What We Do

At Circus Starlight, we believe that circus is more than performance; it's a powerful vehicle for personal transformation, creative expression, and community connection. Our work with young people goes far beyond teaching circus skills. We nurture confidence, resilience, teamwork, and self-belief, helping our students grow not only as performers but as empowered individuals.

We are proud to create meaningful, paid opportunities for local artists, valuing their expertise and sustaining our creative economy. At the same time, we open doors for our young people by connecting them with internationally acclaimed performers and facilitators, offering rare, firsthand exposure to excellence in the arts.

Through this dynamic blend of community engagement and professional-level training, we provide clear, tangible pathways into creative careers. We strive to be a place where ambition is nurtured, talent is recognized, and futures in the arts become both imaginable and achievable.

A scoping review of 42 circus-based interventions for children and adolescents (up to age 24) showed improvements in all studies across physical fitness and social-emotional outcomes, including resilience, socialisation, confidence, self-esteem, stress relief, emotional regulation, teamwork, empathy, and problem-solving. This shows that circus is a resilient, measurable, and inclusive route to enhanced mental wellbeing for young people, especially those facing adversity.

Continued funding is crucial to sustaining this work. It allows us to keep our programmes accessible to all, regardless of background, and to maintain the high standard of artistic and educational excellence that defines what we do. With further support, we can continue to invest in the next generation of performers, creators, and confident young people, ensuring that this unique and vital community resource not only survives but thrives.