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The Palestinian Circus Summer School (Thomas Freteur 2009)

Clowning around in Palestine is serious business. Widely viewed as inappropriate for women and girls, and a frivolous way to spend one’s time for anyone over the age of 16, circus in Palestine did not seem to be the best of ideas at the time of its founding in August 2006. In addition to the economic and political crisis due to Hamas’ victory in the Palestinian legislative elections, most who had expressed interest in joining the Palestinian Circus School (PCS), the brainchild of Jerusalem-born Shadi Zmorrod and Belgian citizen, Jessika Devlieghere, were discouraged from doing so by family and society. Five years on, and PCS has not only gained immense popularity among many Palestinians, but it can take credit for producing a skilled and professional Palestinian circus that has performed all over Europe.
Considered a second family—sometimes the only family—for PCS students and staff, the school has acted as a source of inspiration, empowerment and solace for young Palestinians
Considered a second family—sometimes the only family—for PCS students and staff, the school has acted as a source of inspiration, empowerment and solace for young Palestinians, all of whom have been deeply affected by the 44-year Israeli military occupation of Palestinian lands.

“The circus has improved many aspects of our lives, especially in the context of the second intifada, which caused so much suffering within Palestinian society,” Ahmad Abu Taleb, a student of juggling and gymnastics told The Majalla. “It has filled up our leisure time and changed the way we deal with others in our communities,” Ahmad continued. “The circus has encouraged me to aspire for the future that I dream of.”

Severe economic hardship—chronic malnutrition affects nearly 10 percent of children under five in Palestine, according to Save the Children, the daily experiences of personal humiliation, physical and psychological abuse, destruction and confiscation of private property, arbitrary detention and outright murder on the part of the Israeli military and extremist Jewish settlers have no doubt contributed significantly to the dismal situation of children and youth in Palestine. With 1.9 million Palestinians under the age of 18, and nearly 1 million who live in refugee camps, the circus school must reach far and wide to even begin to achieve its goals.

One major achievement of the PCS has been to improve the image of Palestine and the Palestinians in the eyes of foreigners. “For many, watching young Palestinians dancing, clowning around and hanging upside down from a trapeze has been a real eye opener,” Jessika remarked. “European audiences have been clearly touched by our performances. Circus helps us to recognize our shared humanity, and like all humans, Palestinians are full of dreams and hope, but they cannot live them out.”

PCS, a non-profit and non-governmental organization, is based on a genre of performing art called nouveau cirque, or contemporary circus, whereby artists tell a story or convey a theme using traditional circus skills combined with theatrical technique. The school currently employs three trainer/performers specializing in acrobatics, juggling, Chinese Pole, German Wheel, tissue and trapeze, and organizes several projects throughout the year, including a three-week intensive training course for advanced students during the summer; original productions performed throughout the West Bank; the development of weekly circus clubs from beginning to advanced levels; and collaboration with local and international artists.

“Through the circus, I can express what I want to say to my family or community,” said Noor Abo Al-Rob, a student in his third year with PCS. Noor is taking part in the school’s current production, “Dreams for Sale,” which tells the story of four young people from the West Bank city of Jenin, who dream of becoming professional circus performers, but face criticism and pressure from their families, work, and society against the idea. “The show unfolds within a comic context and serves to reveal the struggle within the actors themselves,” Noor explained.

The school’s three-pronged mission—to train professional circus artists; to popularize the circus arts in Palestine; and to stimulate and develop the creative, cognitive, physical, sensitive and social potential of young Palestinians through circus arts—serves the founders’ firm belief that circus has the power to contribute to a better future for Palestinians.

“Not only it has changed me physically,” Hazzar Azzeh, a student specializing in trapeze, said, “but it has also helped me to become more sociable, more open to the world and what is happening around me.” Hazzar went on to say that as a student of circus, she has also learned how to be disciplined, persistent and devoted to the tasks ahead of her, skills that she has applied to other aspects of her life.

By all accounts, PCS has been extremely successful, despite the many obstacles its students and staff have faced along the way—political and social challenges, of course, but also operational, particularly the need to attract sustainable funding. Throughout its existence, the school has relied on both local and international funding, but also on the support of the local community. Most recently, founder and former president of Birzeit University, Dr. Hanna Nasser, has offered PCS permanent training facilities in the historic village home to the university, located 10km north of Ramallah, to which PCS intends to move by January 2012.

This news comes at a crucial time for the folks at the Palestinian Circus School as the team strives to increase enrolment from 100 to 200 per year. Jessika explained that they would expand their geographical reach to several new locations, including Jenin, Hebron, Jerusalem, Bir Zeit and Bethlehem. Next month, in September, PCS will hire four new trainers, Ahmad and Noor among them, to carry out the school’s new plan. Moreover, with the new training facilities, the school’s long-term goal is to further develop a full-time professional circus program from September 2014 onwards in order to offer their students and staff a more secure future in the circus arts.

PCS has so far been unable to engage with children and youth in the Gaza Strip due to Israeli restrictions on the team’s movement that make it impossible at this time for any kind of exchange. Yet, a small group of young Gazans have expressed their interest in trying to initiate something circus related. PCS staff have consulted them here and there via phone and email. “There is enormous energy and potential in Gaza,” Jessika told The Majalla. “We know that there are many people living in Gaza who would relish the idea of losing that energy in the positive and dynamic environment that circus offers.”

Jacqueline Shoen ^[2]

Jacqueline Shoen is a London-based American writer and media professional specializing in geopolitics and US policy in the Middle East. Jacqueline writes a weekly blog, “Between You and Me.”

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