The Persistence of Youth Circus in the UK
CircusWorks, the umbrella organization for UK youth circuses, recently conducted a survey and interviewed 45 youth circus organizations to learn more about their activities, demographics and needs. CircusWorks’ multifaceted mission and work include disseminating information and providing support, advice, and resources to the social and youth circus sector, while they also represent UK’s youth circus internationally. This survey is an important milestone for the organization to shape their work in the future. We asked Circus Works’ director, Lynn Carroll about the UK community and the results of this survey specifically.
CircusTalk: What was the main purpose of the survey? What was the most important question you were seeking an answer to? Lynn Carroll: As an organization committed to supporting and developing the UK youth circus sector, we need to know what issues youth circuses are having, what they need now, and what they hope for in the future. We were also interested in mapping the sector as a whole: discovering how many young people are learning circus in the UK, what they are doing, and if there are gaps in provision. All of the data we collected will inform our work going forward, as it has given us a much clearer picture of what youth circuses need. The survey also allowed us to have really informative conversations with youth circuses about their work, their priorities and their underlying ethos. CT: How big is the UK youth a...Do you have a story to share? Submit your news story, article or press release.