Workshops and training
Upswing holds regular workshops and are very committed to their education and outreach work.
Our next workshop will be a 'JUNIOR AERIAL SKILLS WORKSHOP, AN INTRODUCTION TO FLYING' on 17th February: an action packed one day workshop in Trapeze and Aerial Skills for children (aged 8-16).
Date: Friday 17th February
Time: 10am-5pm (with a 1 hour lunch break)
Cost: £70 or £120 for booking of 2.
Venue: The Creation Studio, just off Hoxton Sq.- Old St tube.
For more information or to book, contact Simona Hughes: simona@upswing.org.uk
All staff working with participants are CRB checked
“…you use muscles you never knew you had, but when you heard the dong as you hit the top, you felt like the king of the world” - Jessica Andrade - workshop participant
“WARNING! Do NOT look down! Keep your chest up and feel like an action hero. We were flying and it was AMAZING and to think this was just our introduction. I could have done this all day!” Sarah Sharman – workshop participant
Upswing runs a Learning and Participation programme for professionals and non professionals. The company are committed to increasing access for everyone to circus, regardless of age and physical ability and to broadening the vision of how people can engage with the artform. With each project we focus on tailoring the activity to the needs of the group to give a high quality, creative engagement with circus.
Read some feedback from one group of young people.
Participants can learn skills through a range of informal projects that run in parallel with the development of new work in the company’s repertoire, as in the examples below, or as self contained programmes. Clip the links for videos of beginners and intermediates/advanced aerial and bungee workshops.
Step Up: A training programme for Black and Asian physical performers to train in aerial disciplines to gain an understanding of the potential of these exciting artforms. Find out more about Step Up 2011 by following the participants blog.
Love Bites: Following a pilot project in April 2009, Love Bites will be developed through a series of workshops that explore the notion of young love with young people some of whom will have the opportunity to be involved in the final production.
Cafe Carte Blanche: A two week residency in Clonmel, Eire where Upswing also worked with a group of local young people to decorate and furnish a derelict shop to create the Breakstation: a place for young people to gather during the 10 days of the festival. The group supported by the company managed the space, whilst the dancers from Loved Up staged a series of classes and master-classes in a variety or street dance styles, DJing and Poetry.
Homebringing: working in partnership with Hampton Community College on a cross-curricular project to create a site-specific outdoor performance to mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. The final performance was based on West Africa funeral ceremony called Home-Bringing. The ceremony was used at as starting point to inspire participants to create their own cultural ceremony as a memorial. It also allowed participants to learn about ritual and traditions in West Africa and physically explore themes of slavery and abolition through contemporary dance forms.
For more information about education, workshops and training, please contact our Education and Outreach Manager at simona@upswing.org.uk
