Balloon Circus visit Japan

We were very excited this year to apply and be successful in receiving our first official grant to fund our tour of children’s homes in Japan from the Sasakawa Foundation which promotes “Making a difference in UK – Japan relations”

We planned to visit 16 children’s homes in one month. We were only able to visit for 14 days due to visa restrictions but we still managed to visit and teach in 10 homes around the country.

In all of the homes we visited they aren’t allowed many outside visitors so we were the first international performers to come in and teach skills like this.
The children tried things they never imagined trying, achieved things they didn’t expect to achieve, and learned things that they will never forget. Taking part in circus activities was a highly enjoyable way for the children to develop important skills that apply to all walks of life, in an atmosphere of fun where they could discover new ways of learning. Circus talent requires concentration and confidence. Balloon Circus workshops offered a genuine learning experience, being a real confidence booster and really helped to develop individuals.

Balloon Circus had approached You Me We homes about visiting Japan and were invited to visit as many homes as we could reach in the allotted time of our visit.
You Me We are a foundation helping 30 homes around Japan and associated with another foundation Santa and Friends Nagoya who also help out with homes in Nagoya. Both were extremely helpful organising our visits, helping with transport and translating the workshops for us.

Testimonial from SFN
Hats off to both Jenny and Bow from Balloon Circus for their time, instruction, and fun filled activities for the children of both Wakamatsu Ryo and Jiyugakuen on the evenings of both April 17th and 18th. Through an introduction from Michael Clemons of YouMeWe,both homes were able to experience and enjoy the wonders of various performance arts and the skills needed to be in the circus!!! From juggling, to plate spinning, and more, the children thoroughly enjoyed the 1 hour performance training time, followed by the closing finale, which gave each child the opportunity to show their talents. As in circus fashion, fun was had by not only the children of the homes,
but also the directors and staff. A fantastic Balloon Circus experience for all. Thanks Balloon Circus!!!!! Hope to see you again someday!
James Hedden
Santa and Friends Nagoya Founder and Director

Testimonial form You Me We
We had a visit from Jenny and Bow of Balloon Circus who spent a year preparing to come to Japan for the first time with the simple message “We bring smiles and laughter to disadvantaged children around the world”
And that they did! We visited Iwate’s Taiyo Gakuen, Sendai Tensien, Fukushima Aiikuen, Shirakawa Gakuen;Tokyo’s St.Francis Home, St.Joseph’s home, Kiyose Kodomo no ie, Matsubaen; Nagoya’s Wakamatsu Ryo and Jiyugakuen. over a two week period reaching out to over 150 children and caregivers.
Can games be the bridge of social interaction among different groups of people?
Crossing cultures (Japan, British, Thai and American) without a common language…laughter was the sound of the day. All of the children from Iwate in Tohoku to Tokyo to Nagoya were able to master several circus games and then perform in front of the delighted audience.
In the years working in the homes, it was one of the most fun-filled events we have ever hosted.
Bringing Balloon Circus’ numbers to over 12,000 kids in 155 orphanages in 11 countries.
Micheal Clemons
You Me We

Balloon Circus brought the children together through circus, bringing laughter and joy in a stimulating environment and providing an opportunity for children to work with and learn from international performers.

The children built confidence and self-esteem performing their new found skills in a show at the end of the workshop. They involved both the left and right side of the body and the brain to greatly improve learning abilities.
It helped them to deal with fear, react to the unexpected and plunge into the next challenge with confidence.

Each home has roughly 50 children living in them.
We were hoping to teach all of the children in each home but as we had to go after school for some of them and because of other activities already booked we weren’t able to teach all of them.
We did manage to teach about 200 children and members of staff who joined in.

There are currently 39000 children living in homes, most aren’t orphans but placed there because of financial or mental instability and from alcoholism and abuse.
You Me We and SFN both support 280 children’s homes around the country. They saw the benefits of our visits in such a short time.
We would love to visit again and extend our workshops to other areas to reach all of the disadvantaged children in homes in Japan developing a sustainable circus/physical theatre culture.
We would also love to play a role in realizing the value of alternative entertainment in the community.
We have been invited back by both foundations so we are only dependent on funding to keep this moving forward.