As part of Aughrim's Craic in the Granite Music & Arts Festival, we are thrilled to present a series of three Circus Workshops for kids, taking place at the Foresters' Hall, Main Street Aughrim, on the morning of the festival, Saturday 29 June 2024.

1pm-2:15pm
Recycled Juggling
Foresters’ Hall
For children aged 9-12yrs
Workshop duration 75 minutes

Participants are introduced to the concept of circus as an artform by way of experience. They will experience the concept of the equality provided by the circle, the activation of their muscles and right-side left-side coordination, learn how to make juggling balls and pois out of plastic bottles, lentils, balloons and old tights. They will then use these newly created objects to learn the basics of juggling. Through techniques of social circus, the participants, in partnership with the workshop leaders, will create an atmosphere of cooperation, trust, and concentration. Finally, the children will create their own sequence of movement with the object, combining balancing, throwing and catching, and oﬀer this sequence back to the circle. Participants are invited to bring an old pair of tights and a plastic bottle! Please wear comfortable clothing.

Each ticket admits one child aged 9-12 years old.

About the Facilitators:
Doulab for Circus and Dance is an organisation dedicated to equal access to high quality contemporary circus and dance. Our ethos is based on our core founding values of equal rights to opportunity, inclusion, and artistic and technical excellence. Founded in 2017 in Palestine by Fadi and Juliet Zmorrod, Doulab acts as an umbrella for creating, performing, and engaging with different communities through performance, festival curation and through workshop facilitation. We are passionate about enabling all, including marginalised, communities to access and experience high quality contemporary circus and dance. Our projects crossed borders and involved numerous sectors of society in Palestine, working with local and international organisations to deliver high quality experiences in circus and dance for participants and audiences in high risk areas. Here in Ireland since 2021, Doulab has built strong relationships with communities throughout Dublin and the South East of Ireland, using social circus as a tool to engage with different parts of society, such as the refugee community, the travelling community, as well as in mainstream and special education schools.

Fadi Zmorrod was born in Jerusalem, Palestine. He discovered his passion for contemporary circus and later its crossover with movement and dance when he co-founded the Palestinian Circus School in 2006. He was also the Artistic Director of the Palestinian National Circus Festival, and as an artist is specialised in the Chinese pole, floor acrobatics, and chair balance, and has recently taken a deeper interest in the Cyr wheel. Fadi has taught in numerous capacities for over 15 years in very different locations; at the National Academy of Dance in Rome, Italy, in Oslo for the Baltic Circus Network, Cirko Vertigo, Italy, Cirkus Zonder Hander, Belgium, Ludic House, Germany, Ramallah Drama Academy, Palestine, and in tens of other dance and circus schools across Palestine. He co-founded Doulab for Circus and Dance in 2017, under which umbrella he worked on various youth projects with Walk Tanz Theater, Austria, Willy Brandt Center, Palestine and others. Fadi moved to Ireland in 2021 and has recently relocated from Dublin to Wexford, where he is the 2023/24 recipient of the South East Venue Network Bursary Award.

Juliet Zmorrod is an Irish dance artist. She runs the administration side of Doulab for Circus and Dance’s projects and circus clubs since its formation in 2017. She is also a classically trained dancer and facilitator, graduated from Northern Ballet School in England, but has transitioned since to contemporary movement practice. She has recently moved back to Ireland from Palestine, where her main focus was on teaching dance and facilitating creative movement workshops for young people and children in at-risk areas, such as refugee camps and areas under threat. She is also qualified in Rambert’s Creative Dance for Early Years programme, as well as holding a qualification in babywearing, and is currently a babywearing dance facilitator, as well as being the current Chairperson of Babywearing Ireland.

This new commission is produced by Kunstverein Aughrim in collaboration with the Courthouse Arts Centre, Tinahely, and supported by Wicklow County Council Arts Festival Award Scheme and The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon, as part of the Craic in the Granite Music & Arts Festival 2024.

More information: https://kunstverein.ie/Circus-Encounters