On Courage

Being an ex-school educator, Teachers' Day has a very special meaning for me. While I am still in the line of moulding the characters of our young, even more so now that our circus arts programmes are geared towards character development, I am no longer on the receiving end of the pretty little gifts. Now I am proud to be part of the giving end - by helping our circus arts programme's students put up a performance for their teachers on Teachers' Day this year!

I think I learn to appreciate the students' efforts more now.

From not daring to perform, to trying to put together a routine, and swallowing the lumps of fear in their throats while making sure that they remember their moves, our students grew... My proudest moment was when a few of them told our instructor, "We think we are not doing enough tricks for our segment. We choreographed a longer routine yesterday."  Were these the same kids who had told us a couple weeks before that they dared not perform and would not turn up on the actual day??

We hope the teachers who had seen the performance saw past the smiles the kids plastered on their faces, through their screaming pounding hearts, to the sheer determination (they even asked to borrow the props home to practise) and bravery inside.

Succeed or not, it really doesn't matter. What's important is that you try. Our students hear this from us all the time. This is the one most important thing we hope they take away at the end of the programme. We like to think that those students who performed come out a little bit more courageous, a little bit stronger.

Unfortunately, we were unable to take pictures of the actual performance
because we were sweating with them backstage.
Well, they were perfect anyway!

On Durians and Students

July had been a busy month for us and boy, are we glad it's August! Our Nation's 47th birthday and the upcoming Hari Raya Puasa have put us all in a festive mood!

14 July was pretty special for us as it was the first time we ever went to a RC Block Party themed "Durian Nite". That really goes to show how much this nation love this thorny, pungent, creamy and utterly delectable fruit (me like!).

Heavenly! ^^

But i digress... We were there not for durian, but to promote circus arts to the public. The residents were treated to a juggling performance by our resident juggler and had the chance to try out various juggling props. The guest-of-hounour, Mr Wong Kan Seng, even had a go and tried out flowerstick juggling!

The smiles say it all...

On a sadder note, July marked the end of a series of workshops for one of our schools. We go to different schools, we meet different teachers and students. Some days are fun, some days are more trying. This is one school where we must say we enjoyed all the sessions and the students. The fast learners are self-motivated to pick up advanced skills while the slower ones are amazing as they simply do not give up!

We definitely hope to see this bunch of kids again!

Thank you for the memories! See you again at the next juggling workshop!

EP Day and World Juggling day 2012 (Singapore)

We were at Bishan CC (again!) last Saturday, 16 June 2012 for 2 special reasons. First, Bishan CC had their Emergency Preparedness day cum Racial Harmony Day cum Family Day (yup, all rolled into one) carnival and we were part of this very meaningful event.

We were there to introduce juggling to the public and to invite people to our circus arts interest group at Bishan CC. The joyous smiles on the children's and adults' faces when they finally manged to spin a plate, or to spin the diabolo, are what makes our day. And we were so happy when some of them came back to find us and to learn juggling at our weekly interest group practice session yesterday!

  

Later in the afternoon, World Juggling Day and NERF Shootout was on! We had a whale of a time as jugglers and non-jugglers came down to meet up, practise and exchange tips and knowledge! It was especially interesting to see participants crossing over from one side of the hall to the other, to try out NERF or to try juggling.

The event was filled with games, passion and fun galore! Check out the following video and photos to see what we mean!

3 Clubs Gladiator

More videos and photos are available on our Facebook page!

Well, while everyone had fun that day, we believe that such gatherings need not be a once-a-year affair! It should occur more frequently! Do join us at Child's Play Juggling Interest Group every Tuesday, 7.30pm to 9.30pm at Bishan CC!

Child's Play PAssion Juggling Festival 2012

Wow...Oh wow...

We just had the most memorable weekend of our lives... Were you there?

26 and 27 May 2012 marked the first ever international juggling festival to be held in Singapore - Child's Play PAssion Juggling Festival 2012. We were honoured and privileged to have been able to invite some of the best performers in the world to attend the festival. Okotanpe (Master of Contact Juggling from Japan and registered performer with Cirque du Soleil), Tetsunori Saito (Diaboloist from Japan) and Jason Chang 张耀文 (Diaboloist from Taiwan), all winners at IJA (International Jugglers' Association) were present at the festival. Joining them on our star-studded list of performers were Dan Parkin ( Ball and Club Juggler - Japan), Satoshi Kanayama (Flower Stick - Japan), Yusuke Inaba (Cigar Box - Japan), MyD Team (Diabolo Team - Malaysia), Jonasun (Master of Manipulation - Japan), Romi Yacop (Poi and Contact Staff Guru - Singapore), and Marcus Koh and Lim Aik Hwee (Yo-yo Champions - Singapore).

(From Left) Satoshi Kanayama, Yusuke Inaba and Dan Parkin

The two-day event was tiring but totally worth it. Jam-packed with workshops, our participants had a fabulous time polishing their skills and picking up new tricks from our guest instructors. We like to think that everyone had learnt something over the two days!

These are some shots taken during the workshops. More professional-looking ones will be uploaded to our Facebook page at a later date!

