The Zip Zap circus: Juggling with lives

They have danced with Roger Federer and Andy Murray and performed in front of former president Barack Obama at the White House.

Not bad for a circus troupe that started off with a trapeze bar hung in a tree.

Zip Zap Circus has given children from street shelters, children with HIV and kids from the suburbs the opportunity to learn skills and see the world.

Their encounter with the tennis champs occurred when they were the headline act for 13,000 people at a charity match in Zurich, Switzerland, this month.

At Halloween last year, Zip Zap performed for Obama in Washington, DC. "It was like a movie, seeing Obama and all his special agents," says Jason Barnard, the circus's youth projects officer.

story_article_left1

The troupe has been on 32 international tours, to North America, Europe, China and Australia. Next stop is Réunion island.

Founded by trapeze artist Brent van Rensburg and his French wife, Laurence Estève, Zip Zap celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and still bridges the gaps between kids of the rainbow nation.

"The children literally hold the lives of each other in their hands. There is a lovely trust factor that comes when you catch people when they fall, or stand on their shoulders. The kids get connected and the bonds that form are natural. It doesn't matter where they are from," says Van Rensburg.

When Zip Zap started in 1992, the duo were training about 150 children a year in circus arts and life skills; now they have some 1500 kids in eight programmes each year and a circus dome erected behind the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town.

Van Rensburg says: "The circus has a place for any child, for any shape, whether a child wants to be a trapeze artist or a clown, but the children have to be willing to work hard."

The training — aerial, acrobatic, juggling and balancing — demands discipline and kids must attend regularly to keep their place in the programmes, which operate from beginner level at seven years old to advanced.

The results of the physical training are visible.

Phelelani Ndakrokra's muscles ripple as he flicks a necklace while talking about how Zip Zap is like a family. He does acrobatics, trapeze and clowning.

"On stage I just zone out. It is a great feeling, to give your all to people," says Ndakrokra, 21.

Jacobus "Trompie" Claasen wanted to join the circus after he saw acrobats at the Cape Town carnival when young — he feels like he has found his home.

full_story_image_hleft1

"I used to live on the streets and I was staying in a shelter when I joined Zip Zap," says Claasen, whose acts include acrobatics and a chair act in which he plays multiple characters.

"When I'm performing, I feel like my mind goes away and I get a fun, crazy vibe and I enjoy it more than anything. I can express my feelings," he says.

Van Rensburg and Estève's daughters, Saskia and Sabine, followed in their parents' footsteps and are trapeze artists.

"I was born into the circus and I find it exhilarating. I matriculated last year and I'm trying circus full-time this year," says Saskia, 18.

"Four of my closest friends are girls who do circus, mostly a year or two younger, and they also specialise in the air."

As a youngster, Van Rensburg attended the first circus school in South Africa — which operated in Observatory, Cape Town — but other schools have been launched since then, including one by a Zip Zap graduate.

block_quotes_start I was born into the circus and I find it exhilarating. I matriculated last year and I'm trying circus full-time this year

Van Rensburg, who believes he holds the world record for the highest trapeze act at 50m, was working in circuses in the US and Europe when he met Estève. He brought her to Cape Town in 1992 for a holiday, and they stayed.

"We had a box of costumes, an old car and a big dream to be part of bridging the gap in the new South Africa.

"In 1995, we performed for Mandela's birthday and by 1996 we did our first international tour."

About 900 of the children at Zip Zap are in outreach programmes and about 20 qualify for the Dare 2 Dream programme for young adults wanting to make a living in the circus.

"We operate like a circus ring: you get involved, you learn the ropes, you pass on the knowledge and you move on," Van Rensburg says.

Barnard says training and mentoring others is rewarding. "When a kid gets a trick right and succeeds, you are there with him."

Aviwe Mfundisi, 21, started tumbling on the streets of Khayelitsha as a kid and joined Zip Zap four years ago.

full_story_image_vright2

In 2015, he joined the Dare 2 Dream programme."My dreams are coming true," he says.

Estève says: "The kids are amazing and we see them grow. It's a privilege to do that and it is a meaningful life."

She represented France in acrobatic snow skiing and windsurfing and has a master's degree in managing sports institutions.

Some former students are now working in the movie or rigging industries.

Stars have joined overseas acts such as UniverSoul Circus in the US and Cirque du Soleil.

Despite Zip Zap's popularity, it struggles to raise funds to support the services it offers for free. Nevertheless, Van Rensburg has grand plans to mark its 25th birthday.

These include an Artscape extravaganza that will journey through four time periods, from the Middle Ages to the space age.