AirCraft Circus Foundation Course in Circus Arts Prospectus

7/29/2019 AirCraft Circus Foundation Course in Circus Arts Prospectus

1/7AirCraft Circus | Foundation Course in Circus Arts 1

Foundation Course in Circus Arts

www.aircraftcircus.com

- 15 Week Intensive -

I didnt think it was possible to learn so much in such a shortspace of time. I had such a fantastic time and met so many love-

ly new friends along the way. (Joss Wyre, Spring 2011)



The CourseWho are we looking for? Passionate, disciplined and creative individuals. Knowlege of aerial oracrobatic skills is not a necessary prerequisite on the Foundation Course. However, you WILLneed to be t. You will also be required to audition in theatre, dance, acrobatic or circus relatedskills so some prior experience is advised. Auditions can also be purely skill based rather than

performed if preferred.

The Foundation Course runs for 15 weeks, Monday - Friday, 9.30am - 5.00pm.Each day students will be taught up to 4 physical, creative and complementary classes:

Aerial Core - Static Trapeze, Hoop, Rope, Silks and Flying TrapezeAcrobatic Core - Tumbling, Acrobalance, Handstands, Trampoline and TrampetEquilibristics - Juggling, Hula Hoop, Unicycle, and DiabloSpecialist Skills (bi-weekly) - Tightwire, Chinese Pole, Straps, Doubles Trapeze, Bungee, WallRunning, Webspin and StiltsPerformance - Improvisation, Ensemble, Physical Theatre and Act Creation

Technical Skills - Rigging and SafetyComplimentary Skills - Yoga4Aerial, Conditioning, Flexibility and Theory

The course has been designed to help students develop into professional artists within a safeand structured group environment. The timetable has been created to build a solid foundation inthe core disciplines of aerial and ground based acrobatics. Importance is also given to gainingstrength, increasing exibility and preventing injury. Unlike other courses AirCraft Circus also offersan introduction to the rigging of equipment and tasters in specialist circus skills such as WallRunning and Chinese Pole. As the Course progresses there will be more emphasis on act creation

and performance skills, leading to an end of term show.



2nd September - 20th December 2013.

Entry to the course is by AUDITION ONLY.

Auditions are free; please email Moira at info@

aircraftcircus.com.

The audition will involve a tour of the space anda introduction with the AirCraft Circus team. Wewill also assess applicants strength and exibiltythrough a series of exercises and games. Thiswill allow us to judge your suitability for thecourse and for you to gain a taste of what willbe involved in the course.

You will be required to perform an informal twominute demo of your chosen skill. This could beaerial or ground-based in the medium of circus,dance, theatre or gymnastics.

There will follow a private interview with eachapplicant. This is your chance to discuss anyqueries, concerns or ambitions directly with theAirCraft Circus Team.

11th February - 31st May 2013.

Entry to the course is by AUDITION ONLY.Auditions begin in May.

Auditions are free; please email Moira at [email protected].

The audition will involve a tour of the space anda introduction with the AirCraft Circus team. Wewill also assess applicants strength and exibiltythrough a series of exercises and games. Thiswill allow us to judge your suitability for thecourse and for you to gain a taste of what will

be involved in the course.

You will be required to perform an informal twominute demo of your chosen skill. This could beaerial or ground-based in the medium of circus,dance, theatre or gymnastics.

There will follow a private interview with eachapplicant. This is your chance to discuss anyqueries, concerns or ambitions directly with the

AirCraft Circus Team.

If you are interested in joining the course pleasesend your CV and covering letter to Moira:[email protected]

Course Fees

The total cost of the course is 2700 for the 15weeks (180 per week).

Payment plans are available to spread the cost

of the course over the 15 weeks.

Upon acceptance a deposit of 270 will berequired to secure your place.

Please note this is a private course, and asyet there is no funding available for individualapplicants.

Course Dates and Fees



The Team

Alex Frith

CEO and Creative Director

Specialities: Bungee, Wall Running, Stilts,Silks, Acrobatics, Dance and Performance Skills

Originally from Australia, Alex Frith trained as aprofessional dancer at The Victorian College of

the Arts in Melbourne and performed throughoutthe country for ve years before putting downhis ballet shoes and moving to London in 1998.Joining The Central School of Speech andDrama and The Circus Space he expanded hisskills to include acting, acrobatics, aerial skills,stilt walking and clowning. This gained him aplace at The Millennium Dome as an ensembleperformer for the coveted Central Show wherehis main skill was bungee stilts at 40 metres!!

In 2001 he set up AirCraft Circus, his aerialacrobatic theatre company at The Hangar inStratford which he built and ran with Nik Litton.Relocated in 2008, (after being bulldozed forthe 2012 Olympics), the phoenix rose from theashes as the Hangar Arts Trust, a circus andtheatre training space in Greenwich, SouthEast London. He is Creative Director of AirCraftCircus and Chairman of The Hangar Arts Trust.

Alex has experience in stilt and conventionalpuppet-building and is constantly working ona myriad of projects from eclectic creationsto corporate events. Alex has consulted,choreographed and directed widely on manylarge projects including the Lord of the Ringsin the West End and Canada, City of Dreamswith Dragone, The Shakespeare Globe, MotionHouse, Punch Drunk,The Royal Opera House

and Madame Pains Boudoir Circus. He is aspecialist in ying performers for adverts, bigscale theatre and circus.

