MY ZIP ZAP STORY BEGINS
I watched my first circus show and was not impressed. Sad clowns, sad animals, sad tent. I was very young.
I learnt how to fly on the trapeze. Happy times. Daring, exciting, unusual. I was an adult. I never imagined that it would become my life.
Zip Zap has pushed all my boundaries. Socially, physically, intellectually. It has opened my soul to the harsh realities of life below the bread line, or facing difficult circumstances, growing up without the same start as I had. Every day I am grateful for my education, my family, my health. Sharing it, is the best feeling.
Zip Zap is varied. Every day is different. Age, culture, goal, occupation do not matter. The journey does.
THE STORY CONTINUES FOR OTHERS
2017 passed in a flash. It was the most exciting, daring, busy, and tiring year ever - so much was achieved by such a dedicated team. From Zurich to Reunion Island, from the Parlotones to the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, from the City Centre to Salt River.
What I am most proud of is my team. These young, resilient, passionate people who make it all happen behind the scenes from the staff to the volunteers. No stage, no glamour, no applause - but they clean, drive, edit, create, build, carry, correct, teach, supervise and mentor. I take my hat off to all of them.
What you do not see in the background also makes the Zip Zap magic happen: the staff meetings, operations meetings, production meetings, school meetings, planning meetings and debriefings. And, last but not least, our EXCO meetings, where executive decisions are taken, budgets argued, financials reviewed, and where the pressure of keeping an organisation alive is felt.
This year, I particularly want to emphasise the fact that 2 young staff who started as kids at Zip Zap joined this EXCO team. This is a fantastic achievement and part of Brent and my dream for Zip Zap to belong to its children.
Some great achievements of the past year are:
- the Impumelelo Platinum Award in November 2017 won for excelling in innovation, effectiveness, poverty impact, sustainability and replication . “I can confidently say that based on the 537 projects awarded throughout Impumelelo’s history, Zip Zap Circus Trust is a worthy cause to support and I do hope that this model of best practice grows throughout South Africa,” - Impumelelo’s Executive Director, Jaen Beelders.
- More than 2000 children experienced circus arts first-hand.
- Over 48 900 audiences watched our shows live across the world.
Taking a back seat, mentoring, strategising, exploring potential partnerships locally and abroad will now be my focus as well as working towards seeing the Circus Arts included in the Arts & Culture national portfolio. I think it is time South Africa includes all art forms and we will work towards making enough noise to be heard.
Written by: Laurence Estève, Co-founder and CEO of the Zip-Zap Circus Academy
Laurence can be contacted at [email protected]
For more info on upcoming performances and events, keep an eye on their Facebook page or visit the Zip Zap Circus website.