex's pending departure, and approapriately half way through the full two months of this, the first leg of social circus in northern India, we set the kids the task of putting on their first show!
My aim was to help them as little as possible and hope that they could find some way to organize the bits and prices they had been taught over the last month and organize the skills into short acts to present on stage!
SUCCESS!!!!
A joy to watch, "beauty out of chaos" everybody had the chance to show something.... A big challenge for anybody the first show as skills are not yet developed and even a clear concept of what a show might be is not yet in the mind.
A few students really shined, showing awareness of tjeir stage character even now and many children proved that even in a month you can learn enough about juggling to put on stage.
My hopes for the future are to integrate all the students into more acts where it is clear that they are all in the same team.. The seperation of the sexes is a sensitive issue in India but at least to try to reduce competition between the sexes and keep the circus a family affair, brothers and sisters working together!
My aim was to help them as little as possible and hope that they could find some way to organize the bits and prices they had been taught over the last month and organize the skills into short acts to present on stage!
SUCCESS!!!!
A joy to watch, "beauty out of chaos" everybody had the chance to show something.... A big challenge for anybody the first show as skills are not yet developed and even a clear concept of what a show might be is not yet in the mind.
A few students really shined, showing awareness of tjeir stage character even now and many children proved that even in a month you can learn enough about juggling to put on stage.
My hopes for the future are to integrate all the students into more acts where it is clear that they are all in the same team.. The seperation of the sexes is a sensitive issue in India but at least to try to reduce competition between the sexes and keep the circus a family affair, brothers and sisters working together!
Circus independance
Three days ago (soon after alex and I were debating the issue of whether the kids would continue to train in our absence) we both arrived late to the class, to our surprise, the children were not in their hostals from where we normally collect them.
We continued to the school playground where we normally teach, hoping that they had found their way there already.
Not only had they gone on ahead but so eager had the kids been to start training that they had seperated into their typical two groups (boys one side, girls the other) and were stuck right into a rigorous warm up almost as tough as the one I would give them.
Needless to say, Alex and I were overjoyed at their enthusiasm and dedication and the seeds of hope were sewn that maybe we will be seeing great things from these new circus people!
We continued to the school playground where we normally teach, hoping that they had found their way there already.
Not only had they gone on ahead but so eager had the kids been to start training that they had seperated into their typical two groups (boys one side, girls the other) and were stuck right into a rigorous warm up almost as tough as the one I would give them.
Needless to say, Alex and I were overjoyed at their enthusiasm and dedication and the seeds of hope were sewn that maybe we will be seeing great things from these new circus people!
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