In March, the participants of the ECDF START-UP LABO returned to the Circushaven. Well, one of them, anyway. Ramona was supposed to come from India, but couldn’t leave because of the war in the Middle East. It’s still possible! And so Siân and Ramona continued working on the launch of their company and their performance Nor, Ni, Noch in a truly international way (Siân in Antwerp & Ramona in Goa).
1. What have you been working on?
Siân & Ramona: “The week was filled with a bit of solo training, a lot of computer work, sending out plenty of emails, and working out the practical details of our set design. Siân had a coaching session on budgeting and what you can do with spreadsheets during the creation and touring process. We also came up with lots of fun ideas and plans for the pop-up workshops for children ages 3 to 6 that we want to organize during MAD Festival.”
2. What was the main focus?
“We hebben geprobeerd helder te krijgen wat de praktische stappen zijn die we moeten zetten wanneer we de volgende keer opnieuw samen in Antwerpen zijn. Maar ook waar het idee van de voorstelling naartoe gaat, wat onze doelstellingen zijn en hoe we daarop kunnen verder bouwen.”
Left: A video call between Siân and Ramona. Right: Ramona during a workshop in Goa.
3. What was the biggest challenge, and how did you handle it?
“Collaborating remotely with a 4.5-hour time difference. That’s quite a challenge. Of course, we hadn’t planned for Ramona not to be back in time for the start of this second residency period. The biggest challenge for Siân, then, was embracing that new situation: working alone in the space, maintaining her energy levels, and continuing to make progress within a drastically changed context.”
“During the START-UP LABO sessions, we really feel like we’re continuing to build skills that give us confidence—in our project and in our progress.”
4. What was the highlight of the week?
“The coaching session on communication. It focused on how to pitch our project, how to market our company, and what tools we can use to do so. The support we receive from ECDF on these topics is incredibly valuable. During these sessions, we really feel like we’re building skills that give us confidence—in our project and in our progress.”
5. What’s the next step?
“We’ll be returning to Antwerp during the MAD Festival from April 16 to 19, where we’ll be organizing a few experimental workshops with young children. We’re thinking of activities like creating nature portraits and other arts-and-crafts projects. The goal is for these workshops to help us gather material for the creation of our performance. We also plan to organize similar workshops once our performance is ready.”
The pop-up workshops during MAD Festival will serve as a test case and source of inspiration. The children’s perspective plays an important role in the performance we want to create. We can’t wait to meet them and see all their creativity during the festival. We plan to try out various activities on Friday and Saturday and wrap things up with two workshops for beginners during MAD Convention on Sunday. Be sure to stop by and join us!
Just a quick note about the pop-up workshops
During the MAD Festival, Siân & Ramona will be hosting two pop-up workshops for children ages 3 to 6.
📅Friday, April 17, and Saturday, April 18, from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. each day
📍Right next to our flying trapeze in Park Spoor Noord, near Bar Noord.
Powered by De Nationale Loterij
Thanks to the players of the National Lottery, young circus professionals can complete a paid internship program that focuses on artistic, physical, and business coaching. With the START-UP LABO, the National Lottery and Ell Circo D’ell Fuego are working together to professionalize the Belgian circus landscape and further position it both nationally and internationally.