Students from Kingaroy State School had the opportunity to experience a once in a lifetime performance by Circa Cairns.
Circa Cairns, a proud First Nations-led contemporary circus ensemble from Cairns, visited Kingaroy State School for a duration of two days, 10 and 11 February, with the big performance of The Dry, on Tuesday, 11 February.
It was an excellent show, held at K-PAC at Kingaroy State High School, with the kids entranced by the spins, tricks and feats of skill and strength performed by the acrobats, with many of the students sharing the same view of the show, that it was amazing and the acrobats were very talented.
Kingaroy State School Principal Mr Rick Cass echoed the students’ statements about the performance.
“Bringing events and programs into school provides an opportunity to inspire kids to explore ways to engage in healthy life choices,” he said. “Today’s event was fun, exciting, and awe-inspiring.”
Ally Humphris, an acrobat herself though on maternity break, is a proud Wakka Wakka woman and the Community Engagement Lead for Circa Cairns.
“We believe kids can only be what they see,” she said. “Doing these shows in regional towns and communities shows them a viable career in performing arts.”
When asked why Kingaroy was chosen as a location to perform at, Ally said in 2023 she had the idea to create a Wakka Wakka tour, and it soon became a personal passion to bring it back to Wakka Wakka country.
The inspiration behind the performance came after a tour of Cape York, where the dry season and uplifting mood inspired the performance creator.
Ally said the uplifting mood came from the rodeos, rugby league and cultural festivals being back on.
“The rains are gone so celebrations occur,” she said.
“The Dry was created to be performed in theatre spaces, on jigsaw mats, on basketball courts,” Ally said.
This allows the performance to be performed in small rural towns and communities.
The three acrobats who performed The Dry, Jake Kenner, Manelaya Kaydos-Nitis and Violetta Van Geyzel, provided an ensemble response to the question, ‘Why are these performances important?’
“It’s really important to show young people that the circus is a career option for them too,” they said. “Being a first nations led company, it’s also incredibly important to show first nations young people how rewarding a career in circus can be.”
“It’s important to incorporate indigenous culture so mob can see representation,” Ally said, as first nations acrobats are few and far between in the performing arts industry.
