nica youth exchange 2026 - emily is taking it to the next level.....

Emily S is one of our junior troupe members who joined troupe in 2025. She is 11 years old and takes every opportunity to develop her skills and performance techniques. Here is her experience of a recent training program.

At the end of term 3 I had the opportunity to travel to Melbourne and participate in the National Institute of Circus Arts’ Youth Exchange program.

I met coaches who were former Moscow Circus employees and one former Cirque du Soleil performer, as well as many other coaches from different Circus Schools.

I met students from Circus Monoxide in Wolloongong, CirqueKids from Adelaide, and a bunch of other places like Hobart, Brisbane and even New Zealand. In total there were students from 18 different circus schools. 

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From Gosford to Melbourne

I focused my training on silks, acro and tumbling. In my silks classes I walked away with skills that I had never seen performed before. From the Acro classes I learnt how you can take two small acro combinations, combine them together, and create a larger trick. Tumbling was my favourite, as I loved exploring new skills on the trampoline into a foam pit.

Each day we participated in a creative session, pushing me outside my comfort zone through sessions like “what would your movements be like if your brain was somewhere else in your body?”, as well as a clowning session. 

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Emily AKA Millie in our recent Troupe Performance PANDORA

On the last day we created a showcase, from group performances, to smaller duos and solos, choosing the music, lighting and choreography ourselves. I chose to do a chair-stands performance with my friend from Circus Monoxide. 

It was an exhausting experience training for so many hours every day, but it was so rewarding. I can’t wait to go back in 2 years. 

-Emily S