Wise Fool New Mexico’s Women’s Intensive Circus Camp is transforming women into fearless flyers! Since 2002, Wise Fool New Mexico has held an amazing, annual 6-week circus camp for women of all ages to come together to challenge themselves and inspire each other to often unheard of new heights of physical and emotional expression through the arts. The women create their own acts with the help of teachers and coaches to illustrate these concepts from their own voice.
The circus camp incorporates acrobatics, trapeze, aerial fabrics, stilts, clowning, and physical theater in this beautiful exploration into the world of strength and vulnerability, expression and intention. The annual circus camp culminates in a performance titled BUST!
Wise Fool’s History
In 1998, a small collective of women – including artists from Wise Fool Puppet Intervention in San Francisco, Northern New Mexican activists, and myriad others – began exploring puppetry and circus arts as a vehicle to promote social justice in New Mexico. In 2000, Wise Fool New Mexico was officially born, co-founded by Amy Christian, Artistic Director and Alessandra Ogren, who is also Co-Director of the Penasco Theatre Collective.
In 2000, Wise Fool established programming at the Peñasco Theatre in order to support the rural community of Peñasco, NM, by providing consistent, positive activities in a familiar and empowering environment. Performances and workshops focus on creative process, collaboration, and dialogue, as the well-proven means by which projects educate, strengthen and build community, cross dividing lines, and boost understanding, personal pride, and self determination. They encourage participants to become active in creating the positive change they seek.
Theater and Social Justice
The reality of contemporary society requires a new narrative. One that includes and celebrates the creative visioning that accurately reflects the many extraordinary voices that comprise it. Within artistic expression lies the transformative capacity for resilience and healing. We recognize the full diversity of the students, families and communities we serve in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic status, immigration status, physical ability, body type, body size, religious or political beliefs. Honoring collective histories of struggle against discrimination and other forms of oppression, Wise Fool endeavors to offer collaborative arts education efforts that strive to promote community wellness, multi-racial coalition building and progressive social and economic justice.
Forward to 2015
Wise Fool continues to offer high-quality performances and outreach built upon enduring core values of community, diversity, and social justice. The main studio is located in Santa Fe. Co-founder Amy Christian gave a TEDx talk, “How Outdoor Theater Ignites Social Change”: Amy Christian at TEDxAcequiaMadre, which you can watch here:
This year’s BUST! 2015 performance is just around the corner, with performances to be held June 26th and 27th at the Armory For The Arts in Santa Fe, NM.
Source: Wise Fool New Mexico
Wise Fool BUST! Video
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