About Catapult

Catapult plays a vital linking and networking role in a field where participants have previously not been able to meet, share skills and processes or develop national benchmarks and accreditation. 

Catapult is the meeting point for metropolitan, regional and remote youth circus practitioners and also the meeting point between youth circus and adult professional circus and physical theatre.

Catapult Festival

• offers forums which serve as an information resource, networking platform and an engagement of the artistic, social and educational philosophies which underpin the practice.
• is the first festival in Australia to showcase the skills of young circus and physical theatre performers.
• it is not only a festival for young performers but also attracts some of the best adult professional performers currently practicing. The interaction between these youth and adult performers is an inspiration to all participants regardless of their age or skill level.

Catapult Festival aims to:

• bring young people and professional performers together to create a performance and skill development platform for the growing number of youth circus and physical theatre troupes in Australia.
• bring young people in the region together with professional artists where they will be inspired to continue to build on their skills and self confidence.
• encourage and support the growth of physical theatre and cultural organisations in regional areas.
• encourage and support physical theatre performers by ensuring that workshops and development opportunities are available and accessible to both trainers and young people.

Catapult Festival strives to ensure that:

• youth groups from all economic backgrounds can afford to attend the Festival as costs are kept to a minimum. The Catapult Festival will continue to invite youth groups to the Festival to train, perform and network.
• registration fees are kept low, and financial support has been provided to ensure that groups can attend.
• the key measurable outcome of the Catapult Festival is linking physically, face to face, youth circus troupes who normally practice in isolation.

Catapult Festival is important because:

Circus has proved to be an activity of enormous benefit for young people. It has been shown to reduce truancy from school; build confidence, cooperation and self esteem in youth with social challenges; give remote, often aboriginal young people, a focus and alternative to harmful, anti-social behaviour; provide a physical and creative outlet for young people who are not interested in competitive sport; generate a sense of positive risk taking and the development of positive life skills.

The practice of youth circus has grown exponentially over the past thirty years. What has been missing has been communication and sharing of knowledge, methods and skills. Catapult fills this gap, in the words of participants who have attended.

Catapult helps participants to become aware that "they are not the only crazy ones out there doing this stuff" and on the contrary they are part of a very inclusive family.

One of the positive aspects of youth circus activity and circus in general is its inclusiveness of people who are excluded for whatever reason from other physical activity. For example there are documented cases of young people with attention deficit disorders gaining focus through the development of manipulation skills. Circus is tradtionally a refuge for misfits and outcasts and those with a so called disability are certainly welcome in this family. Catapult is no exception.

Many of the youth circuses have an internal system of trainer accreditation. This ranges from sophisticated and well documented to ad hoc. Sessions at Catapult 2009 began the important process of working towards national youth circus trainer accreditation. With assistance from TAFE this accreditation is an achievable reality.

Similar accreditation is needed in the area of rigging and safety. Rigging accreditation is needed, that is Circus and Performing Arts Industry specific and it needs to be delivered in an affordable way in diverse locations. This was a key topic of Catapult 2009 and the ground work has been laid to make this a reality.

In 2009 the resident professional troupe was Circus Oz. Catapult provides an invaluable meeting point between youth circus involvement and professional adult circus practitioners. Many of the youth participants had never had the chance to see Circus Oz and found the meeting inspirational.

Having a National Youth Circus Festival provides credibility and exposure to this important youth movement. It is clear from feedback from young people and trainers that the Catapult Festival makes a significant impact on their lives. Documented through feedback in a session which asked participants about their interest in circus, and their most important moments – " coming to previous Catapult Festivals and performing" came up numerous times.