This Week — 28 May 2021

In the next month, you’ve got plenty of opportunities to support new circus school grads, BIPOC circus artists, lifetime educators and queer clowns in continuing to do their life-changing work. How, you ask? Just read on…

READING

FEEDBACK LOOP

Lottie brings us another great review for Dispatch, this one for the 2016 publication of Look at Me, The Circus Approach: Working with Children and Young People Through the Circus Arts. This lovely tome seeks to ingrain the big-picture skills of trust, risk and rhythm in circus educators. Find out how author Steven Desanghere translates these complex ideas into digestible and organized concepts by reading this review.

ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT

May 29

The Zoom Circus Show that Goes Wrong is a cinematic, musical celebration of all the inevitable follies of Internet circus productions, including a wide range of talented performers filming acts to an original soundtrack. This is a pre-recorded show with a live emcee, starting at 8 p.m. EDT. Get tickets at this link.

June 1

Loki Circus Theater presents the premiere of COLORED GRRLS, which tells the stories of African American women through circus, dance and original text. The show starts at 8 p.m. EDT on YouTube at this link. This show is free to view, but you should support this theater company by donating at this link.

June 7

Enjoy a variety show filled with laughter and tears at Show Teachers the Love! Ticket sales from this show benefit the Academy for Teachers, and K-12 educators can enjoy the show free of charge. Performers include Gandini Juggling, tap dancer Ayodele Casel, comedian Mike Birbiglia and more. The show starts at 6 p.m. EDT. Get tickets at this link.

IN-PERSON EVENTS

June 3-13

The Hand to Hand Circus Festival in Philadelphia features contemporary circus performances by students at Circadium, as well as the show Eventide by multidisciplinary performance company 3AM Theatre. There will also be a free circus midway on June 12 with timed-entry passes to learn circus and occasional street performances. Get all of the details about this festival’s offerings at this link.

VIRTUAL FESTIVALS

June 4-6

Club Fest 2 is bringing you another virtual festival jam-packed with workshops, shows, panels and head-to-head club juggling battles. All are welcome to join this event, organized by Club Motion Juggling, which has cultivated a truly worldwide community of club jugglers. You can even submit your creative club-based art to their art show (see Submit Your Work below). RSVP at the Facebook event page, where you will see an updated schedule and show line-up soon.

June 17

Dance Place presents Gaze, a five-day virtual festival highlighting local and national LGBTQIA+ artists and companies running June 16-21. On June 17 at 5 p.m., watch Creep Cuts perform their piece FREEZE RESPONSE, which draws from the indecision and purposelessness of the global pandemic to reveal a surrealist, anti-fascist work of clowning. This performance uses dada drag, queer social media diatribes, original electronic music and sketch comedy to create a fever dream of rebellious imagination. Watch for free at this link. This show will stream through June 28 at www.danceplace.org.

July 12-18

Join hundreds of jugglers from around the world at the IJA Online Festival 2021, featuring shows, workshops, panel discussions, a prop raffle and much more. Last year’s online festival revealed just how fun and far-reaching a virtual juggling event can be. RSVP at the Facebook event page.

July 23-25

The Virtual European Juggling Convention 2021 will feature a global array of workshops, games and an online gala show. If you’re interested in running a workshop or hosting another virtual activity, email VEJC@eja.net. Visit the Facebook event page for the latest.

CLASSES & COMMUNITY

Sasha Bruce Youthwork in D.C. is hosting an In-Kind Donation Drive to support their network of youth experiencing homelessness or financial need. You can purchase essential supplies for youth and their families by visiting this link. The campaign ends on Monday, so don’t delay!
Enroll in Rhizome DC’s Community Supported Art program to receive nine pieces of original artwork from local artists this Summer/Fall. Shares for the program are available at a sliding scale from $200-$500. Buy one at this link.
Donate to In Good Wealth, organized by BIPOC Midwest Circus Alliance founder Cicely Green. This non-profit provides the Black community accessibility to wellness, movement and health, supporting holistic businesses that ignite generational wealth through community and individual well-being. Visit this link to learn more and give what you can.

SUBMIT YOUR WORK

Club Fest 2 is looking for artists to submit their juggling club-based artwork to their Art Show, with a virtual viewing during this online festival June 4-6. Fill out this application to submit your art. Paintings, sculpture, glass, drawing, ceramics and more are all accepted.