Tapping in to the Circilár economy

A key component to success is thinking big. Establishing a midlands education centre for circus artists is an example of such big thinking.

Mullingar circus artist and producer, Aoife Raleigh, is in the process of putting that big thought into practice. Together with her partner, Tony Mahon, they have created Circilár.

Circilár is a new professional development programme for emerging circus artists, funded by the Arts Council.

The programme offers developing artists the opportunity to perfect their skills and support pathways towards professional artistic practice.

Run in partnership with Motion Chapel (Roscommon) and Shawbrook Residential (Longford), the participating artists will go through circus fundamentals in the centre of Ireland.

“I’m from Mullingar, well, The Downs originally,” Aoife says to explain why an education centre for circus artists would be located in the midlands.

The traditional perception of what a circus is has changed over the years. While the public interest in caged lions and tigers, or tame elephants and ostriches, may have waned, the fascination with the acrobatic mastery of circus performers has waxed.

“I didn’t have a circus background at all,” Aoife told the Examiner. “Most people think you have to be born into a circus. That is one way, that’s the traditional circus. In a lot of countries, and more so now in Ireland, circus is also a hobby you can get into, often at a later age.”

The popularity of dance classes and youth theatres has exploded in the last couple of decades, but the interest in circus performances had a more gradual growth: “A lot of countries and cities around Europe have youth circuses. There young people can learn to juggle, or do acrobatics. We didn’t have that.”

Aoife didn’t grow up with the circus, nor did she run away with one. Because of that, her route to becoming a circus professional was somewhat circuitous: “My discovery of the circus came when I moved to Belfast. That was in my 20s. I joined a samba band. That samba band played on stilts.

“You got paid a little bit more money if you could play on stilts, so I learned to stilt walk. To help, there was a circus club before samba practice. I started going to the circus club just to meet people, but I got really interested in it.”

It was not a seamless entry into the world of public performance: “I was really clumsy. I was kicked out of my gymnastics club when I was a child, because every time I cartwheeled, I hit the ground so hard that the dust all rose up and made everybody choke coughing. I just had it in my head that I wanted to learn to cartwheel, but I was extremely uncoordinated.”

Undeterred by shortcomings, perhaps even spurred along, Aoife persisted: “The circus school in Belfast had adult classes. I did that for a little while and got interested in hula hooping.

“Then I got fascinated by acrobatics. It was still only a hobby at that stage. I was working as an engineer alongside that.”

Instead of following around the circus, the opposite appeared to happen: “I went travelling, and it seemed everywhere I went, I came across circuses, in different countries across Europe and Asia. It just appeared to follow me around.

“I moved to Spain, because that’s where my partner at the time was living. I started going to evening circus classes. When I moved back to Dublin, there were still no youth circus classes at that time. I joined a group, Dublin Circus Project, who were starting that up.”

This was Aoife’s first foray into teaching: “I was one of the project members coordinating the youth circus classes. I did that for eight years, alongside developing my own skills, because it doesn’t happen overnight. It’s difficult to learn circus skills. It takes time. But that’s the challenge. That’s what’s interesting about it.”

Circus performance is not a single discipline. There are many skills drawn together under the one banner: “It’s about mastering your own body. It’s mindful. I just got really into it.

“It’s like solving little technical problems. It’s fitness and it’s art at the same time. You’re keeping your body fit and your mind active.

“It’s not the same as, say, lifting weights. You unlock one skill and that leads you to another one. So it’s more interesting, I felt, than going to the gym.”

After the Dublin Circus Project, her next step brought her home to the midlands. Circuses occupy a place in the public consciousness as a metaphor for the nomadic lifestyle. Though that is true of the traditional circus, it’s less applicable for modern circus performers.

That said, the all immersive nature of the traditional circus is something Aoife admires: “All of the human-based circus skills are still there and developing. The traditional circus performers are unbelievable. They’ve been performing since they’re two years old, maybe even younger.

“It’s really a lifestyle. What I’m involved in is a contemporary circus. That’s people who weren’t raised up through the circus.

“Contemporary circus tends to blend in theatre and dance. It can have a visual art element. For example with hula hooping, it’s telling a story or conveying a feeling. But we would still perform in tents sometimes,” she said,

The location of a show influences the type of show, from intimate to expansive: “A lot of the time, we’re out on the street at festivals and events. Street arts is a growing sector in Ireland, as it is across Europe. It’s just so accessible. There’s no barriers. I think it’s a really equitable art. There’s no separation, no good seats or bad seats.

“Theatre based performances are more like a theatrical show. You use all the advantages of the theatre, the sound and the lights. Whereas on the streets, you’re more constrained, you can’t hide anything. There’s less theatrical magic.”

Aoife makes a case for proximity to the artist: “It’s about engaging people in that suspension of disbelief, but it still has reality. What I really like about it is that the circus skills are real and tangible.

“You can see it is difficult, you can see the person is sweating. There’s a real effort, even though it gives the impression of effortless and easy.”

Years of honing her craft has evolved the shows Aoife presents: “I used to do a lot of acrobatics, but I’m not doing so much any more. I do hula hooping, some foot juggling and I have a circus strong woman act. I break things and lift them. I might break an apple with my bicep, bend an iron bar, rip up a phone book, or foot juggling with a car tire.

“I also present a science and circus show. I was an engineer before, while my performing partner in that show was a scientist. We worked with a production company and created the science behind different circus skills. We have toured it to different theatres or schools.

“That show has been going since 2018 now. We’ve travelled to lots of different countries with different science festivals.”

Aoife’s latest career progression sees her coordinating the development of other circus performers. Circilár Pro will deliver a high-quality training programme for emerging and established circus artists in Ireland.

The course will have three modules: Foundations, Personal Development, and Next steps.

“Circilár comes from ‘Circus’ and ‘lár’, the centre, because it’s all midlands based. People who do the course will come from anywhere across the country,” Aoife says. “It’s for people who already are involved, but it doesn’t have to be circus, it could be gymnastics, dance or martial arts, or any linked disciple.

“It’s eight weeks of intensive study, four and a half days a week on the foundational skills that apply to every single different discipline. So there’s physical development, about gaining physical condition, flexibility. For dance we’re talking about alignment, musicality, rhythm. And how to engage an audience.”

Passing on years of experience will be down to the range of teachers involved in the Circilár programme. At the core of all disciplines is performance: “It doesn’t matter what your skill is. If you can’t look someone in the eye, it’s not that enjoyable to watch. It’s about giving people stage presence and a couple of tools to bring out their own performance style and spark.”

The Circilár programme, which is supported by Longford County Council, the Arts Council Ireland, the Roscommon Residency Centre Motion Chapel and Shawbrook Residency Studios Longford, will commence in March of 2026.