Free Circus school for children!?!?!?

laurajane

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May 23, 2005
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www.thecircusofdreams.com
I have thought many times about somehow opening a Circus school for children here and i would like some input on how maybe i would go about it and the best way to operate it.

As some of you know my partner and i have a Entertainment business which mainy involves our Circus shows. Through this we have discovered many youngsters who have naturally taken an interest when they have seen our trapezes up, stilt walkers roaming the street and general all round craziness locally when my teams have been practising and i have seen some very shy and unsure kids turn into confident talented young adults as a result of this.

Instead of roaming the streets getting into trouble, they have been taken under the wings of the older talented members of the Circus and not only learned some real skill, but they have become extremley fit and have seen that they really can do something, learn and have great fun at the same time.

I would love to do this on a bigger scale as i have the equipment and get some kids fit and doing something worth while and get inspired, but to do this i dont want to charge.

So how would i go about getting the Government involved to contribute, or would i be better off apealing to businesses?

Another thought was to sell DVDs of the show on resorts which we get asked for all the time, with the hotels permission of course with the profits going to the circus school for dominican children?

For the aerial acts i realize we would need some kind of written waiver/consent like they have on resorts for extreme sports from the parents.

Should we offer paid classes for adults too, to help fund the free school?

Does anyone think its a good idea?
 
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MaineGirl

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I love this idea. Many children need a positive place to grow into healthy humans. Sports play a key role in the development of self esteem in children. An activity such as this which is unique, creative, artistic would undoubtedly change the course of many kids' lives! My question is, would parents expect you to employ their children? and what are the next steps for particularly talented kids?
 

donP

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Dec 14, 2008
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Laura's Circus Classes

Does anyone think its a good idea?

Not only good, but excellent.
As you already know Dominicans have a natural and very good body control and you will get many gifted applicants.

A token fee for 'inscripci?n' and terms should be required as anything free might be considered worthless.

I'd rather not involve the government to avoid a mess :tired: and would just call your training a private course / classes.

I don't know how to exclude your legal / financial responsibility in case a kid sprains his/her ankle or worse; but I think this problem could be addressed.

donP
 

Abuela

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May 13, 2006
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At Kite Beach in Cabarete there is a circus school. I believe they do give pro bono lessons to disadvantaged local youths.
 

laurajane

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May 23, 2005
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At Kite Beach in Cabarete there is a circus school. I believe they do give pro bono lessons to disadvantaged local youths.

Yes this is run bu Paul Roberts a canadian man who actually trained my husband on the flying trapeze years ago. Really nice guy, i knew he had a school but didnt realize he was giving lessons to disadvantaged youth, so thats fantastic! Maybe i should drop him a line.
 

laurajane

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May 23, 2005
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www.thecircusofdreams.com
I love this idea. Many children need a positive place to grow into healthy humans. Sports play a key role in the development of self esteem in children. An activity such as this which is unique, creative, artistic would undoubtedly change the course of many kids' lives! My question is, would parents expect you to employ their children? and what are the next steps for particularly talented kids?

Well we cant emplot anyone unser 16 anyway, so i was thinking just more along the lines of training and a bit of fun.

I think it would be great if as a result we could find some future stars for the Circus shows themselves, but that would not be promised and only offered to the kids who showed promise and when they reached the age of 16.

Kids love it and we do have a few youngsters who have come along way, mainly family of my husband. The great thing is they have no fear and if trained young they can become very flexible adults.

I am pretty sure the tourists would like to become involved, like i said before by maybe selling DVDs of the show on resorts with profits or a percentage of going to fund the school. I will approach the hotel management about this possibility.
 

laurajane

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May 23, 2005
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www.thecircusofdreams.com
Not only good, but excellent.
As you already know Dominicans have a natural and very good body control and you will get many gifted applicants.

A token fee for 'inscripci?n' and terms should be required as anything free might be considered worthless.

I'd rather not involve the government to avoid a mess :tired: and would just call your training a private course / classes.

I don't know how to exclude your legal / financial responsibility in case a kid sprains his/her ankle or worse; but I think this problem could be addressed.

donP

Thank you DonP, i think an iscripci?n would be a good idea as it will also help us control just how many children can be accepted and show that they are commited and serious. It become a bit crazy if its a free for all and as you say people may think its worthless. However i want it to be a token and not meant to cover costs as my idea is to really help the children that cant afford after school activities or summer camps.

Is there anyway we could maybe get a tax break from such a project?

When my husband worked on the flying trapeze all kids and adutls had sign a waiver before they took part, so i will ask a lawyer to check the legalities and come up with something. Maybe i can contact an insurance company to ask if they can do a general insurance in the name of the comapny to cover all trainees, but that no doubt will be costly considering the type of activities we are doing.