Animation Dance Workshop by Jonasun

Ball Juggling Workshop by Dan Parkin

Cigar Box Workshop by Yusuke Inaba

Contact Juggling Workshop by Okotanpe

Flowerstick Workshop by Satoshi Kanayama

Hoop Manipulation Workshop by Jonasun

Unicycling Workshop by Team Unicycle

To end off the festival, our performers put up a very exciting show at the Gala Show on Sunday evening! All of us were moved and inspired by the performers' awesome performances. They were simply wonderful... You got to be there to understand how it was like, watching such great people on stage!

Our fantastic audience!

Finale!

After the show is over

The festival is over, but we are not going to stop juggling! We hope that all our participants have been inspired by this festival and keep on improving. That is what this festival is all about. Learning and sharing and spreading the passion of juggling.

Again, we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all our performers (we love you all!!!), vendors, participants, sponsors, volunteers and all who have been involved in this project of ours...THANK YOU! It would not have been possible to turn our dream into reality if not for you all!!

We will see all of you again next year! :)

Our very own juggling festival!

Hi guys!

We did mention in our previous post that we are working on something that is very close to our hearts.

As juggling enthusiasts, we hope to introduce more people to this very fun, addictive, artistic sports that we call 'Juggling'. Having taught circus arts workshops in schools, we have seen first-hand for ourselves how youths can benefit from learning to juggle, in terms of focus, concentration, perseverance, hand-eye coordination, and even academic results. We sincerely hope more youths are exposed to this non-competitive and self-challenging physical activity.

At the same time, juggling is simply good for everybody. We envision a Singapore where almost anyone can pick up 3 balls and start juggling. How many of you have experiences with overseas friends from America, Britain, Japan, Taiwan, European countries (just to name a few) who can juggle a little? We have, many times. Most of the time, they tell us "Oh, it's just a hobby" or "I learnt it in school when I was young". Wow, how cool is that?!

We finally decided that it's time to turn our vision into reality. If other countries can have juggling festivals and conventions that attract thousands of participants each year, so can Singapore. Well, maybe not thousands, yet.

After weeeeeks of planning, meetings, fighting...discussion I mean, we are now very proud and excited to announce that we are bringing to you the first juggling festival in Singapore!

Child's Play PAssion Juggling Festival 2012 will be happening from 26 to 27 May 2012, Saturday and Sunday, at Bishan CC.

Child's Play PAssion Juggling Festival 2012

It is gonna be two fun-filled days of juggling, learning, and socialising.

If you are a juggler, this is your chance to meet other jugglers. Not only will you get to meet jugglers based in Singapore, you also get to meet jugglers from Japan and ...We can't announce yet, please follow us on Facebook for the latest news!

For non-jugglers and beginners, you simply have to come! This is your chance to learn from other jugglers! Do not worry, jugglers are a friendly lot!

There will be a variety of workshops for different props, catered to different skill levels. Again, do keep up with  our updates on Facebook for more information about the workshops.

A juggling festival is incomplete without performances. We are really excited about our Gala Show on Sunday evening as some of our favourite performers will be here!

We look forward to seeing you at our event. Your support will help us to realise our vision of a Singapore with a strong juggling culture. Log on to our event website for details on how you can participate.

See you there!

5 Fabulous Reasons Why Everyone Must Engage In Circus Arts

Afghan children celebrate the 2nd World Circus Day on 16 April 2011.

Circus activities are widely popular worldwide but remain relatively unrecognised in Singapore. According to the American Youth Circus Organisation in  2008, tens of thousands of youths are estimated to be participating in youth circus programmes to some degree, be it in summer camps, community based organisations, physical education classes or pre-professional companies.

What circus activities are we talking about, you may ask. To summarise, circus skills consist of various performance skills divided into four distinct areas:

• Acrobatics - e.g. tumbling, balance and contortion;
• Aerobatics - e.g. flying/static trapeze, ropes, silks, webs;
• Manipulation - e.g. juggling, diabolo, stilts, rola-bola, unicycle, poi;
• Clowning - e.g. drama, comedy and mime. (Carr, 2007)

What draws children, youths and even adults to circus activities? The reasons are plenty. Here are 5 reasons why you should consider picking up a skill and promoting circus art to your school, company or at home.

1. Circus activities are non-competitive and non-threatening. Instead, circus promotes cooperative learning. It is not about “us versus them”. It is “all for one and one for all”!

2. Circus is inclusive. Reluctant exercisers and children with special needs who are unmotivated or unable to participate in competitive team sports and conventional physical education programmes can participate in circus. There is a role for everybody in the circus, be it juggling, plate spinning or rola-bola. This is a great morale and self-esteem booster!

3. Circus allows children to learn at their own pace in their preferred skill area. There is no limit to what they can achieve as ability levels are incremental, allowing for continuous progress. This is a great morale and self-esteem booster! (Oh, have we mentioned it already!?)

4. Circus programmes in schools have seen academic benefits in their students. Circus learning teaches young people discipline, focus, effort, perseverance and the ability to move beyond failure. These programmes are also very popular with traditional “under-achievers” or “at-risk” youths.

5. Circus activities have been shown to improve balance, coordination, stamina, flexibility, strength, timing, reflex ability and weight distribution. Juggling for instance, has been found to increase brain power! Now, isn’t this a ‘shove’ factor for you to start picking up a circus skill today??

Of course, do not just take our words for it. Check out what the experts have to say!

·         Benefits of Circus in Education

·        Teachers Link Academic Benefits to Juggling

·        Juggling Increases Brain Power