The thought of balancing on a trapeze for the very first time might fill most of us with dread, but a new workshop is using those very skills to harness in a sense of wellbeing.
Situated in the middle of an industrial business centre, The Circus House in Longsight is opening its doors to 20 women who will undergo a 24-week Women's Wellbeing Circus course.
While perhaps unconventional, company co-director Sian Berry says that many people actually use circus training to hone in on their wellbeing.
“I have this belief that circus can make you feel better because I’ve experienced it, my colleagues have experienced it,” Sian tells the Manchester Evening News.
“I’ve worked with people who have felt really low and had really high anxiety levels.
“Getting them into circus and teaching the skills taught them that by overcoming such large obstacles, such as climbing the silks or learning to do a cartwheel, they proved they could do anything and it wasn’t as scary as they thought.”
In fact, studies have shown that circus skills can also help improve coordination, focus, patience, tolerance and provide a safe environment for risk taking.
“The idea of the wellbeing course is that it’s a peer-to-peer support group,” Sian says.
“Us ladies like that - we like to be helpful and support our sisters.
“Using circus as a supportive tool to help each other get on stuff will only help to build that strength and bond.”
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The course, which will take place on Thursday mornings for 24 consecutive weeks, will teach participants how to juggle and use manipulation skills, all in a safe and inclusive environment.
“No one will be expected to do more than they can - and it will all be celebrated,” says Sian.
“In circus, there is no right way of doing anything, there’s just different ways of doing it.”
And for anyone who might be a little scared about the thought of joining the circus, Sian says she “welcomes” the fear.
“Bring your fear, we’re not worried about that,” she laughs.
“Learning to handle and talk about your fear is good. Not enough people do that.”
Since launching nearly ten years ago, the Circus House has gone from strength to strength and was recently nominated for the People's Culture award at the Manchester Culture Awards 2019.
Sian met co-director Owen Gaynor while working as a girl in a sword box on a production in the Lake District.
Sian told Owen, who was a juggler at the time, about her plans to open a circus training school and, coincidently, Owen said he had similar plans with his friend Alex Anderson.
The three co-directors now teach circus skills to everyone from newborns to OAPs alongside a team of dedicated staff.
Each class can include up to ten adults at a time, with lessons taking place on every day of the week.
Sian says that while getting funding and support can be tough, there will always be an audience for it.
“I think circus is about community and supporting people.
“I think anything that is artistic like that will survive because there is a need for it.”
The Circus House ’s Women’s Wellbeing Circus course is open to anyone who identifies as a woman with minimal or no circus skills training.
To register interest in the course, you can apply here or attend an open day on November 28 between 10:30am and 12:30pm. The deadline for applications is December 2.
