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Monday, September 12, 2011
News
The busy summer months have quieted down and the Nablus Circus School has settled into it's academic year routine, but the work has not slowed! September marks the beginning of the 2nd phase of the Circus for Change / Mobile Circus project, which is now co-funded by both the Danish Center for Culture and Development and the Social Development Fund of the French Consulate. In the coming months, trainers will organize workshops in Awerta, Iraq Burin, Yanoun and Sawiya villages, all places where Assirk Assaghir performed in July. In addition, workshops will begin in Askar refugee camp for teen boys and girls.
In other news, Assirk Assaghir will begin a new project called "Dancing Colors" which will be the creation, production and touring of a black-light/glow show. Special effects and mezmorizing acts can be created using black light and glow-in-the-dark materials, something that is completely new in Palestine. This show will be created in the coming months and will be toured during the winter break between semesters. This project is made possible by the Arab Fund for Culture and Development, based in Beirut.
In other news, Assirk Assaghir will begin a new project called "Dancing Colors" which will be the creation, production and touring of a black-light/glow show. Special effects and mezmorizing acts can be created using black light and glow-in-the-dark materials, something that is completely new in Palestine. This show will be created in the coming months and will be toured during the winter break between semesters. This project is made possible by the Arab Fund for Culture and Development, based in Beirut.
Festiclown
Festiclown is a group of circus artists, clowns and supporters who are visiting Palestine to perform, teach and and show solidarity with the Palestinians. The group made daily performances in Nablus for one week before traveling to Jerusalem and Ramallah to continue their tour. Patch Adams, an American clown and doctor accompanied the group. While they performed he when clowning in a hospital and gave a lecture at An-Najah University. The Assirk Assaghir members who were part of the hospital clowning project attended both activities and gained insight and inspiration from Adams' work.
The Assirk Assaghir team on one occasion performed with the group in the Jamal Abdel Nasser open-air theater for a crowd of more than 400 people. Currently, a number of circus artists have returned to Nablus to give workshops for students at the Nablus Circus School.
Assirk Assaghir would like to thank all Festiclown participants for their support and enthusiasm in promoting the Palestinian cause. We hope to see them again next year.
The Assirk Assaghir team on one occasion performed with the group in the Jamal Abdel Nasser open-air theater for a crowd of more than 400 people. Currently, a number of circus artists have returned to Nablus to give workshops for students at the Nablus Circus School.
Assirk Assaghir would like to thank all Festiclown participants for their support and enthusiasm in promoting the Palestinian cause. We hope to see them again next year.
Shake Festival 2011
Assirk Assaghir participated again in the Shake Festival in Berlin, Germany in July 2011. Six teen boys from the advanced group and 2 trainers participated in 2 weeks of workshops, shows and intercultural exchange with groups from across Europe and the Middle East. They learned new skills, met new people and learned how to make connections with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures through circus. Two of the group are brothers from Balata refugee camp and had not had the chance to travel outside of Palestine before.
Girls Only!
After 2 months of daily trainings and workshops, the teen girls group put together a show and performed it in the Child Culture Center in Nablus for a group of women and children. Later the same day, the whole group of 13 girls and 1 trainer went to the female-only swimming pool and performed the show again, then spent the afternoon swimming and celebrating.
The show consisted of acts in unicycle, poi, stilts, break dance, stomp dance, diabolo, pair acrobatics, group dances and stilts. The girls were proud of their achievement and this was the first time performing for more than half of the group. We look forward to welcoming new girls to our programs, giving them the unique chance to participate in physical and artistic activities and present their skills to the public. These shows and trainings are made possible by Swedish Clowns Without Borders and the Danish Center for Culture and Development.
The show consisted of acts in unicycle, poi, stilts, break dance, stomp dance, diabolo, pair acrobatics, group dances and stilts. The girls were proud of their achievement and this was the first time performing for more than half of the group. We look forward to welcoming new girls to our programs, giving them the unique chance to participate in physical and artistic activities and present their skills to the public. These shows and trainings are made possible by Swedish Clowns Without Borders and the Danish Center for Culture and Development.
Mobile Circus Village Tour, July 2011
The village tour of July 2011 was a great success in brining circus, fun and laughter to some of the most isolated areas of the nornthern West Bank. Additionally, it was a chance for teens from Nablus to see the Palestinian countryside and meet rural populations to exchange experiences.
Highlights:
Sawwiya village is located next to the expansive Eli settlement and often faces settler attacks, especially on school-aged girls who have to walk along the main road to reach school. Assirk Assaghir performed for a summer camp there for the most enthusiastic, active crowd of the tour. The cildren clapped, yelled, danced and participated in each act. When asked what their favorite part of the show was, two girls said, "The funny boys with the red noses" of the clowns, something they hadn't seen before.
Kufer Haris and Skaka are villages in Salfeet district, an area Assirk Assaghir hadn't performed in before. Both villages are very near multiple settlements and the entire Salfeet district has a problem with sewage and garbage from the settlements being dumped in their land. In one area, a near-by settlement was using land directly behind the children's school playgroud as their landfill. Assirk Assaghir performed in Skaka in a dirt field under the sun because the center was small and didn't have adequate facilities. The children in the audience sat under an auning. When asked what they thought of the show, one of the teenage performers said, "They really don't have much in that village. We performed outside in a field. I felt today more than the other days that our show was important."
Highlights:
Sawwiya village is located next to the expansive Eli settlement and often faces settler attacks, especially on school-aged girls who have to walk along the main road to reach school. Assirk Assaghir performed for a summer camp there for the most enthusiastic, active crowd of the tour. The cildren clapped, yelled, danced and participated in each act. When asked what their favorite part of the show was, two girls said, "The funny boys with the red noses" of the clowns, something they hadn't seen before.
Kufer Haris and Skaka are villages in Salfeet district, an area Assirk Assaghir hadn't performed in before. Both villages are very near multiple settlements and the entire Salfeet district has a problem with sewage and garbage from the settlements being dumped in their land. In one area, a near-by settlement was using land directly behind the children's school playgroud as their landfill. Assirk Assaghir performed in Skaka in a dirt field under the sun because the center was small and didn't have adequate facilities. The children in the audience sat under an auning. When asked what they thought of the show, one of the teenage performers said, "They really don't have much in that village. We performed outside in a field. I felt today more than the other days that our show was important."
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