RUNNING A CIRCUS FESTIVAL? HOW HARD COULD IT BE?
Ciara Thorburn
It’s been two weeks and I’ve (almost) recovered from the best two weeks of my life (again).
I’m talking about the Australian Partner Acrobatic Convention (APAC) and Spin Circus Festival. And yes, as one of the organisers I do have a vested interest, but if you were there (or if you’ve been) you know what I’m talking about.
Spin Circus Festival, or as it’s punters affectionately know it, Spinfest, now in its tenth year, is one of a kind. Three hundred Australian circus artists gather in the middle of rural Victoria, sharing skills, circus, and experiences, and we couldn’t be more at home. As a growing Australian circus festival, Spinfest remains true to its roots with a wholesome twist. We are talking a mix of old school Australian superstars alongside newcomers learning to spin fire, handstand or juggle for the first time. With over fifty workshops daily, jam-packed into three days, spanning all ages, levels and disciplines, as well as industry discussions and shows – it’s hard to choose what to go to first.
Apart from upskilling for days, Spinfest puts on some pretty sweet party times too. With a feature-length gala show this year at the Barwon Heads Spiegeltent, a nightly fire jam dance party, friendly fire in the Circus Olympics, and a Renegade Show with a reputation for unruliness, it’s developing its own special unique flavour as a circus festival. Spinfest prides itself on its ability to be inclusive, encouraging enthusiasts alongside professionals. With accessibility for all circus artists, both amateur and professional, SpinFest’s mission is to provide training and support for the whole community, a place where everyone fits in. At Spinfest, it doesn’t matter who you know, or what you know, all you need to know is you are exactly where you need to be.
We value that Spinfest attracts an eclectic mix of artists and genres. And I’ll tell you what, no one can throw together a lineup show quite like Spinfest. This year featured a menagerie of world-class acts, headed by master MC Joel Salom, with special guests including Tim Goddard (Timmehtek), Kyle Johnson (UK), and the epic unveiling of Jugg Life 3.0 (yes, that’s all three of them, together, at last).
So what’s it like running a circus festival? Well, first of all, more work than you think. SO much more work. So much in fact, that no one could ever expect to be paid enough for the amount of work that we all put in. Which is lucky, seeing that we have never had any grants, government, or third-party financial support. This festival was built from the ground up, one of Chris Carlos’ crazy ideas to create a festival made for all of us, built on community. Spin brings together, in perfect harmony, disciplines and styles of traditional, contemporary and emerging circus arts. And you know what? We are so damn proud of it.
The hardest part about creating a circus festival? Well, here’s where I give you the juicy goss… but here’s the thing; There isn’t any. We pride ourselves on transparency and communication, with each other as well as with the punters. What you see is what you get, and that’s what makes this festival so damn amazing.
Everyone pitching in, helping to transform what is at first an empty oval, to a fully-fledged circus playground (flying trapeze included) in a matter of hours. The passion-driven work of the teachers, crew and volunteers forms the essence of the ties that are created amongst the Spin family. Spending a day working and learning with each other, problem solving, celebrating new skills, or experiencing your first Renegade together, forms a bond that would otherwise take years to build. It’s hard to comprehend, but you know that feeling when you know you are here and in this industry for the same reason, those bonds become unbreakable. When circus becomes your (bio)logical family.
I often wonder what built the bigger, iconic, Australian and even worldwide circus festivals, and how they came into being. Just recently with Spinfest it became clear that that is exactly where we were always going, and it was all happening right under our noses. For the past decade we have grown together, the passion and support that forms the core of Spinfest has been expanding with the bar rising more and more every year. Ten years ago, Spinfest was less than fifty people in a small hall in Collingwood, and now with the support and growth of our community we are about to expand to become the Victorian Circus Festival.
So I guess this is it then… the official announcement of the birth of the next big Australian circus festival, the Victorian Circus Festival 2020.
The full circus training week will run 13th – 16th January, with public shows and workshops, open to the public over the weekend of 17th – 19th January 2020. Prepare yourselves for elite level multi-disciplinary training, with a focus on acrobatics, aerials, and manipulation, with the inclusive ethos of Spinfest at its core. But the best news is, we now have a full month of training featuring the Australian Hoop Convention (Hoopcon) (3rd– 6th Jan), Spinfest (8th – 10th Jan), Victorian Circus Festival (VCF) (13th – 19th Jan), and Australian Partner Acrobatic Convention (APAC) (20th – 23rd Jan).
So the future of Spinfest is as part of twenty days of circus! Following on from Hoopcon, Spinfest will have a more manipulation centred focus, and then be followed by VCF training week and public Festival weekend, and wrapping up with a week of intensive partner acro training at APAC!
None of this would exist if it wasn’t for the inspired entrepreneurial mind of Chris Carlos, and his crazy beautiful ideas which spring from the grassroots of our amazing Australian Circus community.
Sometimes I’m not quite sure how I got here,… but I’m so damn lucky to be here.
Article written by Ciara Thorburn for Carnival Cinema – 30/01/19
Spin Circus
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Spin Circus Facebook
Ciara Thorburn
Circus Artist, Variety Performer, Children’s Entertainer, Clown, MC, Cabaret Luminary and human being.
Ciara is a passionate, progressive and creative circus artist based in Melbourne, Australia. An avid art critic in her past life, Ciara has combined her passion for conceptual art with entertainment in an inimitable fusion of variety skill with clowning. Ciara defies expectations, using everyday objects in extraordinary ways, and has a knack for turning the mundane into the astonishing with her unique character work.
Ciara Links
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