#ba hons devised

[nationalcircus]

It’s officially the last night before the 1st show of the BA Devised Pieces Performances! The cast are currently in a full dress rehearsal but we snuck in earlier to see how they were getting on. Friday and Saturday night have completely sold out but it’s not too late to see the show. To get your hands on the last few tickets visit nationalcircus.org.uk/shows

[nationalcircus]

An interview with David Sánchez - Circus Arts student

David is a third year BA Hons student and a recipient of the prestigious Leverhulme scholarship. He is currently preparing for his final year Devised Piece which will explore expectation.

How did you get into circus and how did you find out about the National Centre?

I’ve always juggled for fun and as a hobby. When I was around 20 years old, I moved to the Canary Islands. I met a guy who was working for a circus company and he asked me to juggle for the company in a parade. At that point, I realised that I could make some money from circus so I started to take my juggling more seriously.  I moved to London and I joined a juggling club at UCL.  At the club, I met a girl who was going to attend an open day at the National Centre for Circus Arts. The National Centre is very famous in Spain so I was really excited to attend. I auditioned and I was given a conditional place as a juggler on the Foundation Degree. In Spain I’d studied Mechanics and I worked as a Mechanic for around 3 years. I felt like I’d been given a second chance when I was accepted onto the degree programme at the National Centre. Now I’m living this again and I’m doing something that I feel passionate about. I’ve really enjoyed the vibe of the school and the environment. Being surrounded by super creative people has been an amazing experience.

What has it meant to you to have the support of the Leverhulme scholarship and the hardship fund?

As a European student, I received a loan for my tuition fees but I wasn’t entitled to a loan for living costs so I had to work part time. Some months it would be a struggle to pay my rent as I couldn’t work because I had to be in school. Having access to a hardship fund made the difficult times much easier. I’m incredibly happy to have been awarded a Leverhulme scholarship. When I graduate I will only have to repay £12K instead of 27K so having this support has eased a lot of financial pressure.

Tell us about your devised piece?

My piece is about expectations.  In comedy expectation is particularly important. There’s a lot of theory behind what makes an audience laugh. When a person sees something, they’re going to imagine the next step- that’s their expectation. If I break that expectation, I feel that’s what will make people laugh because what happened wasn’t what their brain was expecting. We are now in rehearsals and some days we are in from 09:00am-21:00pm. I’m going to do my devised piece without music. I know it’s risky. I’ve had a lot of feedback from this process and I was told that having music would be easier for me but I don’t want it to be easy. I think that’s why I really like this instant feedback from the audience so that I can feel what they are feeling. I can spend 7 hours juggling without stopping. I practice at least 3-4 hours of solid juggling every day. Juggling is discipline of repetition so some of our body parts get injured from this. Whilst in the 2nd year, I had a knuckle fracture caused by the repetition of the club hitting my hand.

What are the best things about being a circus artist?

I’ve already had the experience of waking up in the morning and feeling bad about going to work as a Mechanic so one of the best things is being able to make a living from something that I feel passionate about. Sometimes artists or performers speak about a connection with the audience; it really does exist and being able to make people laugh is a great gift as you can really feel all of that energy. Saying I’m a circus artist always gets a great reaction from the people who I meet. It makes me feel good and it sounds cool.

What are your plans after graduating? 

I don’t like to plan my life, I just wait for the things to come to me and then I decide if I want to do it. My dream is to travel and I know that I’m going to travel. I’d love to perform at festivals around Europe. 

Find out more about David at itsmedavid.com

Book tickets to see David and his fellow students perform their Devised Pieces at the National Centre for Circus Arts, London, on 21 March – 24 March. 

[nationalcircus]

A Friday Flashback and a Save the Date all in one go: 

Here are just a few of the beautiful pieces our BA Hons students have devised over the years. 

This years shows will run from 21-24 March. Tickets will be on sale in the coming weeks.

Inspired? Applications are currently OPEN for our Foundation and BA Hons Degree programmes, and close on the 22 February. Find out more about applying here. Or visit our Open Day on 6 February.