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Page | 1 Regional Arts Victoria Teacher Resources are designed by the Programming team in collaboration with the artists. ©
A Week of Circus Workshops
Circus Oz
Teacher Resources
2020
Ideal for Years F-Y12
The 2020 Arts & Education Program is
Proudly Supported by:
Page | 2 Regional Arts Victoria Teacher Resources are designed by the Programming team in collaboration with the artists. ©
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABOUT THIS RESOURCE .......................................................................................................................... 3
ABOUT REGIONAL ARTS VICTORIA .......................................................................................................... 3
BIOGRAPHIES .......................................................................................................................................... 8
SUGGESTED PRE-VISIT ACTIVITIES .......................................................................................................... 9
SUGGESTED POST-VISIT ACTIVITIES: ..................................................................................................... 11
FURTHER READING ............................................................................................................................... 12
CURRICULUM LINKS – Victorian F-10 Curriculum ................................................................................. 12
Page | 3 Regional Arts Victoria Teacher Resources are designed by the Programming team in collaboration with the artists. ©
ABOUT THIS RESOURCE
This resource has been created to provide teachers with curriculum links to the Victorian Curriculum, and
includes some preliminary and post show ideas and activities as to how to extend their experience of A
Week of Circus Workshops. The activities are designed to be open-ended and multi-ability. They may
need differentiation for your specific cohort.
The performances and workshops included in the Arts & Education program are designed to offer
students engaging arts experiences with strong links to the Victorian Curriculum and to VEYLDF, and VCE
subjects where appropriate. Each Arts & Education program varies in its purpose and content and as a
result the scope for integration across the curriculum varies. Please feel free to contact the Arts &
Education team on (03) 9644 1808 or at [email protected],
If you have any questions about this resource, its content or its implementation within your classroom
please do not hesitate to contact the Arts & Education Department.
ABOUT REGIONAL ARTS VICTORIA
Regional Arts Victoria inspires art across the state. Through creative facilitation, touring, education,
specialised resources, artistic projects and advocacy, we develop and sustain creative communities and
artistic practice all over Victoria.
Regional Arts Victoria is an independent, not-for-profit, membership-based organisation working in long-
term partnerships with every level of government, fostering contemporary and innovative regional cultural
practice across five decades. We advise and impact on decision-making across multiple portfolios and
levels of government.
Regional Arts Victoria is the peak body for regional artists and arts organisations, and the leading
organisation for regional creative practice in Victoria.
PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAMMING PROJECTS
Regional Arts Victoria
facilitates the partnerships,
the organisations and the
practices that create new
work.
Regional Arts Victoria nurtures
the experts who foster local
artistic experiences and
stimulate young minds.
Regional Arts Victoria
presents major artistic
projects that build local
artistic leadership and legacy.
Regional Cultural
Partnerships
Creative Arts Facilitators
Membership program
Devolved grants programs
Resources, workshops and
events
Sector advocacy and
leadership development
Arts & Education Program
Connecting Places
Touring programs
Education resources
Industry development
resources and events
Sector advocacy and
leadership development
State-wide projects
including Small Town
Transformations, Artlands
Victoria and FiftyYears
2019
Internal Creative
Professional Development
programs
Sector advocacy and
leadership development
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ARTS & EDUCATION
Regional Arts Victoria’s Programming department has nearly 50 years of experience touring work to
schools, community halls and theatres across Victoria and Australia. The department programs are the
Arts & Education, Touring Services and Connecting Places programs.
The Arts and Education program also provides significant subsidy assistance (up to 75% of program
costs) to eligible remote and disadvantaged schools. Your school may be eligible so please contact us to
find out more.