Moira Campbell

Marketing Directorand Programme Manager

Specialities: Static Trapeze, Doubles Trapeze,Rope, Spanish Web, Aerial Hoop and Yoga

Moira Campbells ethos is that any student with

enough passion, discipline and determinationcan become a circus artist.

Moira started out relatively late with aerialtraining at the age of 24. After studying atThe Circus Space in London, she left herjob in independent lm as a producer andscreenwriter to follow her dream. Fired up withthe idea of bringing circus to all, she startedteaching her classes in an old church in

Highgate but soon continued her business atthe original Hangar in East London and TheSynergy Centre in Oval.

Her love for teaching, performing and runningcabarets developed and soon she moved inwith 8 other circus maniacs at the originalHangar warehouse and married Alex Frith. Withcircus now her life she made the big jump tothe new Hangar Arts Trust in Greenwich and

became an equal partner in AirCraft Circus,taking on the role of Marketing Director andProgramme Manager. She currently runs andcoordinates the Foundation Course, the AirCraftAdult Programme and the AirCraft Youth Circus.

Alongside her passion for circus, Moira travelledto India to train as a traditional yoga teacherand came back so enthralled she named herrst child after the country - who at the tender

age of three has performed no less then 12times already!



Lucy Francis-LittonFinancial Director

Specialities: Flying Trapeze, Cradle, SwingingTrapeze, Acrobalance And Flexibility

Lucy trained as a gymnast and dancer in

Norfolk, before becoming a national competitorfor sports acrobatics and tumbling in the1990s. Aged 18 she moved to Leeds to studyfor a degree in Sports and Exercise Scienceat Beckett Park Campus (Leeds Metropolitan

University). She became the British MastersDiving Champion for both 1m and 3m springboard in 1998 and completed the set with a goldfor platform in 1999.

From Leeds Lucy moved to London to train

Theatre Practice focusing on aerial circus skillsand acrobatics in preparation for the MillenniumDome Central Show 2000. Since then Lucy hastrained and performed many different circusaerial and acrobatic acts around the world

including Flying Trapeze and Cradle (DoubleTrouble, The Flying Dudes 2002), SwingingTrapeze (Manumission, Ibiza), Acrobalance(Acrobats 2Xtreme) and hand balancing (RoyalOpera House, Royal Albert Hall)

Alongside her performing Lucy is also a circustrainer and choreographer with over 10 yearsexperience across a wide range of ages anddisciplines. Before joining AirCraft Circus Lucy

worked as one of the Aerial and AcrobaticTrainers for the Degree Students at The CircusSpace and was also the Head Trainer andChoreographer for London Youth Circus.

Nik LittonTechnical Director

Specialities: Equilibristics, Acrobatics, Cradle,Flying Trapeze and Rigging

Born and raised in Manchester, Nik spent most

of his youth studying squash. In his late 20sNik decided it was time to take life a little moreseriously and actually get himself a degree... inCircus!

Nik moved to London in 1999 to attend the rstever Circus Degree at The Circus Space inHoxton. It was here where he met his now wifeLucy Francis, and they formed a cradle andacrobalance duo. During the summer season of2002 they performed with The Flying Dudes as

part of their ying trapeze spectacle.

Nik continued to perform over the next fewyears, also adding a Kids Clown Show to hisrepertoire, alongside teaching and rigging. He

has performed for Prince Charles, in the RoyalOpera House, P&Os Arcadia launch show andtaught many celebrities how to y.

He was a teacher for the London Youth Circus

and Corporate programme at The Circus Space2002 - 2009 and he has been rigging Circussince 2001.



The Venue

AirCraft Circus is housed at Hangar ArtsTrust, an Arts Charity based in the Borough ofGreenwich. The building boasts over 7000 ft2training space, dedicated to the full continuumof circus arts training and associated practice.In 2007, Aircraft Circus had to uproot from theirprevious home in Stratford due to the 2012Olympic Stadium construction. Since then, HAT and AirCraft Circus have been building their facilityand reputation south of the river.

The Aircraft Circus Foundation Course has attracted students across the UK, Europe, MiddleEast, USA and from a breadth of backgrounds. Since graduating in March 2010, students from theFoundation Course have gone on to begin successful careers in circus and related performanceart professions.

Students from the Foundation Course performed in our in-house sell-out show Madame PainsBoudoir Circus and a variety of outdoor festivals during the summer season. In addition, AirCraftCircus runs a full adult evening programme and a Youth Circus.



AirCraft Circus

The Hangar Arts TrustUnit 7A, Mellish House,

Harrington Way,London

SE18 5NR

(020) 3004 6173

www.aircraftcircus.com

[email protected]

The course has given me such a great platform of skills that I can now take with me and expandupon. I really feel like I know about all aspects of circus from performance, technique and training to

rigging, networking and safety. Left me wanting more... a lot more! (Kathryn Cooley, Spring 2011)

Documents

AirCraft Circus Foundation Course in Circus Arts Prospectus