Welcome to ‘Pick of the Net’ a regular series of posts where I pick some videos (or video) I’ve enjoyed on the net during the week or videos with a particular theme or skill base for your viewing pleasure.
Vulcana & The Women’s Circus
Pick of The Net this week is a few short doco’s/behind the scenes of two super important companies in Australia’s Circus landscape – Vulcana Women’s Circus in Brisbane and The Women’s Circus in Melbourne.
Both companies need more extensive stand alone articles, so this post is just a taste of the amazing work they have done over the last few decades and continue to do:
Vulcana Women’s Circus
“Vulcana Women’s Circus works with the circus traditions of inclusiveness, strength, excitement and daring, to transform and empower individuals and communities. We value circus as a transformational tool which can build that empowerment. Vulcana respects the individual and encourages expanded notions of “normal”. We value women as leaders and role models, and hold that empowered women are essential in building and shaping strong communities’ – From Vulcana’s Website (Click the website link to find out more)
Vulcana: A Woman’s Circus – Documentary
A short documentary about Vulcana Women’ s Circus (founded in Brisbane’s West End in 1995). This doco was Produced, Directed and Edited by Jemma Gorring.
Vulcana Women’s Circus is a not for profit organisation and do amazing work with disadvantaged individuals and communities and change lives through the medium of Circus. Find out ways you can help support on their website – HERE.
Women’s Circus (Melbourne)
A Brief Herstory from The Women’s Circus Website:
“Women’s Circus has provided training and creative opportunities for community participants and women artists since 1991 when it was founded to work with women who were the survivors of violence or abuse as a project of the Footscray Community Arts Centre. Twenty-six years later, Women’s Circus is still proudly based in Melbourne’s vibrant West and now works with women of all ages, experience levels and cultural backgrounds as well as with our local communities. We honour the important legacy of our organisation and the work, commitment and achievements of all those women who have gone before us. We today ‘stand on the shoulders of giants!’”
Here’s two short ‘behind the scenes’ mini doco’s on the Women’s Circus.
– Women’s Circus – Enriching the lives of women for over 25 years (2016)
Video by Melbourne Photographer & Film Maker Jacinta Oaten
– Circus Diaries
The Women’s Circus have an extensive Digital Archive which they put together as part of their 25 year celebrations in 2016 – https://womenscircusarchives.smugmug.com/
There was also a documentary made about the Women’s Circus called Leaping Off the Edge in 2001 directed by Pat Fiske & Nicolette Freeman (Distributed by Ronin Films). You can view it on Vimeo on Demand – HERE.
Women’s Circus is an ACNC registered not-for-profit and as they say on the website they are – “a small organisation with very big aspirations, we rely on the support of many to ensure that we can open the doors of the Circus as widely as possible” – You can support the amazing work that they continue to do – HERE.
Other Links to Women’s Circuses in Australia –
Circus WOW
Circus WOW is a community circus for the Women Of Wollongong. They are a non-profit physical theatre and circus organisation located in Wollongong on the south coast of New South Wales. They provide a range of circus training classes and workshops for adult women, with opportunities to participate in a range of arts community projects, including performances. They focus on creating a supportive and fun space, where the individual well-being of women is nurtured and their physical and creative potential celebrated.
– Keep up to date on their Facebook HERE
Circus POW
Circus POW (Performing Older Women’s Circus) is based in Melbourne and is a small community circus for women aged 40+ to train in circus arts. Currently training at Cecil Street Studios in Fitzroy in acrobalance.
POW’s objectives are:
- to challenge ageism and ageist assumptions
- to promote wellbeing and fitness for women over 40 of any sexual orientation, ethnicity, class, experience and physical ability
- to advance the status of women by embracing feminist perspectives and fostering lesbian visibility
- to have fun and work safely
I hope you have enjoyed this weeks ‘Pick of The Net‘.
Don’t forget to click on all the links to find out more about these companies and if you are able – how you can support them to survive, grow and support their communities.
Peace & Respect to all,
Hamish
* Feature pic: Vulcana Women’s Circus at the Mullum Circus Festival 2001 by John W McCormick (Aka Dad)
