Circus Classes in London

A student practising at the Hangar

Circus skills are becoming quite the fashionable thing, with fans of the aerial arts ranging from celebrities such as Sadie Frost and Joely Richardson to a whole host of city workers desperate to fly from their desks and onto the trapeze. Laura Balfour went to a circus class, and discovered those that walk a tightrope between the office and creative daring.

My friend Alice, who works in publishing, recently told me she wanted to learn how to trapeze.  I immediately had visions of her running away to the circus with a group of clowns,  touring the nation squirting water from plastic flowers  and wearing  a red nose. How wrong I was.

So, when I went along to one of Alice’s classes at the Hangar ( she’s already completed one course  of six ) I was surpirsed to discover a very professional-looking set-up,  with the students  gracefully leaping, turning and balancing with great poise and panache on their trapezes and silks.

 “I didn’t realize it would be so easy to get into – that in London I’d just stumble across it,” explained Alice.
“ It’s good that it’s so readily available and you don’t have to have any previous experience.  Anyone can just come and have a go.  But there’s quite a steep learning curve.”

Deborah Jaffer, a 42-year-old investment banker  has been learning on and off for about a year. 
She told me:  “This is one of the hardest things, physically, that I have ever done but it’s a huge achievement even just getting yourself onto the trapeze bar.
“You don’t need any special skills – just a sense of adventure.  On the whole it can do a lot for your self-confidence.”

Everyone in the class certainly appeared to know what they were doing, and it seems that once you get the taste for flying through the air, you’re hooked.

Justin Bradley, Deborah’s partner, was persuaded to join when he came along to watch one of the classes and is now an expert.
“There are over 20 moves just at Level One then you learn the transition moves. That’s when it starts to feel more like a performance – an artistic expression more than an exercise.  It is a mix of gymnastics, dance and yoga.”
The couple are even considering buying a trapeze to hang in their poolhouse.

And the great thing is that there aren’t any specific requirements to join. Everybody goes at their own pace but students are on a trapeze from the very first class, starting with conditioning exercises to build-up strength and then moving onto individual moves and eventually linking them together to form sequences. 

The Hangar is one of two London groups that offer these courses. 
Nic Litton and Alex Frith set it up in 2002 to provide an affordable rehearsal space for London artists.
 It has grown into one of the city’s most popular circus training studios offering a whole range of classes including juggling, silks and trapeze.
The group were recently forced to leave their original venue as a result of development for the Olympics in that area.
But, they are currently using the Synergy Centre until the building of their new, permanent space in Woolwich is complete.

The other centre ( famed by one of their students, Sadie Frost ) is The Circus Space, a registered charity, based in Hoxton.  They offer adult evening classes, introduction sessions in various skills, corporate team building and even an honours degree in the Circus Arts. 

So, if the freedom of the circus beckons look no further than London Town. No comedy noses in sight.

Laura Balfour

The Hanger  ( at the Synergy Centre, 220 Farmer’s Road, London, SE5 )
The current price for a session of six weekly trapeze class is £100.
For more details visit : www.hangaruk.com ;  email alex@aircraftcircus.com or join the Hangar Arts Group on Facebook

Circus Space
Coronet Street, London, N1
Prices range from £50 for a half-day workshop to £99 for a full day.
For more details visit: www.thecircusspace.co.uk


CIRCUS, A BRIEF HISTORY
The circus has a long and varied history, from the amphitheatres of Rome to the modern-day Cirque du Soleil.
The athletes of Pompeii were famed  for entertaining the baying crowds as they fought to death for their freedom.

In Europe, during the Dark Ages,  circuses were relegated to the market place befote being  revived by  British cavalryman Philip Astley, in the 1770s.  A Seargeant Major turned trick rider,  he set up what is often viewed as the first modern circus ring.

His ampitheatre riding school allowed him to perform fancy acts, such as standing on the back of a cantering horse.
The circus soon spread to the colonies and different skills were added and developed into the touring shows that we know today. 


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