ON Thursday, more than 100 people will be ready to making the most of Bathurst’s own Catapult Festival as its big program of events gets under way.
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It’s been four years since Bathurst last held the popular youth circus arts festival, but the absence hasn’t dampened the appeal for budding performers.
Stephen Champion, general manager for Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre (BMEC), which organises the festival, said there had been 130 registrations for the festival.
“We thought we would be luck to get 100 registrations and we were going to cap it at 150,” he said.
Participants range in age from 12 years old to 25, most of which are coming from youth community troupes.
Others are part of school troupes or are coming as individuals not attached to a specific group.
Over the four days of Catapult, the participants will be able to take part in a range of workshops, with more than 30 on offer, and attend forums.
Mr Champion said the workshops will help the performers in executing certain skills, including the flying trapeze, throwing and catching, fire manipulation, clowning, club passing, tumbling and lyra work.
“They will be here at BMEC, at the PCYC and in Machattie Park the trapeze demonstrations,” he said.
The participants will be aided by professional performers that are attending Catapult, including Gravity and Other Myths, a troupe of young performers specialising in acrobatics.
“They performed here as youth troupe members in 2009 and they’ve gone on to be a leading national troupe,” Mr Champion said.
Gravity and Other Myths will also have a public performance, A Simple Space, in the City Hall of BMEC on Thursday night.
Tickets can be purchased at BMEC’s box office.
Circaholics Anonymous, a troupe of fire manipulators, will give a public performance on Saturday night at the PCYC.
The troupe’s origins are buried in the history of Catapult and it last performed at the 2014 festival.
When they perform on Saturday, people will get to see fiery sword fights, skipping demonstrations and much more.
Entry to this performance is a gold coin donation.
Mr Champion said these two performances, along with a gala at BMEC on Friday, will give members of the public a chance to appreciate the talent these young performers have.
“They will see what the potential is for youth troupe members to go on to be leading troupes,” he said.
A full Catapult schedule is available via BMEC’s website.