Circus Against Poverty: A Video Tour of Nairobi’s Social Circuses
In July 2018, Kirsty Bell visited Kenya on holiday. Since Bell has worked in the circus world as a writer, a performer, a costume designer and an administrator, she has had plenty of opportunities to meet people from all walks of the industry. This past year, Bell had the good fortune to meet John Otieno Dindy, the founder and executive director of the Mighty Jambo Trust in Nairobi, Kenya. So when she planned her trip to Africa, she planned it around visiting his school in Kenya and several of the satellite training spaces. Seeking to understand more about the social circus programs in Kenya, Bell took up her camera and reported on much of the training, the challenges and triumphs of making circus in Africa. In this video, she hones in on the key purpose of the programs while getting to know the hospitable hosts and discovering how they do social circus.
Related content: Circus Against Poverty: Insight into the Social Circus Programs of Nairobi
As a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, Kirsty Bell grew up surrounded by culture, but she really discovered the world of circus when a friend invited her to an aerial silks class… from that moment on she was hooked! Kirsty has witnessed first-hand almost every aspect of circus, having experience as a performer, costume designer, critic and administrator. In recent years Kirsty has taken part in the Circus Voices scheme at the Edinburgh Festival, writing for the Circus Dairies, and has been in charge of the development of the Club PRO and Demain’s Volunteers projects at the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain in Paris.
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