FEATURE
Top
Sarah Arrigo discovering circus, circa 2005 at Hampshire
College in Amherst, MA.
Bottom
From clowning to trapeze, circus is for survivors.
Photo: Circus for Survivors/NECCA
was coined by movement and circus
arts teacher Jackie Davis. Technically,
the idea describes the philosophy
and practice of using circus-making
as a vehicle for physical, social,
emotional, and cognitive development
in people, especially young people.
“Developmental circus” is not limited
to the gym or studio. It can also take
place in a therapeutic setting, including
during occupational therapy.
How does it work? First, by identifying
and developing processes common
to both fields. The notion of
“adaptation,” for example, is central
to the practice of occupational
therapy. By teaching patients new
motor abilities and skills, therapists
help them “adapt” to the shifting
circumstances of their lives.
Similarly, adaptation is also common
in circus practice, though we might
not realize it. Think back to the first
time you “got caught” in aerial silks,
for example. Likely it was a slightly
traumatic event. After climbing too
high, you probably got confused
and wrapped the wrong way, only
to suddenly find yourself hanging
upside down. Luckily, your trainer was
there to help! Following his or
her instructions, you pulled yourself
upright, using abdominal muscles
you didn’t know you had, then
untied the knot with your free foot.
Throughout, you were losing strength
and patience. You wanted to quit
but kept going. Finally you broke free!
Is that roughly how it went? If so,
congratulations—you were “adapted!”
Now imagine experiencing the same
frustration and difficulty while
doing something as simple as taking
a shower. The parallel is real.
And there are other parallels. Suzanne
Rappaport, a longtime coach at the
New England Center for Circus Arts, is
an Occupational Therapist who runs
a workshop for female cancer survivors.
She’s also working on doctorate at
Tufts University and is a big believer in
the link between circus and therapy.
“Once I started to analyze the effects
of circus and articulate how powerful
circus is for the people I have worked
with, I realized how influential it has
been in the trajectory of my own life,”
sh e once wrote.
In her work at Tufts, as part of her
effort to have circus approved as
Occupational Therapy, Rappaport is
especially interested is the notion
of “resiliency,” or the ability to keep
going despite difficulty. “I drew on
my circus experiences to define my
own resiliency,” she wrote. Resilience
is a salient quality for patients of
OT, who continue to live in spite of
ailments. Rappaport has come up with
a model of how to lead and prompt
others to discover resiliency through
circus. “The servant-leader shares
authority, puts the needs of others
first to help people perform as highly
as possible. I want to share this
fire within and ignite others towards
wellness by using circus”
(Rappaport, 2014) .
Like Rappaport, I’m also interested in
digging in deeper into the overlaps
between the fields, especially into the
notion of innovative problem solving.
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