For general enquiries please contact: [email protected]
Pippin Davies
Arts & Education Manager
Ph: (03) 9644 1808
Email: [email protected]
Megan Collier
Arts & Education Coordinator
Ph: (03) 9644 1818
Email: [email protected]
Page | 5 Regional Arts Victoria Teacher Resources are designed by the Programming team in collaboration with the artists. ©
INTRODUCTION TO THE PROGRAM
Project Background:
Born in Melbourne in 1978, Circus Oz is known for its distinct
Australian style and humour, acknowledged worldwide as a living
embodiment of everything that’s great about Australia and
Australians, Circus Oz tours nationally and internationally, having
performed in 28 different countries across its lifetime. Circus Oz
takes its values of community, diversity, humanity and hilarity to
thousands of people each year through shows, public classes
and community and education programs. This includes working
with a broad range of government and independent schools
from both metropolitan and regional areas.
Circus Oz trainers come from a range of backgrounds, most have
professional performance experience, some have been part of
the Circus Oz ensemble and all are passionate about sharing
their love of circus with students and participants.
Content:
Circus Oz demonstrates its values of community, diversity,
humanity and hilarity to tens of thousands of people each year
through shows, classes and community and education
programs. Circus Oz workshop trainers are passionate about sharing the positive outcomes that come
from participating in circus with regional communities.
The Week of Circus Workshops program aims to provide young regional Victorians with an experience of
participating in circus beyond a one-off workshop. By introducing students to circus skills and giving them
an opportunity to demonstrate what they’ve learned to others, the intention is to leave them with
improved physical and emotional well-being, stronger relationships with their peers and the potential for
stronger communities around them.
Circus provides a pathway for participatory engagement for all students, across age, gender and cultural
distinctions, as well as for all levels of physical ability. There has been significant research into the
benefits of ‘social circus’ programs with positive findings such as influence on school attendance rates,
self-confidence and lasting impact on the physical, mental and general well-being for participants.
Introductory circus workshops are offered for groups of up to 24 per session. We will work with you to
create a schedule that suits your school, our trainers can run up to three sessions of 1.5 hours per day.
We suggest the schedule allows each student to attend at least three sessions and that a couple of
sessions are put aside at the end for a showing to classmates and teachers, friends and family or as part
of a larger community event. Teachers and staff can also benefit greatly from participating in a workshop
at the start of the week, as a team building exercise and to enhance their ability to continue working with
students on the skills they’ve developed.
A Circus Oz workshop introduces students to basic circus skills, setting participants up to try something new
and to succeed. A typical workshop begins with an introduction from the trainers where they establish
protocols for ensuring physical safety and providing participants with a sense of inclusivity and acceptance.
This is followed by an age-appropriate ice-breaker game and a physical warm up that encourages students
to listen to their own bodies and take notice of their needs. This continues throughout the workshop with
Page | 6 Regional Arts Victoria Teacher Resources are designed by the Programming team in collaboration with the artists. ©
trainers coaching participants to monitor themselves and make good decisions about where it feels safe to
push through fears or limitations and where they need to pull back.
The trainers then divide the group and lead them through three to four rotations of a range of activities
including floor skills, such as tumbling and acro-balance, manipulation skills such as juggling and hula- hoops,
improvisation and drama games.
The benefit to students of attending several sessions over a week is not only that they can try a wider variety
of skills, but also return to the same ones and begin to develop a sense of mastery over some. Please keep in
mind though that learning circus skills takes time and lots of repetition so the gains will be small!
Context:
Participation in circus promotes a healthy, strong and active lifestyle. The activities involved offer physical
benefits such as throwing, catching (juggling, diablo), lateral movement (hula hoops), balance,
coordination (spinning plates, group acrobatics), more complex motor skills (tumbling) and learning
movement sequences (patterns for tumbling, steps for acrobatic balancing).
Circus also offers an opportunity to engage physically with key concepts that contribute to resilience and
well-being. Circus Oz trainers facilitate this by creating a safe and supportive environment where
students can try new things, face fears, experience a sense of achievement and work with their
classmates as a team. The activities involved focus on a combination of solo and ensemble skills,
providing opportunities for participants to work collaboratively and experience the value of positive
teamwork, as well as working individually, honing in on self-awareness and resilience.
In acro-balance, trust and interdependence is essential. Each role in the balance is equally significant.
The strong base, the light flyer and the careful spotter must all work together and the balance can’t
succeed without all the elements. Perceptions of
what it means to be strong and related gender
norms can be explored, low self-confidence can be
challenged by an experience of success.
