Sebastian’s Introduction

12 Jan Sebastian’s Introduction

Good morning IFALL,

I’m Sebastian & along with Madhavi I’ve been brought from Australia to facilitate social circus in your neighbourhood.
It’s my third day in Sweden as I write this & I imagine you might like to know a little about me.
I’m almost fifteen years into my circus practice and I started with a community program like the one we’re setting up here. It’s called Slipstream Circus, it’s based in Tasmania & it’s still going strong.

For me, the most exciting thing about circus at the time was that it provided a non-competitive, playful way of making my body active and enjoying moving around, where I had difficulty engaging with the social environment present in organised sports.
There’s also the performance element; people come to the circus ready to experience wonder & delight, and that gives the performer permission to be powerfully vulnerable, and to depart from everyday normality in the service of the story & the feeling the show creates.
It’s like getting to participate in a live-action fairytale.

From that beginning, I’ve been involved in various other community circuses around the east coast of Australia; I trained in physical theatre in Brisbane with Zen Zen Zo, who use techniques developed for dance in New York & for actors in Japan, and contemporary circus with C!RCA also in Brisbane, with whom I was part of their youth performance troupe.

I studied history of theatre & continued my studies of physical theatre & circus in New South Wales, and then moved to Melbourne where I undertook intensive training with the National Institute of Circus Arts.
In between all of this I have been immersed in constant self-training and intensive classes through festivals like the excellent Tasmanian Circus Fest and individual tutoring.

In 2012 I performed in the Melbourne Fringe Festival in a shock theatre show with Bohemia Cabaret Club, was given mentorship opportunities with the owners and directors of that club & founded my own Lamplight Circus through which I have brought shows to Australia’s Adelaide Fringe Festival three years running, the Melbourne Comedy Festival & uncounted smaller parties, festivals and events.

In 2015 I had the chance to travel to England, Ireland and France to network within the industry and research the professional environment, and since returning to Australia I have been hosing nightclubs, teaching with Westside Circus (the organisation which sent Madhavi and I to join IFALL), modelling and performing whenever possible.

I adore Europe, and have been longing for a very long time to have more adventures internationally.
Now that I am here I intend to see as much of your wonderful country as possible, make myself useful & make as many contacts as possible while teaching, performing and improving my arts practice.