Emergency Circus Action

The current war in Israel and Gaza, with potential of other fronts being added, brings about very complicated challenges for civilians around morale, their sense of resiliency, their capacity and the sense of agency. This is true for the general population and especially of evacuees from surrounding the Gaza area. Circus as an exciting stage art has a huge potential of advancing a social leisure culture which is creative, artistic and athletic which can provide a solution to the challenges of screens and developing resiliency and a sense of agency through a challenging enjoyable physical activity. Practicing circus skills, necessitates physical control, balance, coordination and strength which brings the person exercising to a therapeutic realm. Practicing circus arts and skills develops achievement without competition, promotes communication skills and team work and overcoming challenges. Children and teens, and actually also adults, are experiencing at the moment a big painful trauma. Practicing skills which require developing concentration, stability, determination, perseverance, communication and teamwork encapsulates within it potential to alleviate tension, frustration and feelings of powerlessness while directing energy to positive activity and coping with a repeated sense of success and failure. These are practical tools for creating resiliency, agency and capability.