Mayhem Youth Circus Festival 2024

The first Circus Explored Youth Exchange in 2024 brought young circus delegates from Circusful Belfast and In Your Space Circus Derry to Galway for the Mayhem Youth Circus Festival, which took place from the 24th to the 26th of May, organised and hosted by Galway Community Circus.

In Galway, our young participants had the opportunity to meet their peers & learn new Circus skills from Pete Duncan and Fraser Hooper. This involved refining skills to become future Youth Circus leaders with professional skill development education to allow them to learn how to pass on their incredible circus skills to the next generation of circus artists.

The Mayhem Youth Circus Festival is Galway Community Circus’s annual festival celebrating circus.

Schedule of events can be found here→

Photo, Video & Testimonials

Circus Explored | Ash

"Galway was just amazing, definitely worth the travel! As soon as we arrived on Saturday to Peter's workshop everybody was just so friendly and it was like we'd all known each other for years, and Pete was just brilliant. He was so fun and we did end up getting to chat on the Sunday, I've learned a lot i'll never forget. And Frasers workshop was so much fun, helped me alot with working towards future performance opportunities"

"This weekend was an absolutely incredible experience. I learnt so much in such a genuinely engaging way from such a huge array of wonderful people, facilitators, trainers and participants alike. There was such an instant sense of community and belonging, and I truly never feel more able to be myself than when I’m surrounded by other circus people!!! I feel so inspired after this week, I feel empowered in my abilities to deliver teaching and also to learn new skills! I also really enjoyed having more time to socialise with participants, and getting to connect with other young people from further afield. It was a truly amazing experience full of profound emotion and warmth and I am so glad to have been a part of it!"

Circus Explored | Bridget

Circus Explored | Greg

"I honestly really enjoyed the weekend, there's not been many times where I've been quite as happy I don't think. I've definitely gained more knowledge, not just the teaching and performing side of things but with our values as trainers and trainees as circus teachers. The weekend has really made me remember why I want to become a trainer, to make other people have the experience that I've had and show them the same community and unity that I've grown to love circus for."