Founded in 2013, Circus Stars is a
specially designed circus-training
program for children on the autism
spectrum and is based on the Gold
Coast (South East Queensland) in
Australia. I started the program
after completing my Masters with
Honors degree (2012) where I wrote
my honors thesis titled "How circus
training can enhance the wellbeing
of children with autism and their
families". Prior to this I had worked
extensively in the Youth Circus
sector in Australia as Head Trainer
and Artistic Director at Flipside
Circus (Brisbane, Queensland),
which saw me working with various
communities (refugees, youth at
risk, indigenous youth) using social
circus as a tool of engagement and
opportunity. In 2010 I began working
with children diagnosed with
autism, in a program that saw me
teaching circus with an occupational
therapist that provided some insight
into the inner workings of autism.
I was both astounded and excited
to see the huge developmental
leaps the children were making,
hence why at the end of 2010, I said
goodbye to Flipside Circus and hello
to research/academia. I wanted to
create some documentation that
could support the practice that I was
becoming so engrossed in.
At this point in my career, at the time
of undertaking postgraduate study,
I had been a circus performer (an
aerialist and flyer) and circus trainer
for well over a decade and I had
continued performing and teaching
circus throughout my Master's study.
As much as I enjoyed and still enjoy
the challenges and intellectual
stimulation of academic life, I had
no intentions of drifting off into
academia completely, I had always
planned to enter back into the circus
industry in a more in-depth manner
once my research was completed.
The opportunity to develop my
thinking and philosophy around my
own teaching practice as a circus
trainer, and to think critically about
circus as an art form within the
framework of university research,
sparked a more determined goal to
open my own circus school where I
could provide a more specific space
for autistic children to engage in
the benefits of social circus. And
so after graduating with first class
honors in 2012, I went on to open my
own circus school solely dedicated
to children with autism in, Circus
Stars. As mentioned earlier I had
spent close to a decade working in a
leading role at Flipside Circus (which
is one of the largest youth circuses
in Australia), so I had the experience
and understanding of how to run a
circus school and a large national
industry network. I also had the
benefit of trouble shooting what
worked and didn’t work for me
during my time there, so when it
came to opening my own circus
school I was well versed in how to
run a youth circus company and how
to safely and effectively teach a wide
variety of circus skills.
Circus Stars is driven towards
providing an inclusive and
supportive training environment,
where children and young people
can find their own place to learn
and thrive. Throughout my career
I had the enormous privilege of
being mentored by the one and
only legend, Dr. Reg Bolton. Reg
influenced me in many ways and so
as a result the Circus Stars program
is based around the essence of his
hand analogy of why circus works
for children: to have fun, to take
safe risks, to build trust and work as
a team, to encourage individuality,
and to work hard on our skills.
Circus Stars aims to provide a
flexible learning environment, where
children can participate in various
skills at their own pace and skill
level, this allows them to develop
as individuals, while still belonging
to the group. Through my research
I have explored the ways in which
circus training can open up a new
world to children with autism, one
that can allow them to discover their
bodies in a positive and creative
manner and that also encompasses
their social and emotional
development.
What I set out to achieve in
creating Circus Stars was a circus-
training environment that catered
specifically to the needs of autistic
children. Those needs are of course
varied and subjective, depending
on each individual student and their
moods and needs on any given day.
Much like a regular youth circus
class, you can create a detailed
lesson plan, only to throw that plan
out the window and improvise your
lesson based on the group dynamic
on the day or the reactions from
your students within each activity
or skill. What is different within my
method at Circus Stars is that that
particular skill of improvising is more
nuanced and specific to autism
itself, in the ways I communicate
with my students, in how I break
down the teaching of each trick or
skill within a discipline or apparatus.
Autism is classified as a spectrum
and in my practical experience of
working with autistic children this
is useful to keep in mind. Although
there are traits and behaviors
that are common and are used as
identifying ‘markers’ to diagnose
the condition, they do present
i n a variety of ways in each child.
This requires a teaching approach
that is more layered, more flexible
and adaptable. Many children with
autism may be unpredictable in
their behaviors and others may
be creatures of habit that require
intense order in their day. Order
and chaos collide within the autism
spectrum much as they do within
the art form of circus. What I
discovered through my practice
and my research was that circus
and autism have a lot in common:
they are eccentric, risky, colorful
and at times highly chaotic. But
what surprises most people is how
that chaos can collide to create a
learning space that taps into sensory
processing, proprioception and
the vestibular system in ways that
can somewhat "unlock the body"
and open up a new world to autistic
students.
It could be said that children with
autism live in an almost perpetual
state of controlled chaos. They tend
to be perceived as chaotic beings
in the sense that they “bounce”
through their days, often swinging
from very active and highly strung
to quiet and completely reclusive.
Chaos is at the heart of my method
of how I utilize circus to tap into the
potential of my students. When you
consider the fact that circus is an
ongoing state of controlled chaos
in which several acts – each also
utilizing controlled chaos – usually
take place simultaneously, bodies
teeter along tight-wires; knives
are juggled with gusto; balancing
people and objects in precarious
arrangements is a regular pastime;
and swinging and flying through the
air is the defining activity of the
genre, you can begin to understand
how it marries so well with the
perceived chaos of autism. Without
chaos, circus would not hold the
magic and mystery that is the very
quality that draws children (and
adults) to it. Circus sets up a space
that not only allows apparently
chaotic actions to take place, but
also enables all kinds of misfits,
odd-bodies and kooky types to “fit
in” together, and to be at the heart
of group. In the circus space, autistic
children can find a space to belong
immediately- they do not have to
divulge or explain their chaos, they
can be just as they are and find their
own way of belonging. A belonging
that does not require an apology.
For most of their lives they are often
told to slow down, be quiet, don't
make that noise, don't spin around
in circles. Circus invites them to do
all of these things and helps them
to do so in a way that they can also
begin to understand how they can
harness these habits to develop as
individuals. Within a Circus Stars
class they are invited to harness that
chaos and channel it into spinning on
an aerial ring, or to spinning a hoop
for example, to engage in repetitive
gestures and activities that enable
their physical development, while
also indulging their natural behavior
patterns.
Beyond harnessing the magic of
chaos and the emotional and social
development that circus provides
for its participants, circus also offers
autistic children a space to develop
their sensory processing and gross
and fine motor skills. It can do so
in ways that are more engaging and
enticing than traditional therapies.
Proprioception is a key skill for
aerialists, tumblers and jugglers
alike- to know where your body is in
relation to the aerial apparatus you
are swinging from, the floor you are
tumbling on, the juggling balls you
are throwing and catching, circus
provides ways for autistic students
to locate their bodies in the space.
Circus is tactile, touch is at the
center of all movements, whether
than be object manipulation
or partner acrobatics, sensory
embodiment is available in all
aspects of a Circus Stars class, it is
intrinsic to the students wellbeing
and development.
Since Circus Stars opened I have
witnessed many of my students
progress from being highly anxious
CONTACT: [email protected]
WEB: www.circusstarsasd.com
PHONE: +610433 816 333
Check out Kristy's TEDx talk!
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