The Bank Family Days: Circus Day w/ Femmes du Feu Creations and Lookup Theatre – Nov 22, 2020
Sunday, November 22, 2020
Come immerse yourself in the wild and wonderful world of circus! Welland based Femmes du Feu Creations and Toronto based LookUp Theater team up to take you through an exciting journey to learn about circus all the way from the traditional American circus companies that traveled the country from the 1800’s, to the European clowns that make us laugh and cry, to the great Canadian company Cirque Du Soleil, and even sharing some of the work our companies have been creating over the past few months!
Co-Host, Lookup Theatre’s artistic form is storytelling, expressed through contemporary circus arts and theatre. It’s creative non-fiction – we tell true stories with imagination and originality, using movement, text and metaphor to recount real events with sophisticated spectacle. LookUp was created in 2009 and has been a charitable organization since 2010. LookUp teaches skills including trapeze, hoop, aerial silks, juggling, hula hoop, tight wire, clowning and more. Participants receive many benefits from this program including increased fitness, creativity, and self-esteem.
Co-Host, Femmes du Feu Creations is a not-for-profit organization with 3 main missions: performance, education, and sector development, with priority to the Niagara region. We focus on collaborations between artists and disciplines to create professional, entertaining and honest arts engaged experiences for people of all ages, cultures, religions and abilities. Our mission is to engage and inspire through artistic activities, with a focus on circus, for happier, more connected communities and healthier lives. Our mandate is two-fold: to produce professional circus shows and education opportunities to engage and empower underserved communities through circus arts.
The Bank Family Days, produced by Femmes du Feu Creations, is a series of arts & culture events full of engaged activities for families and people of all ages. Activities will take place digitally and at home. Registration is required, but all events are FREE! Each event will include a take home kit with supplies for the activity. Each event will include a series of online videos to watch, a craft to do at home, and an interactive Zoom meeting with the lead artist.
This ZOOM class will get the whole family moving and grooving! We will play some circus games, do some stretching, some dancing, some juggling and so much more!
Take Home Craft Kit will include: clown nose, poi, juggling scarves, juggling ball craft, colouring kit
Videos for you to watch from home. Immerse yourself in all the wonderful world of circus!!
THE NATIONAL CIRCUS PROJECT, a great Youtube page with tons of videos on how to juggle, balance, spin plates and more! https://www.youtube.com/user/nationalcircuspro/playlists
Femmes du Feu Creations
Here is a selection of the Femmes du Feu work we have produced over the years:
– AERIAL SILKS DUET performed by Angola Murdoch & Holly Treddenick, filmed by Peter Benedetti in the early days of the pandemic https://vimeo.com/429769617
– BIND performed by Angola Murdoch & Holly Treddenick, filmed by Peter Benedetti, edited by Gabe Bateman
– TWEET TWEET, a show is for little ones age 0-6 years. Here is a quick clip: https://vimeo.com/273362371
All Time Fave Acts
– FRANCESCA & LAURA 41e Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain. An act that is edgy, skilled, feminine and powerful. A mash up between traditional, contemporary, and NOW circus. https://vimeo.com/389917021
Episodes
– A TVO series about a group of kids attending an elite circus school: https://www.tvokids.com/school-age/big-top-academy-0
Movies
NOELI ACOBA- Noeli is a professional circus artist, coach and youtuber. Though the pandemic she has created some amazing videos that are informative and political about racism and more. She also has this great acro complication from Tic Tok! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dWS4q1munc
CIRQUE DU SOLEIL –There is tons of awesome circus content to watch here for FREE!!! Here are a few of our favorites! https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/cirqueconnect
– The Best of Clowning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbvduREHx8g&feature=youtu.be
– The Best of Aerial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL3X1KZc48A&feature=youtu.be
– Behind the Scenes Of Kurios https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52J7NiR79mk&feature=youtu.be
NETFLIX
– The Little Mermaid (live action on Netflix)
DISNEY PLUS
– Dumbo (the 2019 live action is fantastic, but the original animation is a classic)
– The Greatest Showman
CBC GEM (a free Canadian online streaming platform)
– Circus By Komatik follows the adventures of Wonderbolt Circus, based in St. John’s, Newfoundland, as they share circus skills with Inuit youth in the remote communities of Rigolet and Makkovik, Labrador (Nunatsiavut, NL). https://gem.cbc.ca/media/absolutely-canadian/season-19/episode-1/38e815a-0114d6710c0?cmp=sch-circus
– After Circus: Few of us have ever given a second thought as to what happens to circus artists ‘off the wire’ after they’ve spent their lives entertaining and inspiring us.
NATIONAL FILM BOARD OF CANADA
– High Grass Circus: This feature-length documentary offers an inside look into the workings of a travelling circus. In 1976, directors Tony Ianzelo and Torben Schioler followed the various people involved with the Royal Brothers’ Circus as they set up their tents and put on their show. Fascinating to watch, the film captures the 24-hour-a-day brand of magic that the circus evokes while revealing the nature of the people who run it. https://www.nfb.ca/film/high_grass_circus/
– The Cirque: An American Odyssey: This short documentary chronicles the Cirque du Soleil’s 1988 United States tour. As the fledgling Quebec circus sets up its big top in New York City, where it garners rave reviews, circus artists discuss what it means to be a part of this success and the price they pay for taking part in the American Dream. https://www.nfb.ca/film/cirque_american_odyssey/
– Grace Fall (1 minute animation) https://www.nfb.ca/film/grace_fall/
– In The Center Ring (1 minute animation) https://www.nfb.ca/film/in_center_ring/