2012 Paralympics Aerial Acrobatics & Stilt Walking Performance Project Cirque Nova

This project is born out of my work done in the disabilities field for the last 20 years, and more recently over the last 5 years in London.

With the work we've done in the past several disabled artist learned to perform a variety of acts that allowed them to take part with us at the Liberty's disability Festival in Trafalgar Square and the Xposure disabilities festival in London.

We have proven with our work that people with a variety of disabilities have enhanced their health by toning their muscle mass and by providing regular training that enhanced physical and life style abilities.

This project aims to work on the same basis whilst also trying to create a set of skills that will be able to be used at the opening/closure ceremonies of both Olympics and/or Paralympics games in 2012. The idea was born after an invitation to the opening of the cultural Olympiad at the Queen Elisabeth Hall where all major British organisations were invited and so were we.

The aim is to train 5 groups of 5 people with walking and upper body disabilities in aerial acrobatics based on work done from climbing safety belts and riggings, with which these artists would eventually be able to show off their skills hanging from cranes or riggings set up at the top of the Olympic stadium.

The Aerial work is based on creating 5 globes of metal, (representing the 5 coloured rings of the Olympic logo) from which these artist will hung, suspended at great height, to create aerial patterns and images similar to those done by parachute freefall acrobats, combined with bungee jumping acrobatics.

We have a venue identified to provide the training for this work by BTS projects, aerial equipment rental services, whom are willing to collaborate in the training and rigging of the equipment, but since 25th/May/2007 we have started negotiating with the Circus Space the possibility of using their creation studio and even try to collaborate in the work through bursaries or other possibilities.

We want to initiate the project by identifying and training 5 disabled artists whom we would prepare to show their skills at the Lea Valley Festival on the 22nd of June 2008 has been confirmed by Patricia Calahane NLSA 2012 co-ordinator for Barnet, Enfield, Haringey and Waltham-Forest the Liberty Festival 2008 (September '08), and even the possibility to get a chance to participate at the "Passing the Paralympic torch on the 17th of September 2008 in Beijing Event". This project of training 5 people (November2007 till June 2008) will for us be a proof that we can train another 20 disabled artist, in time (2012) to add 4 globes with 5 people (totalling 5 globes with 5 people each) each to hang above the Olympic Stadium at some point during the Opening or Closing of the Olympics or Paralympics games events

Our team of collaborators are experienced and certified riggers that have full control over the equipment and who can develop and build the globes needed for this work. We will make sure that all insurance, and health & safety issues are taken care off, as well as any discrimination issues.

This team has also the availability of a space to start the training, but we will have to find hangars with extensive height to try the work out as well as the regular rental of cranes to rehearse and perform the shows for our funders.

The main costs of this project will be the equipment and the wages of the trainers, venue rental as well as transport costs for the artists to reach the training venues (special taxis for wheelchair users) and by June 2005 the rental of a tall crane to try the skills out to be able to perform the work in public..

To have an idea of the kind of work that the aerialists would be doing, please take a look at this youtube film. Open these links on your internet browser

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAvnMJ7BZkM (34 seconds of video) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MxXfifADn4 (34 seconds of video) These artists would with their skills be able to perform in other festivals, after this initial presentation for Liberties, and tour Britain & Europe as paid performers, and all going well maybe even get a chance to be part of the Olympics Ceremonies.

After our previous experience with disabled artists we have noticed that the quality of life of these people was largely enhanced by the physical work which their bodies otherwise don't get confronted with.

Our disable artist from the previous creation (Cerebral Palsy sufferer and HIV+) realised that he was taller, gained more muscle control to manipulate his wheel chair, as well as experiencing hanging upside down for the first time in his life, strengthening his back and travelling to Trafalgar Square in London for the first time ever.

The routine to come and train once every two weeks gave him something to look forwards to which increased his mental well being.

So we believe that most aspects of this work would be beneficial to all the participants as well as offering a proposal that could be used at the Olympics or Paralympics opening show hanging from up high in the stadium, as the whole idea is to train these artists to perform at extremely high altitudes, which therefore will ease the selection of performers used in these creations.