A circus of possibility

Wimmera Women’s Circus members have been tumbling and twirling at community events for years, but the group’s underlying message is one of self-belief and confidence.

A ‘self-organised project’, this ever-changing group of women have developed a supportive setting for females in the region to engage in physical activity and performance.

Their welcoming and fun-loving status might be enough to convince anyone that it is never too late to run away with the circus.

Member Melissa Morris said the group was no ‘Cirque du Soleil’, they simply enjoyed the energy and strength-building components of their weekly Tuesday night training at Haven Hall.

“We are an amateur, voluntary community. We just enjoy performing and interacting with an audience,” she said.

“It is a creative environment and it is fun.

“It helps make good connections and everyone can do something.

“You know, a group of women together can be very supportive.”

Physically, Ms Morris said members will stand, sit on and hold each other up for skills and tricks, but support in the group also ran deeper.

“It is a good network for people, and a place to challenge yourself and learn new tricks in a safe and supportive environment,” she said.

“Often people see us perform and they will come up and say, ‘I could never do that’, and it is really not true.

“We encourage people not to say, ‘Oh I couldn’t do that’. There are spots for everyone. Have a try, have a go.

“There was actually one particular move I didn’t think I could do and someone else came along and said, ‘you could do that’.

“Everyone can thing.”

The group was created about 13 years ago and grew from an do some- art project called ‘We Don’t Do Lycra’ inspired by Performing Older Women’s Circus.

The project provided professional circus skill training to older people in the Wimmera, challenging stereotypes against older generations.

Collaboration

Wimmera Women’s Circus has since collaborated with Circus Oz, award-winning theatre company Asking for Trouble and performed at various events across the region.

“It is great to work with other skilled, professional circus performers and groups,” Ms Morris said.

“We always look for opportunity. We are working at the moment to see what we can do for this year’s Nati Frinj.

“The last festival was a full house, so we have just been thinking ‘what can we do this year to make it bigger?’”

Earlier this month the group performed at Horsham’s International Women’s Day lunch at Horsham Town Hall, supporting a movement for women’s rights.

“It was good. There was a small selection of us there and we linked well with the theme ‘Balance for Better’ this year,” Ms Morris said.

“As a women’s circus, it was good to support International Women’s Day.”

Ms Morris, a member of the group for more than 10 years, has watched other women come and go, including a Spanish national.

She said they were always keen to see new women join in, and new-comers did not need to be worried about what they thought they could or could not do.

“We are always looking for new members. People don’t have to have any previous training or gymnastics ability,” she said.

“There are spots for everyone. We need people to sit on or stand on, we need people to fly, to spot-watch.

“We also need people who are good at story-telling.

“It is quite fun, and this is a very supportive environment.”