Circus Arts Workshops in Armenia

The main project for CIRCO FRACTAL, our circus arts promotion platform, during the first 6 months of 2024 is to expand circus arts in the Republic of Armenia. While we are actively working in South America, place of origin of our circus company, now me, Ezequiel, I'm in Armenia starting the first steps of what one day would become a Social Circus school in this far away country. We want to do juggling workshops, and a festival by June.

Based in the second biggest city, called Gyumri, where I have volunteered between 2015-18, I am already working in several cultural and educational spaces, spreading the joy of circus arts.

These workshops are free for kids and the hosting organizations

By donating to this campaign, you will support the learning process of these kids.

The institutions that are providing their space to hold the workshops are the following:

Centro Juvenil Shirvanyan (Gyumri)

Teatro de los Pensamientos (Gyumri)

Emili Aregak (Gyumri)

Centro creativo Hadrut (Yerevan)

All 4 Armenia (Syunik)

I am currently working in different parts of the country with diverse populations, facilitating innovative activities for more than 100 boys and girls, many of them from Nagorno Karabakh.

I will start the workshops with my own props and economical resources, looking for funds in the way. As part of the project, we want to bring professional equipment to the country, in order to enable participants to practice with proper instruments.

During the next months and up to July, we will join forces with organisations, schools and foundations, to connect with groups of kids and teenagers from all across Armenia, specially aiming to share the many benefits of circus arts with displaced kids from Artsakh, to bring soothe and joy to their lives.

The disciplines to be shared with the different groups we will reach are juggling, acrobatics, theater, music and more.

We will make our own props, such as balls, sock pois, rola bola, clubs, flags, fire props and every other that could be made by hand/machine. For this, we will need to buy a sewing machine and materials, in order to make props for all the kids, and encourage them to create their own props, as part of the workshops.

The workshops aims to develop the juggling arts, and it would be the stepping stone for further workshops with these groups and others. Unlike USA, South America or Europe, where juggling is a well known activity and there are many artists and spaces where to learn, Armenia (and Caucasus area in general) has little to none presence of these activities, and it is our aim to introduce these arts in schools and non formal educational spaces, in order to bring the benefits of these art forms that we love, to as many kids and youngs as possible. In this way, I believe it is a great way to develop the Circus community and take it out of the sphere where it could be better known, and bring it to places where it is needed as a way of entertainment, joy and education.

We also aim to make a documentary from this process of teaching circus arts in Armenia, and we want to hire a team to film it. It is also in the plan of these workshops, to make final shows for families and open to the community, where kids could show their process and feel the amazing sensation of being in front of an audience, sharing smiles and applauses. For this we will need a sound system (also used during classes), and ideally some lights, and big curtains to create the stage. Also we want to record tutorials in Armenian language with the most motivated participants, so to leave a long lasting legacy to Armenian young people who will be interested in learning circus techniques in the following years.

Some benefits of Circus Arts:

1- Self-esteem

2- Socialisation

3- Concentration

4- Patience

5- Body and mind relaxation

6- Rhythm and synchronization

7- Motor, expressive and recreational skills

8- Effort, dedication and perseverance

9- Acceptance of failure

Through the practice of these disciplines, we can expand our physical capabilities in an entertaining way.

We are building a team to make Circus arts popular in Armenia, and you can join us in many ways! Volunteering, donating, opening doors...

If this project calls you, let us know! We are looking for artists, circus trainers, designers, film makers, musicians, visual artists, donators, organisations, etc.

Your donation will be of much help in order to develop these workshops until the month of July, and to bring fresh air, new ideas and activities to this beloved country, which is going through so many difficulties in the last years, due to Nagorno Karabakh war.

This is a remake of the 2018 project we made, that you can check out here .

Donations over 200 Euros, will be recognised with custom t-shirts from the project.

Thanks for trusting us and make this dream possible!

With much love,

Ezequiel Guiragossian and Circo Fractal's team