Support Structures: how we need to organise, and issues to be raised

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Support structures and training are essential to allow young people to grow:

• What happens when young people are trained - where do they go next?
• What is the point of training people if there is no-where to go?

• What are the structures that help circus grow?

Circus has fundamental needs to help it move forward:

• a commissioning pot of money that can be used to broker match funding
• a festival to showcase new work
• space to create and space to explore creation
• a national forum or working group

Circus needs to be viewed both nationally and globally. It is a small industry and needs to maximize the resources available to the artform. There is a need for a national forum or grouping. People involved need to dedicate time and commitment to make a forum work. In addition to the yearly traditional circus meeting there has been four meeting each year. Each grouping can be defined by its own activity and defined around specific needs. These groups can debate and channel their discussions into a wider national debate. There is a need for a co-ordinator to establish a forum for circus. The person needs to be skilled and have access to office and phone. RABs and ACE need to offer support to any national forum.

Over the past ten years, the biggest issue for Circus has been peoples' perception of the artform. How we affect peoples understanding of the word 'circus' is fundamental to how we move forward. We need to be proactive in presenting a definition of circus. People across the country are changing many perceptions on circus; we do not know half of what is going on. This information on their work needs to be collated and disseminated. Circus needs support and representation. It is important to break our moulds of thinking for resourcing what we do. We need to convey what we do.

The NMEC project is an example of how the profile of circus has been raised. This unique project has opened up circus to thousands of people nationally. Will the audience from the Dome go on to see circus performances? Will they go on to seek out other circus? The legacy of the NMEC project is that they have developed a certificate of higher education; after finishing their 1st year, students can go on to study a degree. We need to ensure the future of this degree.

Teo Greenstreet