Civil Society, Europe, Headlines, Human Rights

RUSSIA: Doing Acrobatics to Keep Kids Off the Streets

Maricel Drazer

DÜSSELDORF, Germany, Jul 28 2006 (IPS) - The magic of the circus feeds the dreams and fantasies of children in the audience, but at the Upsala Circus it has the same effect on the artistic troupe, made up of troubled boys and girls from the streets of St. Petersburg, Russia’s second biggest city.

The Upsala Circus, which is putting on performances through Jul. 30 in the city of Düsseldorf in west-central Germany, is comprised of 50 children and teenagers aged seven to 18, who come from poor families in St. Petersburg.

The lives of most of these youngsters have been marked by violence, abuse, delinquency, drug dependency and economic hardship, and their futures held out few or no prospects.

“Our aim is to offer at-risk children an alternative to life on the streets, enable their reintegration into society, and provide an environment that will promote their growth and development,” those responsible for the project state as their principles.

“This is about life, not the stage,” Larisa Afanaseva, artistic director of the Upsala Circus, told IPS. “Every child has a talent, not for the circus but for his or her own life. The circus is an opportunity to discover that talent,” she added.

This project, unique in Russia, is based on a “socio-pedagogical circus” methodology, in which professionals from different disciplines work together: art therapists, theatre directors, acrobatics trainers, educationists, medical doctors, psychologists and sociologists.

The original idea was conceived in 2000 by a young German woman, Astrid Schorn, during an internship in the northwestern Russian city of St. Petersburg, where she was moved by the children she saw every day wandering the streets.

Later on, as the project developed, Schorn decided to move to St. Petersburg to work on it full-time.

Upsala Circus members were initially contacted in streets, plazas, subway stations and children’s homes, and invited to join the circus, with no obligation to stay.

“At the beginning it isn’t easy. They have no confidence, they don’t believe they can do it. Sometimes their families tell us they don’t think the circus is for their children, who are bad and disobedient,” Afanaseva said.

Nevertheless, the results have been positive. Several of the children, after a few months with the project, have got back in touch with their families, and most of them have returned to school.

“Ever since I joined the circus, I see life differently,” Sergei Muravlev, 18, who has been with Upsala for five years, told IPS. Laconic in conversation, he preferred not to dredge up painful memories, but he did speak his dream out loud: “to go to university and become a lawyer.”

Seregha Zabrodskii is 11 years old and has been with the circus for four years. He is slight of build and rather shy, and after the show he told IPS almost in a whisper, “The circus means everything to meàWhen I’m not with the circus, I go back on the streets. Besides, my best friends are here, and so is my brother Misha, who is a year older than I am,” he said.

According to official figures, 16,000 boys and girls are living on the streets in St. Petersburg. Some estimates, however, put the number much higher. The city has a population of five million, of whom 40 percent live below the poverty line.

Given this broader context, above and beyond learning circus skills, the emphasis at Upsala is on providing a safe and healthy environment for these young people.

They are given psychological support, access to medical treatment, help with schoolwork, and language classes. Group visits are organised to museums, theatres and exhibitions. And wherever possible and when the children wish it, they are helped to reestablish contact with their relatives.

The project is supported financially by foundations, companies and private donors in Germany and Russia, and also by many non-governmental organisations in both countries.

The circus has a busy year-round schedule of performances. During the school holidays Upsala travels to cities in Britain and Germany, where its performances are usually sold out.

“Round Tale” is the title of the current show, about the adventures of a child who must leave home and find his way in the world.

“It was too short,” little Joachim complained to his mother, after watching the performance and several encores.

“I loved it, I enjoyed it as I did when I was a child,” Ursula, 72, a German pensioner, told IPS. “And when I think of what these children have been through, living on the street, in the bitter cold, the truth is I can’t believe it …,” she said.

On stage, the group tells its own story just by reciting its name: “Upsala”, the word in German and Russian equivalent to “Oopsy-daisy!”, used for lifting something – or someone – who has fallen down.