SAIIER 2016:Eluciole Circus
 Centre for Research in the Performing Arts |
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 Evergreen Horses |
| Eluciole Circus | ||
Introduction
Entity::Eluciole Circus offers training and practice in circus performance, aerial yoga, silk, trapeze, lyra, gymnastics, acrobatics, theater, dance, acro yoga, juggling, balance and concentration work, and coordination of the body.
Activities of the year
Groups of children from Auroville schools including The Learning Community, Kindergarden, Nandanam Kindergarten and Transition School came every week for classes at Eluciole Circus. The schedule of days and timings was organized in the middle of July and carried through the whole school year.
Other classes were offered for children and young adults aged 5 to 15 throughout the week. Some workshops were also organized for children and adults over the course of the year.
This year we developed aerial yoga and it was a big success! Aerial yoga is about counteracting gravity. By relieving compression due to the pull of gravity while on the ground, the spine is elongated and the shoulders straightened. The few inches of suspension in the air releases tension on the bones and muscles, increasing flexibility. Fantastic as it may sound, one can actually practice the various poses and movements while suspended a few inches off the ground through aerial yoga.
Some of our events this year were:
- Circus students presented at the Kalabhumi Music Festival on February 20th.
- The Nandanam children performed a theatrical/circus/educational play on February 17th and 18th. We always invite some Auroville school children to these events; they love to come and see their friends doing circus performance.
- For the open house in The Learning Community we created a circus animation throughout the school with different circus skills , including the direct contact with the public. It was a beautiful learning process for all of us.
- On April 27th the Kindergarten students gave a performance.
Outcomes
Through their activities with Eluciole Circus the children develop control and discipline of the functioning of the body, towards an integral, methodical and harmonious development of all the parts and movements of the body. They also develop the power of concentration and the capacity of attention. They develop the beautiful qualities of confidence, trust, and self love – essential for the development of the human being.
Reflections
We work a lot on our fear, and by overcoming small and big fears we develop trust in ourselves. Working together, practicing trusting others, also brings inside us the beautiful quality of having trust in the universe. A complete surrender!
I (Kalou) want to mix some body expression (dance), some theater, even some live music and singing in our activity. This is our yoga: to express the divine in all the possibilities of the human body.
Conclusion
To see the evolution of each child is magic – to see them month by month progress and be able to do what they couldn't do a few months ago. I always tell them that everything is possible if we really believe it. I also encourage them to believe in themselves. Auroville is a place where children and adults have the possibility to learn all different forms of expressing the divine through art. This is why we are here, to help the children go deeper inside themselves and offer their divine part.
Our circus work energizes, transforms; it brings art, creativity, joy, balance, harmony, love , magic, happiness, Divine light.
