Since 2000
Dance City
Although not a circus building, Dance City in Newcastle, has a crossover with Circus through aerial dance, and for the tendency for contemporary circus to fall in under dance as an associated art form. It has been the venue of several touring Aerial Dance productions, including shows by Fidget Feet and Ockams Razor, as well as resident company shows by Bare Toed Dance Company and Hang Aerial Dance who hold regular training sessions and classes for children and Adults.
Dance City was the setting for the 1st and possibly only Aerial Dance convention in the City in c.2007. Delivered by Fidget Feet with visiting teacher Fred Deb, from France.
Dynamix Skate Park
Set up in 2010 in Gateshead, Dynamix is primarily a wheeled sports training venue for skaters, bikers and scooters. It has a street-style-circus element with free-running & extreme trampoline classes, and aerial circus classes. It is the largest such indoor space in the NE, based in a large Gateshead warehouse with a 10m high roof (formerly a Plastics Factory) on 8 acres of land, a stone’s throw from the river Tyne.
It is developed & managed by Rico Jakk & Rosa Stourac-McCreery, with experience gained from developing a smaller skate park in Elswick & a circus project in St Michael’s church, Byker. It is filled with an ever changing landscape of ramps and platforms, two unique foam pits, walls, and the UK’s first extreme trampoline set up linked to a large indoor concrete amphitheatre and performance space capable of hosting concerts and circus events. To date, Dynamix has been built using around 90% reclaimed materials, with the help of many volunteers & charitable professionals, without outside funding or subsidy. It is financed solely by fees & donations collected from thousands of visitors.
Eye of the Fly
Eye of the Fly was set in a series of industrial units in Pelaw. Managed by Tor Bruce. It was set up in 2001. Their motto was “Believe in yourself” and was set up to work with hard to reach young people, using arts, in particular street arts such as graffiti. In the later years there was some regular circus provision.
In 2007, Hang Aerial Dance hired their 4th unit and did rope and harness training there for volunteers for La Fura Del Baus show Naumon. 80 adults were recruited, weighed, turned upside down and taught to run on a wall. Before being passed onto the Spanish company to be hung off cranes as part of NGI’s River Tyne Festival.
Tor Bruce, vowed an oath of silence in 2009 for a year, which made meetings interesting. In 2013, Eye of the Fly still exists but not as a building.