For older participants, the focus required for object
manipulation is a great opportunity for using
positive self-talk, the effects are immediately
obvious and the impact of success of the activity is
clear.
Value:
Circus provides a pathway for participatory
engagement for all students, across age, gender and cultural distinctions, as well as for all levels of
physical ability. Participation is physically active and fun, and the activities are collaborative rather than
competitive. Circus is an effective tool for encouraging valuable life skills such as team-work, trust,
resilience and responsibility, and can provide a framework to engage students who may not respond well
to more traditional learning conventions. Learning and training circus skills can improve physical
coordination, strength and flexibility, and offer an opportunity to increase social, emotional and cognitive
capacities in a fresh environment.
UniSA conducted a Circus in schools research project, McGrath, Richard & Stevens, Kristen. (2017).
Using a school-based circus training program to develop student and teacher skills. One of the aims was
to provide an opportunity to influence student motivation and engagement to learning through their
involvement in a circus skills training program. Finding indicated that involvement by students in regular
circus skills training directly affected their levels of motivation and engagement to learning.
Page | 7 Regional Arts Victoria Teacher Resources are designed by the Programming team in collaboration with the artists. ©
Returning to these activities over several days greatly increases the potential for students to feel a sense of
accomplishment and progress as well as just enjoying the activity. Should you should to present a showing
of the activities to an audience at the end of the session, the presentation experience will bring another level
of challenge for your students. It can also serve to inspire other students or your broader community
through seeing the achievements and risks taken by students presenting.
Young people take away a range of learnings that benefit them as individuals, their relationships with
peers, teachers and at home, and their relationship with their community. This is supported by academic
research including that of Dr Gillian Arrighi, University of Newcastle, Australia, whose research shows that
there are long-term health and well-being outcomes derived from engagement in circus. For example, of
the 18 students that participated in a 2016 term program with a Year 3 / 4 class, 100% responded that
they felt a sense of achievement from what they did in the program. They reported that the circus
program helped them to feel fitter (93%), stronger (86%), more flexible (93%), more coordinated (86%)
and able to balance better (93%).
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BIOGRAPHIES
Annie Stephens:
Annie's past has included things like: car warranty claims, aerobics, English teaching, promoting animal
rights, massaging people, performing, a very short stint as a graphic artist, random admin jobs (to
support the circus habit) and teaching people the circus skill - acro-balance, how to stand on each other.
Annie believes circus is the answer to all the world's problems. Having first joined Circus Oz in 2003,
Annie is responsible for coordinating all our participatory circus skills workshops across Melbourne,
Victoria and Australia for people of all ages and backgrounds. In 2017, she successfully organised more
than 50 programs with over just 3,000 participants.
David Joseph:
Dave is a professional physical performer with over 25 years of experience. He has worked as an actor,
dancer, musician, circus performer, workshop leader and teacher in a range of performance contexts.
David began teaching circus skills, performing arts and percussion with West Community Theatre
Company in 1984. He was a performer with Circus Oz in 1990 and continues with the company as an
extraordinary workshop trainer teaching a range of participants, including our weekly Deadly Elders
Circus program. He is committed to arts in education and sharing the transformative energy of
performing arts with young people.
Sal Frances:
Sal was fortunate enough to stumble across circus in the mid-1990s and has made either a habit or a
living out of sharing her discoveries since then. She is inspired by, and passionate about, people and
their journeys; and views circus as a vehicle for people to discover new possibilities for themselves.
These interests have drawn her to meet and work with an amazing array of groups and individuals. High
notes include working extensively with the New Women program at Women’s Circus; as well as with
Access All Abilities programs at Circus Oz and Westside Circus; with incarcerated women at Tarrengower
and Parkville; and travelling to Taiwan in 2006 to run workshops at the Asian Region Community Arts
Conference. Sal also spent three years heading up the FlyGirl program in partnership with Catherine
Bateman from YWCA Victoria. Sal is a current Circus Oz trainer that works on a variety of our workshops
including our weekly Deadly Elders Circus program and our all-abilities school program with
Broadmeadows Specialist Development School.
