“Right, please don’t look at me, hey!” says 22-year-old Nadia, who’s about to start her routine in front of the other students. She shyly stares at her feet whilst waiting for the music to start, then skilfully starts lifting herself up on the hoop that hangs from the ceiling. Everyone is watching, staring at all her moves as her body smoothly twirls around the curves of the ring.
In this disaffected barn-turned-improvised circus ring near Parque Patricios, Nadia and other 15 young adults spend their time rehearsing handstands, juggling, trapeze and tissue routines to the sound of neo-tango beats and various waltzes.
They are all part of the professional team of the Circo Social del Sur, an NGO providing free circus workshops to children and young adults who live in vulnerable social conditions in Buenos Aires’ shantytowns.
A 12-year experience
Mariana Rufolo and Pablo Holgado, both professional circus artists, started the Circo Social del Sur 12 years ago. They now have 350 children and teenagers who attend their workshops in shantytowns as well as in their headquarters in calle Iguazú.
“We work closely with different organisations active in the villas in order to identify young people in the need and invite them to join our circus,” says Mariana. “The most motivated and talented students are then offered to become teachers or can start practicing on a more professional level.” The school now has 20 teachers, ten of whom are former students of theirs.
Nadia, who is from Villa 21, first heard about the circus when her brother came home one day after playing ball outside. “He told me he heard people juggling in a disused warehouse,” she remembers. “He then joined the team, and so did I after seeing him in a show nine years ago. Now I’ve just finished my teachers’ training and have my own group of 30 kids, its loads of fun.”
Practising on the trapeze is 21-year-old Sergio from the barrio of Barracas. He joined the Circo Social del Sur when he was nine years old, training three times per week: “When I finished school, I started to work in the heating industry so had to stop the circus. I missed it so much that I came back and trained to be a teacher.” Sergio, who lives with his two retired parents, now teaches kids twice a week in Constitución and works in a kitchen at night to earn enough money to get by.
Positive values
The NGO, financed by private and public organisation, is not only about teaching the young ones how to do handstands and acrobatic exploits.
“We want to transmit the positive social values that go with it,” adds Mariana. “We teach them resiliency, how to have high self-esteem and be strong and flexible in any opportunities in life. We also want them to understand the importance of respect and solidarity.”
Ariel, a 20-year-old who has been with the organisation for two years, adds that students often help each other outside the classes and develop strong friendships.
Cirque du Soleil
The circus belongs to a worldwide network of social circuses called Cirque du Monde, founded and supported by the famed French-Canadian circus, Cirque du Soleil. On 18th July, a hundred tickets sold for Alegría, their latest show in Buenos Aires, will benefit Circo Social del Sur for present and future projects. The students will get to see a performance for free, and 40 of them will train with the Canadian artists for an afternoon.
The network also encouraged exchanges between students from social circuses in different countries. “At the end of July for example, the Subzirko from Chile is coming to perform in Buenos Aires before some of our students get to go there further on in the year,” says Mariana.
A way to encourage the young artists who are rehearsing all day every day for their next show in September.
“We should bring our beds,” suggests Nadia laughing whilst lacing her shoes up to her knees getting ready for another afternoon of exercises. “We spend so much time here that it’s like our second home.”
To buy tickets for the 18th July performance of the Cirque du Soleil ($400) and for the Subzirko show on 24th, 25th and 26th July in Centro Cultural Recoleta, call 4911 6349
For more information about future shows and how to help: contacto@circosocialdelsur.org.ar