PWB India 2014: Boot camp and Introduction

Nothing can really prepare you for arrival in Mumbai. Finding words to describe this city is no easy task. Crowded, noisy, polluted, smelly and chaotic but at the same time it is full of culture, beauty and friendly people. Mumbai is the wealthiest city in India and has a population of about 20 million inhabitants, of which roughly 55% live in slums / informal housing.

Streets of Mumbai

The divide between rich and poor is very evident here. People sleeping in the streets, is the accepted norm. Poverty unfortunately is a way of life for millions of Indians and a big reason why we are here. To work with those kids who have very little, and bring them some joy and skills that might empower them to a better future.

With us all arriving in Mumbai we had a couple of days to explore the city and adjust to this exotic new world. This gave us all some perspective on what lies ahead and the task we have set out to achieve. But before we start work with the kids, we were off to boot camp in Gokarna, a 12 hour train journey South.

We arrived in Gokarna early hours of the morning, dazed and tired from our long train journey. Awakening to our first day in Gokarna was surreal. This was not the utter chaos of the city instead we were greeted to a tropical paradise. Warm sandy beaches lined with palm trees and small restaurants. We were however not here for a holiday this was boot camp and we quickly got into a 9 – 5 routine.

Sunset Circus Jam on Kudle Beach

We had two weeks in Gokarna in which we got to know each other better, creating a fun circus show that we would be performing across India and taught each other new skills through workshops. At the end of our two weeks of hard work (in paradise), our show was finally ready: The Mad Hatter’s Chai Party. We performed on the beach to an audience of about two hundred tourists and locals and used this opportunity to do some fundraising for PWB.

We managed to raise just over 14000 (approx. £140)  rupees by passing a hat around.

AND NOW!!  PWB India 2014 team have each written a short paragraph to introduce themselves:

Abi Cooper
Hi There! (In Hindi) Namaste – Mera Nam Abi. I am the coordinator of this years India tour. I perform Hula-hoop, Fire Dancing and acrobalance but my favourite is prancing around with any prop. I am so excited to start this years tour as I have so many fond memories from volunteering on the last tour. I am taking a break from teaching at Cambridge Community Circus to teach the youth of India. I am especially looking forward to teaching aerial with the Vertical Circus in Delhi. Giving smiles, energy and joy, spreading PWB circus love all around the world.

Tom Puckett
I have been performing and teaching circus arts for over 7 years. I am a juggler / acrobat. I am VERY EXCITED to be working to help bring joy and self confidence to vulnerable children in India.

Bruno Kopf
Hi I am Bruno and I am a professional fire dancer and flow artist from South Africa. I have been performing and teaching my arts for 5 years. Performance arts changed my life and gave me the self confidence to do anything. I hope to share these arts with the underprivileged children and empower them to a better future.

Andrei Cococeanu
Hi everybody! I’m Coco. I’ve been juggling for about 10 years, doing some theatre in that time, enjoying travelling, making friends across the world, performing shows. Working with people makes me happy, and I think everybody has a little performer inside them, all they have to do is bring it out and enjoy themselves.

Ashley Ferrari
Namaste! My name is Ashley and I am a circus performer specialising in Hula-Hoops. I spend a lot of time street performing. I find it richly rewarding to spread joy where it is least excepted. I hope to achieve this by teaching circus skills in India.

Jodie Cole
Hello from India! Beautiful colours, Delightful people and lots of various smells! I am here to immerse myself in all these things, in the delights of India. Dance is my life and brings me stability, joy and expression. I want to pass this on wherever I go. So here I am, loving India and taking on its challenges in equal measure and sharing life with a fabulous team and some beautiful children. Its going to be the trip of a lifetime, I can feel it

Claudio Kuzma
I’m Claudio from Berlin, I mostly do Juggling, Object manipulation and balance. I really love sharing that joy with children, to have fun with them and let them explore this amazing world of circus.

Gary Bee
Hola! My name is Gary, I am an Idiot. I come from a beautiful country in England called ‘Cornwall’. It is a very special place with many eccentric people. I like one day to be an astronaut and be the first Cornish man on the moon. I will make a sandcastle in the space dust and live happily ever after with my moon-wife and bicycle. The End.

Back: Jodie, Coco, Tom, Gary, Bruno, Claudio, Ashley
Front: Abi