Spaghetti Circus Inc. is one of Australia’s leading youth circuses and has been an energetic, vibrant and colourful part of the Byron Shire for 30 years from when it was founded by Leonie Mills OAM in 1992. Every week, Spaghetti’s diverse team of coaches train more than 220 children and adults from their Mullumbimby Showground home.
The Echo sat down with Spaghetti Circus’ General Manager, Alice Cadwell, to find out more about the philosophy behind the organisation and how it operates.
Alice, did you run off to join the circus?
Yes, I did run away to join the circus when I was 21. I went straight from uni to Circus Monoxide and then to Circus Oz. I had my first child on the road touring full time with Circus Oz as their stage manager and production manager of their Big Top tent. We were doing Adelaide Fringe Festival and living in a caravan out the back of the circus. When I was pregnant with my second child I decided to run away from the circus and move back up to the Byron Shire where I’d grown up.
In 2011 I applied to be General Manager of Spaghetti Circus and got the job! I was really excited to join Spaghetti because I was a teenager when Spaghetti was founded, so I grew up alongside all the Spaghetti performers who were doing circus. The job at Spaghetti perfectly married my circus and Northern Rivers worlds.
Spaghetti Circus has a unique culture and leadership style – could you tell us more about that?
Leonie Mills, who is the founder of Spaghetti Circus, is an inspiring, strong matriarch and she instilled in the company a matriarchal ethos. It’s a different kind of leadership – it’s slower, consultatory and inclusive. Family, however that may present, is at the centre of everything. It’s about nurturing everyone and making sure that all abilities, but also all ages, including our elders, are celebrated and respected. It’s about honouring our past and nurturing our children, our future. As an organisation it also means ensuring people are fed; placing people first in every decision. During covid, our regular adage was ‘cancel early, cancel often’. This was really about placing people and community health above money-making decisions.
We have a saying: ‘Once a Spaghetti, always a Spaghetti’. This underpins our culture; you’re never an ex-Spaghetti, you are always part of the Spaghetti family. This was very much on display when we got hit by the floods and everyone helped out, and it’s why the National Circus Festival, that we put on every two years, attracts incredible performers from around the world. They all want to come back and look after Spaghetti and see themselves as being part of the Spaghetti family.
Are Spaghetti Circus classes mainly for kids?
Spaghetti Circus is for everyone. We have classes that cater for all age ranges and abilities. Most of our enrolments are school-aged children, but we also have fantastic classes for Noodles and Macaronis (children aged under five years). They are parent-and-child classes so it’s a really beautiful chance for parents and children to spend time together learning to move with confidence while having a lot of fun. Then, we have the adult classes, which are very popular and a great way to get fit while being social. The classes cater for all levels so total beginners are welcome to learn how to spin their first hula hoop up while more experienced participants can learn advanced skills such as acrobatics and using aerial equipment like the trapeze, silks and lyra.
How do you think circus connects with wellbeing? Is it just circus skills that students develop at Spaghetti?
Spaghetti is all about empowering creative, confident, healthy kids (and adults!).
In a risk-averse world, circus offers us the possibility to dream, play, imagine, aspire and connect. While the demands of circus are mighty, through risk taking, physical effort and teamwork, its rewards are many. We learn to fly, to fall and to fail – safely. We discover our inner resources to master a skill and to hone a performance. We find a community that encourages and supports us to become more than we thought possible.
Many of our teenagers say they love circus because they get applauded for taking risks. They are rewarded with an enormous sense of achievement as well as an adrenaline rush. We teach them how to take risks safely and the importance of trust, communication and teamwork. We also promote the significance of failure and perseverance – you have to drop a lot of balls to become a good juggler!
On a practical level, our Performance Troupe also get to learn all aspects of putting on a show. One of the shows we put on every year features performances by all the Spaghetti classes and the Performance Troupe looks after all the behind-the-scenes work including lighting, sound, stage management, ticketing, front of house, cafe, make-up, costume and kid wrangling.
Enrolments for Spaghetti Circus classes are now open. Head to www.spaghetticircus.com. Term One classes commence Monday, 30 January.
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