Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-02T22:46:04.607Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 14 - Social Circus

The Rise of an ‘Inclusive’ Movement for Collective Creativity

from Part III - Circus

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 June 2021

Gillian Arrighi
Affiliation:
University of Newcastle, New South Wales
Jim Davis
Affiliation:
University of Warwick
Get access

Summary

Popularised in the late twentieth century, by the second decade of the new millennium well over 350 social circus programmes around the world had begun to offer classes in the circus arts free of charge, with the expressed aim of bringing about some form of social transformation. Typically boasting an ‘inclusive’ approach, goals range from fighting social stigma, alienation, and stereotypes, to bridging cultural communities, to building self-esteem, community capacity, and breaking cycles of poverty. This chapter explores the social and cultural conditions that have led to the rise of this movement and the kinds of impacts that are being observed among programme participants. It further offers an introduction to the pedagogical approaches typical of social circus programmes as well as the institutional structures they tend to adopt.Particular focus is placed on programmes operating in the Americas, placing these within the context of the global social circus movement.By offering a sketch of how social circus programmes function, the chapter demonstrates the ways in which social circus practices embody particular social values and promote particular forms of kinaesthetic sociality.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Further Reading

Bessone, Ilaria. ‘Social Circus As an Organised Cultural Encounter Embodied Knowledge, Trust and Creativity at Play.’ Journal of Intercultural Studies 38 (2017): 651–6.Google Scholar
Bolton, Reginald. ‘Why Circus Works: How the Values and Structures of Circus Make It a Significant Developmental Experience for Young People.’ PhD diss., Murdoch University, Perth, 2004.Google Scholar
Lafortune, Michel, and Bouchard, Annie. Community Workers Guide: When Circus Lessons Become Life Lessons. Montréal: Cirque du Soleil, 2010.Google Scholar
Lavers, Katie. ‘The Resilient Body in Social Circus: Father Jesus Silva, Boris Cyrulnik and Peter A. Levine.’ In The Routledge Circus Studies Reader, edited by Tait, Peta and Lavers, Katie, 508–27. Abingdon: Routledge, 2016.Google Scholar
Rivard, Jacinthe, Bourgeault, Guy, and Mercier, Céline. ‘Cirque du Monde in Mexico City: Breathing New Life into Action for Young People in Difficult Situations.International Social Science Journal 61 (2010): 181–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spiegel, Jennifer Beth, and Choukroun, Benjamin Ortiz, eds. The Art of Collectivity: Social Circus and the Cultural Politics of a Post-neoliberal Vision. Montréal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2019.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×