Anyway it is something we would really like to do, so as you all seem to think it is a good idea i will get on it.

Thanks
 

Acira

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Sep 20, 2009
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LauraJane,

Its an excellent idea but there are many buts buts...

I don't have to tell you but surely take the advice of a good lawyer to ensure that you/your company is fully covered in case something should go wrong.

Take care!

Acira
 
May 29, 2006
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Sounds like something the kids on Sosua Beach could do to get even better. Maybe they learned at the free school...

YouTube - sankies de sosua.mov

I know of a circus school near Brattleboro VT. Maybe you could do a study abroad program through them? They teach adults as well. My Spanish teacher also does a summer program for kids doing a clown school. Learning Spanish while taking circus/clown lessons sounds like a blast.

You could also check at the All Inclusives about teaching workshops and then you'd be covered by their insurance. I know at least one AI has a trapeze.
 

laurajane

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May 23, 2005
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www.thecircusofdreams.com
Sounds like something the kids on Sosua Beach could do to get even better. Maybe they learned at the free school...

YouTube - sankies de sosua.mov

I know of a circus school near Brattleboro VT. Maybe you could do a study abroad program through them? They teach adults as well. My Spanish teacher also does a summer program for kids doing a clown school. Learning Spanish while taking circus/clown lessons sounds like a blast.

You could also check at the All Inclusives about teaching workshops and then you'd be covered by their insurance. I know at least one AI has a trapeze.

Yes , i already know and have contacts in 90% of the all inclusive resorts here, but that would defeat the object of wanting to help under privilaged Dominican children.

There are circus schools and workshops all over the world but there is only one small on on the north coast and i am unsure of the kind of set up they have there, even though i know the owner.

Keeping children fit and giving them confidence and seeing them passionate about anything these days is hard, not only will they get all that but they may possibly get a future job out of it.

I think the way to go would be adult classes at night and weekends to help pay for the basics of the free childrens classes. Also talking with my resort contacts about selling DVDs of our current resort shows to toursits to fund the school. I think tourists like to get involved and feel like they have eased their consience by buying a DVD for 20 dollars to help a child.

Anyone who would like to donate equipment such as juggling balls, juggling pins, lycra material for practise, Unicycles, stage make-up, gymnastic shoes please PM me.

I will keep you all posted!!
 
May 29, 2006
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Anyone who would like to donate equipment such as juggling balls, juggling pins, lycra material for practise, Unicycles, stage make-up, gymnastic shoes please PM me.

I will keep you all posted!!

I used to have good luck making juggling balls using balloons with the ends cut off filled with sand, rice or small beans. They are cheap, well-weighted and, more importantly for beginners, they don't roll or bounce. You put some filler in, then blow it up some to make more room. When you have the right amount in, you tie the end off and cut it and use another with the end cut off to cover the "belly button."

For pins, you can use water bottles and broom handles. I seem to remember that clorox bottles were more durable than other kinds. They are ugly, but good for learning the basics.

Another device to explore would Poi, which have the advantage that they are easily made and can be used for fire tricks. They are particularly good for beach performers at night:

YouTube - Freestyle Fire Poi
 
Last edited:

laurajane

Bronze
May 23, 2005
1,230
214
63
www.thecircusofdreams.com
I used to have good luck making juggling balls using balloons with the ends cut off filled with sand, rice or small beans. They are cheap, well-weighted and, more importantly for beginners, they don't roll or bounce. You put some filler in, then blow it up some to make more room. When you have the right amount in, you tie the end off and cut it and use another with the end cut off to cover the "belly button."

For pins, you can use water bottles and broom handles. I seem to remember that clorox bottles were more durable than other kinds. They are ugly, but good for learning the basics.

Another device to explore would Poi, which have the advantage that they are easily made and can be used for fire tricks. They are particularly good for beach performers at night:

YouTube - Freestyle Fire Poi


Oh we are welll ahead of you on the fire poi numbers, we buy the kevlar wick from the U.S and make the rest ourselves and when kevlar wick is hard to come by my nice new bathroom towels usually dissapear ha ha.

One day my partner came back from the local supermarket with a trolley load of childrens plastic baseball bats, he cut them down shorter, filled them with a thick wooden dowel to make them heavier and bought the local ferreteria out of colored electrical tape and hey presto loads of juggling pins.

Many things we cant get here and buy in the U.S, but it is surprising what can be invented with a little imagination and a lot of hard work.

We are currently trying to buy two german wheels or Rhoenrads in german and it is proving to be quite difficult so we may try and fabricate them here, allthough it could be pricey if it takes a few goes to get them right.