Family La Bonche (Established 2012)
Biography
Five Ring Circus started in 2010 and was founded by Helen Averley and Steve Cousins, to give young people opportunities to enjoy a regular youth circus club and access to structured, ongoing training.
Five Ring focuses on the five main areas of circus performance; aerial, acrobatics, manipulation, performance and equilibristics.
Five Ring Circus got £100,000 funding from the Legacy Trust UK, and was an official part of the Cultural Olympiad, which celebrated the London 2012 Olympics. Five Ring Circus Started with four youth circus clubs one each in North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Stockton and Newcastle, it was also financially supported by all these local authorities and by the Arts Council.
The clubs lead into and accelerated programme, the Performance Troupe, which started in 2012. It was a group of 11 to 25 year olds form all over the region – Alnwick to Yarm, North Tyneside to Tow Law. It was based in Circus Central in Newcastle. They trained two to five times weekly and performed across the North East and further afield. The Legacy project finished in 2012 but the Circus lives on. 2013 saw the first graduate, Lee Scott Tinnion become a full-time circus professional with No Fit State Circus.
The Family La Bonche was named in March 2012 when people from Five Ring Circus, the North East’s regional youth circus, decided that they should have a family name.
Family La Bonche are involved in cultural, performance and youth based projects and shows and have been researching circus history in Newcastle and the North East and developing this site. Skills which are routinely taught include acrobatics, unicycling, and juggling, among others.
Several individual performers and duos have developed out of the Five Ring Circus and have developed their Family La Bonche identity, they are now beginning to be seen performing beyond the region at national youth circus and community circus. They Include: contortionist and magician Mr Freak, the comic rola boal duo Liza Orange, Rocky and Twiggy, PP a clown and musician, and The La Bonche Brothers (Kernel and Bonchlette) a compare and juggling duo, as well as Frinzi (Freya and Zinzi) and aerial duo who in 2013 featured in a CBBC programme Turbo Boost which focused on the development of a double cloud swing act.
Found in 13 Collections and/or Records:
A collection of historic circus posters from the Arthur Fenwick collection, Tyne & Wear Archives made public online for First Time! Handbill, 2013
Chipperfields Circus and Menagerie. Newcastle September 8th to September 20th. Circus Central.
A collection of historic circus posters from the Arthur Fenwick collection, Tyne & Wear Archives made public online for First Time! Handbill, 2013
Chipperfields Circus and Menagerie. Newcastle September 8th to September 20th. Circus Central.
Circus Central Handbill, 2013
Learn circus! Trapeze, Acrobatics, Unicycle, Tight wire, Juggle, Fire skills, Performance, Aerial, Hula hoop. Circus for adults, children and young people, classes, community clubs and courses, skills and fitness, friends and fun!.
Circus Central Poster, 2013
The Home of Circus in Newcastle. Learn Circus! Trapeze, Acrobatics, Unicycle, Tight wire, Juggle, Fire skills, Performance, Aerial, Hula hoop. Circus for adults, children and young people, classes, community clubs and courses, skills and fitness, friends and fun.
Correspondence, 2014
Postcard addressed to the NFCA for their 20th anniversary.
Family La Bonche Project Collection
Posters, a book, a postcard, project newspaper and 3 promotional handbills.
Five Ring Circus Poster, 2013
Our five circus disciplines & their metaphors for life. Circus makes me…Colour lithograph with a start within a circle on the centre and words referring to the influence of practicing circus acrobatics make young people feel and several photographs of young people engaged in different acrobatics produced by Circus Central.
Five Ring Circus Poster, 2013
Our five circus disciplines & their metaphors for life. Circus makes me…Colour lithograph with a start within a circle on the centre and words referring to the influence of practicing circus acrobatics make young people feel and several photographs of young people engaged in different acrobatics produced by Circus Central.
Handbills, 2013
Handbills related to the Arthur Fenwick collection, Chipperfield Circus and Circus Central.
Postcard, 2014
Postcard from Family La Bonche, Circus Central to NFCA. Reproduction of painting of circus backstage scene with three clowns talking. 20th anniversary congratulatory card.
Project Overview Newspaper, 2013
Madame La Bonche Family and Circus Central project overview produced in newspaper format, 2p.p.
Various, 2013
Madame La Bonche Family and Circus Central project overview.