Saturday, December 13, 2014

Australian circus star teaches her skills in birth country Ethiopia

(Dec 13, 2014, (Brisbane Times)--Australian circus star Sosina Wogayehu's Ethiopian circus school might be free for her students but she insists it's not charity. "We don't really want to be an aid organisation, we want to build a career for these young people," says the former Circus Oz contortionist.

Australian circus star Sosina Wogayehu at her Gamo Circus School of Ethiopia in the capital, Addis Ababa. Photo: Colin Cosier
Earlier this year Wogayehu, 35, pursued her dream to train the next generation of Ethiopian acrobats and opened the Gamo Circus School of Ethiopia in the capital, Addis Ababa.

Wogayehu's students learn juggling, acrobatics and other classic circus skills but a lack of safety mats and a dedicated space limits what can be  taught. The school is allowed the free use a government-owned community hall because Wogayehu doesn't charge her students, but it means her class is often displaced when the hall is double-booked.

Wogayehu hopes to one day have her own space where she can rig a trapeze. She provides free classes in the hope that her students find success in international circus acts, at which point she'll take an agent's fee. "So by building this career and getting them employment around the world, we can support our school," she says. Read more from Brisbane Times »

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