Forums > Social Discussion > Report on the benefits of circus arts

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Paddington BearSILVER Member
member
118 posts
Location: England (UK)


Posted:
Okay so i know things similar to this have been done a few times but im looking for people to act as sources for my EPQ report. The current title i want to run with is "The benefits of circus arts to an individual".

My requirement is to compose a 1000 word report on this subject and i need people to help me in my research. What i would like is to talk with anyone who is willing to share theyre personal experiences with circus arts and where they have seen improvements in other areas stemming from circus arts. These can be anything from staff and poi up to trapeze and pole dancing. Benefits can be anything from increased co-ordination and reactions to a willingness to talk to strangers and practice in public i.e. standing out from the crowd.

I would also like to speak to any members of the forum who may be less able and do any form of circus art e.g. those suffering dyspraxia who have found this helped by staff.

If you would not like to share any personal experiences then pm for my private email address. Thank you all for the time taken to read this and thank you further if you consent to be a guinea pig for my report smile

fire is alive. it lives and breathes. it consumes and destroys. but we control it and live with it, we are fire dancers


Pink...?BRONZE Member
Mistress of Pink...Multicoloured
6,140 posts
Location: Over There, United Kingdom


Posted:
I suffer from dyspraxia but didn't know when I first learnt to juggle - makes sense now I know (I took 3 months to learn the cascade).

I work in circus training - and know a lot of people who are dyspraxic and dyslexic. Sure it takes longer to learn the movements, but modern technology helps with cameras to record motion etc...

It's hard to say how they helped for them or me, I mean if you do circus as your career then you do circus as your career and overcome your disabilities.

I wouldn't say knowing how to juggle helped my co-ordination, I still walk into door frames, can't catch things that are thrown to me outside a juggling pattern etc... But I do think my reaction times have improved. And now I think about it, I think I notice movement in my peripheral vision more - but that might come from always having to keep a eye out for things or people swinging at your head.

The main benefit for everyone I would say is fitness.

Sorry bit rambling. It might help people if you write set questions, and perhaps be a bit less ambiguous? I think if you ask more targeted questions it'll be easier to give you the information you want in a usable way?

Never pick up a duck in a dungeon...


Paddington BearSILVER Member
member
118 posts
Location: England (UK)


Posted:
thanks pink smile im working on putting together a questionnaire think and ill post it here as soon as its done. at the moment im just looking for contacts more than anything smile am i okay to put you down as one?

PB

fire is alive. it lives and breathes. it consumes and destroys. but we control it and live with it, we are fire dancers


MynciBRONZE Member
Macaque of all trades
8,738 posts
Location: wombling free..., United Kingdom


Posted:
Not sure about sources for other circus arts but there are loads of articles for juggling and not a few for hooping too.

online there are lots of sources for the increase of grey matter when learning to juggle, and the benefits to sportmen with regard to hand eye co-ordination and speed of hand movements after learning to juggle ideal for sports like cricket, tennis and marshal arts.

I looked into this and did research as a way to promote juggling workshops in schools, thinking if I had a report file I could send to head teachers showing the benefits I stood a better chance of getting gigs. I also used the concept of numbers juggling for maths examples and aids to dyscalclia using visual examples.

Theres quite a lot out there, just be sure to use acreditted resources. Google is your friend grin

Good Luck!

A couple of balls short of a full cascade... or maybe a few cards short of a deck... we'll see how this all fans out.


Asraiya On FireSILVER Member
member
9 posts
Location: Seattle, Wa USA


Posted:
Are you looking for psych effects or physical? It's interesting.. I was actually way more emotionally neurotic before I started spinning fire. It's like I had an over abundance of water aspects & traits and so the fire balanced me out!

It's interesting on the physical side and the fact that juggling & hooping were brought up. I'm an avid dancer with a degree in theater (drama) who also did gymnastics, cheerleading, and lots of swimming when I was a kid.. I've been in 3 different circus troupes over the past 16 years or so specializing in stilt-walking, clown/mime, in addition fire manipulation. I also seem pretty good at martial arts, yoga, and belly dancing but I can NOT for the life of me hula hoop for more than a minute NOR can I continuously juggle 3 balls even after spending a whole weekend trying & taking workshops at the Portland Juggling Festival...

Don't know if any of that's relative.. but I'd be happy to fill out a questionnaire to help you out when it's done wink Email it to asraiya@heartsinspyre.com

"what matters most is how well you walk through the fire"
~Bukowski


SpinnerofDetroitGOLD Member
All High Dude, Ruler of What You Want
2,280 posts
Location: Trenton, MI, USA


Posted:
I finally found my old flash drive with my report on pretty much the same thing on it if you wanted to see that. You can just PM me your email and I could send you the file. I think it was like11 pages or something... It's about the benefits of skill toy practice. And when I presented it I brought sock poi as a prop xD

The only luck is bad luck.

Shut up before I stall my poi up your ass grin


Paddington BearSILVER Member
member
118 posts
Location: England (UK)


Posted:
Thank you so much for that SoD. I have gotten so much out of it. I now have a decent idea of how to structure it and also what to focus on along with 10 sources for information so far. Thank you, ill let you know how it goes and i think im going to do my next video as a product to be submitted with my report

fire is alive. it lives and breathes. it consumes and destroys. but we control it and live with it, we are fire dancers


JonSILVER Member
Member
1 post
Location: USA


Posted:
@spinnerofdetroit or Paddingtonbear can you please share with me your listing of the research articles/paers on the benefits of spinning poi! I am in the same situation as Paddington Bear was. Greatly appreciated.


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