Scottie McBurnie:
Scott has over 20 years of performing
experience. He is a Flying Fruit Fly Circus
graduate and since 1999 has worked as
a freelance performer and circus trainer.
In 2001 he joined and still performs with
Strange Fruit and has performed in over
15 countries. Scott specializes in club
juggle/passing, general manipulation,
tumbling, slapstick and performance
skills. Scott has taught circus to
thousands of children and adults
throughout Australia. He loves to garden
and play the ukulele.
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SUGGESTED PRE-VISIT ACTIVITIES
Activity 1: What is Circus?
Brainstorm:
Start by asking students to work in pairs and brainstorm as many facts about circus as they can
think of – they can be as broad or specific as they like. Each pair then shares their ideas with the
class to make a group brainstorm.
This activity can be repeated after the week of circus workshops and compared to the original, to
see if the class’s perception of circus has changed or grown.
Background Research:
Now ask students to research the history of Circus and learn about the difference between
traditional and contemporary circus. Each student should come back with one new fact that they
didn’t know before their research to share with the class.
Now research Circus Oz- when/ how did Circus Oz begin? Discover 3 locations that Circus Oz has
toured to.
Resources:
Short History of Circus- Circopedia
The Circus Oz Living Archive
Activity 2: Explore the diversity of strengths required by circus
What are the types of performance and physical skills in the circus? Have a look at this list of
circus definitions. Split the class in to small groups and ask each group to pick one of these
definitions and write a list of the skills and strengths they think might be needed to do this type of
performance. The Circus Oz Living Archive is a great resource for exploring different types of
performance.
What other jobs and roles are in the circus other than performers? Brainstorm together as a class
and explore complimentary skills that might be required for a circus production e.g. musicians,
costume designers, set designers, directors.
Now you all know a bit more about the history of circus and what skills are needed to be a
performer or do other important roles, ask each student to identify a personal strength that would
be useful in a circus and then suggest one for another classmate as well e.g. strong, quick, good
balance, reliable, funny, never gives up, teamwork, creative…
Extension: Ask each student to draw a self-portrait that reflects the personal strength they have
identified. They could even draw themselves in the context of the circus e.g. performing a skill.
Resources:
Circus Definitions- After Dark Theatre
Activity 3: Circus Skills
Ask students to write a list of circus skills they would love to try, based on their research from previous
activities. They should add the reason they would like to ty it and think about what might be challenging
about it.
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Activity 4: Get to know your body
Ask students to get to know their bodies with some physical stretches and excercises.
- E.g. Touch your toes and try to keep your legs straight- how does this feel? Where does it
stretch? How much far can you go- can you touch your toes easily or are you still a way off?
- Hold a plank shape. How long can you stay in this position? Which parts of your body are working
hard in this position? I.e. core muscles, arms etc.… Really examine how your body responds to
different activities.
Activity 5: Make your own juggling balls
Use this tutorial to teach students how to make their own set of juggling balls.
Homemade Juggling Balls.
Activity 6: Juggling
Get a head start with some pre-workshop training. Using two tea towels or plastic bags- with one in each
hand, practice throwing one at a time and catching in the same hand, then throwing and catching in the
opposite hand. Practice in pairs.
Resources:
The Instant Jugglers' Manual.
Juggling for beginners
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SUGGESTED POST-VISIT ACTIVITIES:
Activity 1: Warm up Stretch
As a group, can you remember the warm up activities and lead each other through a warm up as best as
you can? Do this once a week and take turns leading the warm ups in small groups. Get into the habit of
stopping a lesson sometimes to do a five minute stretch.
Activity 2: Reflect
Reflect with students on the workshop sessions and presentation (if you did one). What surprised you?
What was the most fun? What was the most satisfying? The most challenging? What was something
that a classmate did that amazed you? What would you like to keep working on?
Activity 3: Two-headed Challenge
In a gym or other large safe space, get pairs of students to stand back to back with their elbows locked
together. Set them tasks and challenges they have to complete co-operating in a joined fashion like a
two-headed creature.
