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Our new Project is called:

"Stellar"

Which will reveal a new wave of Circus and Street Art as a multi-faceted show that includes and targets all.

Contemporary Circus is an evolution of the traditional "Circus Arts" that resulted from the birth of the "Circus Schools in France and Russia", which have been combined with a range of performing art forms (Drama, Contemporary Dance, Cultural dance, etc) alongside gymnastics and/or martial arts (Capoeira, Karate, etc.), all of which are based on the beauty of what the human body can achieve.

Cirque Nova Ltd. aims to reach youth & adult audiences as well as families with children. It also attracts diverse communities to see our work by adding cultural art forms (such as Kathak dance or African dance) to our creations.

We believe that Circus, both as an educational tool and an entertainment form, is a really useful means of engaging young and disabled people, around their emotional and physical needs, and promoting greater awareness of their social environment.

In line with this, Cirque Nova Ltd. reaches out to and empowers young people, raising their confidence and offering opportunities for them to work within a broad range of community-based productions, with the aim of challenging societal prejudices and misconceptions.

The focus of our company's educational program is to assist young and disabled people in developing increased confidence and self-esteem. By participating in our workshops, we have found that young people achieve greater confidence in both their interpersonal and communication skills. Working in group settings and learning new skills has a positive effect on their self-expression, self discipline and problem solving skills, as well as enabling them to take responsibility for their pace and depth of learning.

The main skills that we train in are:

Aerial, Juggling, Acrobatics, African Dance & Kathak Dance

Our workshops offer high levels of physical training, with the focus being upon participation and enjoyment.

Alongside this, participants have found many other benefits to learning circus skills such as increased physical strength and flexibility, which helps tackle obesity among other things.

Cirque Nova has proven with its work that people with a variety of disabilities have enhanced their health by toning their muscle mass, by providing regular training that improved physical and lifestyle abilities. There is an ever-increasing momentum in society to break boundaries and create integration. As a result, the work will focus on their ability not their "disability", maybe in that way getting rid of the 'freak show' image; instead assimilating to society as "a difference to the norm". For our new project, we have recruited 10 disabled volunteers by placing ads in disability magazines, websites and by contacting disability charities. Several people applied and all had the physical capacities, interest and commitment needed to be trained for this work.

- 5 volunteers will be trained to do aerial work hanging from safety rotating acrobatic belts, which will allow them to tumble forwards, backwards and pirouette sideways, as well as to learn to climb and do a variety of aerial tricks and bungee jumps.

- 5 other volunteers will be trained in stilt walking and poi juggling, hula hoop manipulation and silk ribbons.

Our team of collaborators is made of experienced and certified riggers who have full control over the equipment.

We will make sure that all insurance as well as and health & safety issues are taken care of. We run Cirque Nova with a firm Equal Opportunities Policy to which we adhere when recruiting staff and volunteers.

To have an idea of the kind of work that the aerialists would be doing, please take a look at this youtube film. Open these links on your internet browser http://www.myspace.com/cirque_nova These artists would be able with their skills to perform in other festivals, and tour Britain and abroad as paid performers.

All going well, maybe even get a chance to be part of the Paralympic Ceremonies.

After our previous experience working with several other disabled artists, we noticed that the quality of life of these participants was remarkably enhanced by the physical work with which their bodies wouldn't otherwise be confronted. One of our disabled artists from the previous creation (Cerebral Palsy sufferer and HIV+) realised that he was taller, gained more muscle control to manipulate his wheel chair, as well as experiencing hanging upside down for the first time in his life, strengthening his back and travelling to Trafalgar Square in London for the first time ever to perform for several thousand people.(see article by Katherine Darton on our blog pages) The routine to come and train once every two weeks gave him something to look forward to, which increased his mental well being. In conclusion, we firmly believe that most aspects of this work would be highly beneficial to all the participants as well as offering a proposal that could be used to create new shows and/or develop independent work by the disabled artists that are trained by us.

Our past work was totally based on programs of HIV/AIDS awareness and educational projects here with related, we still feel very close to these issues, for which we still offer shows and programs ready to submit these services to schools and charities.

Cirque Nova Ltd. is a Registered Company Limited by Guarantee at the registrar for England & Wales. Company No. 6344054

It is run by 3 directors: Jean-Marie Akkerman, Michael McHugh & Daniele Miracapillo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAvnMJ7BZkM (34 seconds of video) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MxXfifADn4 (34 seconds of video)