Markos Karamitros, Circus Camino (Greece)
The functional juggling method aims to improve a person’s overall functionality by combining various physical and mental activities in the form of play and teamwork. The goal is to improve balance, flexibility, cooperative thinking, and motor-eye coordination, while discovering the joy of movement.
This particular method is based on deconstructing the practice of juggling as we are accustomed to it. The stimuli that come from active participation in juggling activities activate the mind, spirit, and body of the individual.
This workshop is designed for all ages, including children, young people, and adults. It is also suitable for people with special needs. The functional juggling method can provide social workers, circus trainers, instructors, and other interested professionals with a basic understanding of the theories and practice of functional juggling. During this workshop, participants will go through a step-by-step process of understanding juggling and will be given new tools for entertainment and inclusion. The benefits for participants will be the ability to create and improvise new forms of juggling environments—even without necessarily having their own equipment—for all types of people, from typically developing children, adults, and seniors to all types of people with neurological issues. In addition, nonverbal and sensory communication strategies will be presented. This gives participants the opportunity to access and communicate with all types of people, including those who suffer from blindness, autism, deafness, or are of other nationalities, etc. Finally, they will have the opportunity to see and also experiment with specific tools designed specifically for working with the functional juggling method.
Circus Camino is a leading circus company based on the island of Crete, composed of general and special education teachers, which offers and implements the “Functional Juggling” program in various educational settings as an alternative form of expression and occupational therapy intervention to the classical practice of juggling, for children and adults with typical development, as well as those with any form of disability and neurological differences. In addition to cultural events, it organises circus performances and educational programmes in schools and institutions for the entertainment and education of children and parents.
With the financial support of the National Culture Fund, Festivals 2024 program.
Photo: Veliko Balabanov and Circus Camino