Activity 4: Amazing Bodies Collage
Create a collaborative collage of images from magazines that reinforce myths in the media about what
men and women are capable of. After a critical look at the messages magazines give us, have them draw
their own images of what men’s and women’s bodies are really capable of (e.g. – boys doing hula hoops,
girls being the ‘base’ for a group balance).
Activity 5: Working safely
Have a discussion about what rules the group might make about how to work safely. What does being
safe mean? What are some of the risks and hazards and how can they be avoided? Explore safety as a
topic beyond just avoiding injury.
Activity 6: Skill Repetition
Ask students to practice their newly learnt skills – balancing, juggling, hula hooping. Practice makes
perfect!
Activity 7: Performance
Ask students to develop a short performance or revisit the one they did in the workshops and refine it.
Could you add music to change or enhance the feel of the performance? Perform for the rest of the class.
Activity 8: Connect the Trick with the Trait
Have students list all the circus tricks they can think of and then all the physical traits that the tricks
might require. Create a ‘connecting line’ matching game from the tricks on one side to the skills on the
other. (For example: strength, flexibility, accuracy, balance, coordination. to tight rope, trapeze, back flip,
juggling).
Page | 12 Regional Arts Victoria Teacher Resources are designed by the Programming team in collaboration with the artists. ©
FURTHER READING
Circus Definitions
Circus: The Australian Story by Mark St Leon Published by Melbourne Books 2011
The Circus Oz Living Archive
Juggling for Beginners
Why Circus Works: How the values and structures of circus make it a significant developmental
experience for young people. Thesis by Dr Reginald Bolton, B.A. (hons), Cert.Ed
Article: The Conversation: Circus training in schools instead of sport? Now there’s an idea
CURRICULUM LINKS – Victorian F-10 Curriculum
Learning Areas Capabilities
The Arts
Stack Up with Circus Oz most strongly relates to the
Performing and Visual Arts. Common to all The Arts
curriculum, each Arts discipline is based on two
overarching principles:
Students learn as artist and as audience
Students learn through making and
responding.
Dance Strands:
Explore and Express ideas
Manipulate combinations of the elements of
dance and choreographic devices to
communicate their choreographic intent
Respond and Interpret
Analyse how choreographers use elements
of dance and production elements to
communicate intent
Present and Perform
Perform dance with technical competence,
using expressive skills to communicate a
choreographer’s ideas
Achievement Standard
By the end of Level 8 students choreograph and
perform dances to communicate ideas and
intentions. They improvise movement and select
and organise the elements of dance, choreographic
devices and form to communicate choreographic
intent. Students learn, rehearse and perform
dances, demonstrating technical and expressive
skills appropriate to the dance style and safe dance
Personal & Social Capability
Strand: Self-Awareness and
Management
Explore the links between their
emotions and their behaviour
Strand: Development of resilience
Describe what it means to be
confident, adaptable and persistent
and why these attributes are
important in dealing with new or
challenging situations
Strand: Social Awareness and
Management
Explore their personal values and
beliefs and analyse how these
values and beliefs might be
different or similar to those of
others
Describe the ways in which
similarities and differences can
affect relationships
Describe the characteristics of
respectful relationships and
suggest ways that respectful
relationships can be achieved
Strand: Collaboration
Demonstrate skills for effective
participation in group tasks and use
criteria provided to reflect on the
effectiveness of the teams in which
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practice.
Drama Strands:
Explore and Express Ideas
Improvise with the elements of drama and
narrative structure to develop ideas, and
explore subtext to shape devised and
scripted drama
Respond and Interpret
Identify and connect specific features and
purposes of drama from contemporary and
past times, including the drama of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
to explore viewpoints and enrich their drama
making
Drama Practices
Develop and refine expressive skills in voice
and movement to communicate ideas and
dramatic action in different performance
styles and conventions
Achievement Standards
By the end of Level 8, students devise, interpret and
perform drama. They manipulate the elements of
drama, narrative and structure to control and
communicate meaning. They apply different
performance styles and conventions to convey
status, relationships and intentions. They use
performance skills, stagecraft and design elements
to shape and focus relationships with an audience.
they participate
Describe the various causes of
conflict and evaluate possible
strategies to address conflict
Achievement Standards By the end of Level 6, students describe
different ways to express emotions and the
relationship between emotions and
behaviour. They describe the influence that
personal qualities and strengths have on
achieving success. They undertake some
extended tasks independently and describe
task progress. They identify and describe
personal attributes important in developing
resilience.
