Performers light up the skies

Media release – Wednesday 24 October 2007

Performers light up the skies at Circus under the Stars

Outdoor entertainment doesn’t get any more daring, dextrous or delirious than Circus under the Stars, the annual showcase from CircoArts students at Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology (CPIT).

Circus under the Stars, which runs for three nights from Friday 2nd to Sunday 4th November, features a wide variety of circus skills from aerials through acrobatics, balance arts and juggling. It weaves in comic characters, clowns, dramatic imagery and pure spectacle.

Though students perform a Circus under the Stars each year, show coordinator Chris Carrow says the unique nature of each student’s skills as well as the CircoArts emphasis on creativity produces a fresh and original show.

“The acts cover a very wide range of skills and styles and each night’s line up is different. Each year the mix of original material holds surprises that returning audiences get very excited to see.”

The style of Circus under the Stars is variety with MC’s holding it all together and generating a great fun atmosphere for the audience. In previous years audiences have included families of young and old and corporate social groups enjoying an ‘end of year’ fun night out. The combination of comedy circus and physical theatre, performed by students (not an international company visiting) seems to be very alluring, and past seasons have been sell-outs.

“This show ‘goes off’ each year with audiences sharing the success of students’ unique achievements”, says Chris Carrow. “Although the audience comes to be entertained they generate such a buzz of anticipation and excitement for the accomplishments of this amazing group of students who have met huge physical and mental challenges in their study of circus arts.”

The event is part of the study requirements for the CircoArts programme. As well as performing, the students work together taking on multiple production roles to generate the three-night event. They learn to understand some of what it takes to mount such events, as well as developing their material into the programme and the dynamics of working with a live outdoor audience.

At the end of this season of Circus under the Stars, many of the CircoArts graduates will be heading overseas to pursue their careers. They’ll also be returning home. That’s because more than half of the students at the CPIT CircoArts programme are Australian. The CircoArts programme is one of only two tertiary qualifications in this area in Australasia. CircoArts programme leader Godfrey Sim says Australia and New Zealand are part of the same ‘community’ of contemporary circus and physical theatre people.

“Even though we are small in size (and number) the impact of our training here in Christchurch spreads all over the world and particularly to centres in Australia. As well, it is helping to build the growing contemporary circus (and broader physical performance) industry in New Zealand.”

- Ends -

© Scoop Media