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FLYING THE COOP
The journey of being a ‘Fruitie’ will soon be over for the 2011 Flying Fruit Fly Circus graduates as they make their way into the next stage of their lives.
Graduates Nick Hutchison, Manny Kaydos-Nitis, Tamara Klink-Moloney, Kate Pordage and Casey Wood have been with the circus through its own time of change as it moved from the original PCYC building, to a temporary home in Dallinger Road and then into the new state of the art training facility in Hovell Street, South Albury.
Nick, Manny, Tamara and Casey will perform in the graduate show, 4 journeys while Kate is a member of the cast of the major production, CRUNCH, that will run at the Albury Entertainment Centre from Thursday 15 to Tuesday 20 December.
Nick, originally from Berowra Waters in Sydney joined the circus four years ago and has ambitions to join Cirque de Soleil, and with an offer of a place at the National Institute of Circus Arts, NICA, he is well on his way.
‘I’ve had a fantastic time and have loved the trainers, great friends, just everything about the experience,’ Nick said.
Tamara and Kate travelled together from Brisbane three years ago where they were members of Flipside Circus, and although they don’t plan to continue full time in circus, feel they’ve gained valuable skills during their time at the Fruit Fly Circus.
Tamara has applied to study marketing, while Kate is pursuing a career as a flight attendant.
‘I’ve made some fantastic friends while I’ve been here and now that the exams are over am looking forward to the experience of performing for our local audiences in CRUNCH,’ Kate said.
For Casey who moved from Margaret River in Western Australia, a highlight has been the opportunity to train every day and for the last 15 months in the world- class facility.
‘I was in a small training circus before I moved here and it’s just been amazing to be able to train and advance my skills,’ Casey said.
Manny was involved in circus before moving from Sydney and plans to return there where she aims to continue her circus career.
The five graduates have also been able to pass on their knowledge as trainers in the Saturday Circus Arts program which caters for children aged four years and over and introduces them to circus skills including balancing, juggling, rope climbing, skipping and tumbling.
They’ve also had the experience of the integrated school and circus training program that is unique to the Fruit Flies.
Artistic director, Markus Michalowski said it had been a privilege to accompany the five graduates on their journey.
‘I’ve seen them blossom and grow in confidence to the point where they are not just young people who have circus skills but who now are seasoned performers,’ Mr Michalowski said.
‘They have learned to trust themselves and others, how to work in a team and the very important skill of getting up and trying again when something goes wrong,’ he said.
‘They train in a non-competitive environment where they have been striving for their personal best,’ he added.
Nick, Manny, Casey and Tamara not only worked on the development of the 4 journeys show but also fundraised to cover some of the costs of the production raising almost $900.
4 journeys will be performed at 7.30pm on Thursday 24 November at the ’Y’ in Hovell Street, South Albury and entry is by gold coin donation.
A GREAT WAY FOR YOU TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR AUSTRALIA’S PREMIER YOUTH CIRCUS
We’ve been in our amazing new space for almost 12 months, but there’s still a little bit of work to be done.
Our latest fundraising venture will see your contribution to the Fruities go down in history for posterity and see the completion of the courtyard area. Choose from single and double pavers or create a hand drawn image for a paver.
Please note the cost of the pavers is not tax deductible.
Download the order forms.
FFFC Double & single Order form 2011
FFFC HANDDRAWING MASTER SHEET 2011
Welcome to our $4.85m training space
Our 80 year old ex clothing factory come training space was knocked down in 2009. In its place is a $4.85m purpose built training facility. Our ‘fit for purpose’ space houses the circus administration and training program. We ran our first training session in July 2010. 