Students recognise and appreciate the
uniqueness of all people. They are able to
explain how individual, social and cultural
differences may increase vulnerability to
stereotypes. They identify characteristics of
respectful relationships. They contribute to
groups and teams suggesting
improvements for methods used in group
projects and investigations. They identify
causes and effects of conflict and explain
different strategies to diffuse or resolve
conflict situations.
Health and Physical Education
Strand: Personal, Social and Community
Health
Describe factors that can positively
influence relationships and personal
wellbeing
Identify and practice strategies to promote
health, safety and wellbeing
Participate in outdoor games and activities
to examine how participation promotes a
connection between the community, natural
and built environments, and health and
wellbeing
Strand: Movement and Physical Activity
Practice and refine fundamental movement
skills in different movement situations in
indoor, outdoor and aquatic settings
Practice and apply movement concepts and
strategies
Examine the benefits of physical activity and
physical fitness to health and wellbeing
Adopt inclusive practices when participating
in physical activities
Apply innovative and creative thinking in
solving movement challenges
Critical and Creative Thinking
Strand: Questions and Possibilities Investigate thinking processes using visual models and language strategies Strand: Meta-Cognition Examine learning strategies, including constructing analogies, visualising ideas, summarising and paraphrasing information and reflect on the application of these strategies in different situations Investigate different techniques to sort facts and extend known ideas to generate novel and imaginative ideas Investigate a range of problem-solving strategies, including brainstorming, identifying, comparing and selecting options, and developing and testing hypotheses
Achievement Standards By the end of Level 6, students apply
questioning as a tool to focus or expand
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Apply basic rules and scoring systems, and
demonstrate fair play when participating
Achievement Standards
By the end of Level 4, students recognise strategies
for managing change. They examine influences that
strengthen identities. They investigate how
emotional responses vary and understand how to
interact positively with others in different situations
including in physical activities. Students understand
the benefits of being fit and physically active.
Students apply strategies for working cooperatively
and apply rules fairly. They select and demonstrate
strategies that help them stay safe, healthy and
active at home, at school and in the community.
They refine fundamental movement skills and apply
movement concepts and strategies in different
physical activities and to solve movement
challenges. They create and perform movement
sequences using fundamental movement skills and
the elements of movement.
thinking. They use appropriate techniques
to copy, borrow and compare aspects of
existing solutions in order to identify
relationships and apply these to new
situations.
Students distinguish between valid and
sound arguments and between deductive
and inductive reasoning. They explain how
reasons and evidence can be evaluated.
They explain and apply basic techniques to
construct valid arguments and test the
strength of arguments.
Students represent thinking processes
using visual models and language. They
practice and apply learning strategies,
including constructing analogies, visualising
ideas, summarising and paraphrasing
information. Students disaggregate ideas
and problems into smaller elements or
ideas, develop criteria to assess and test
thinking, and identify and seek out new
relevant information as required.
Intercultural Capability
Strand: Cultural Practices and
Cultural Diversity
Compare their own and others
cultural practices, showing how
these may influence the ways
people relate to each other
Identify and discuss cultural
diversity in the school and/or
community
Achievement Standards By the end of Level 4, students are able to
compare a range of cultural practices and
explain their influence on people’s
relationships. They explain what they have
learnt about themselves and others from
intercultural experiences. They develop
critical perspective on and respect for their
own and others cultures.
Page | 15 Regional Arts Victoria Teacher Resources are designed by the Programming team in collaboration with the artists. ©
Contact the Arts & Education team at [email protected] with further questions or, even better,
examples of your work!
This edition is copyright Regional Arts Victoria in consultation with Circus Oz
© 2020
