The Benjamin de Oliveira circus school is a project maintained by the NGO "Se essa rua fosse minha" ("If This Street Were Mine"), located in São João de Meriti, in the metropolitan region of the state of Rio de Janeiro, created with the aim of teaching circus arts, theater, and dance to children, adolescents, and young people in situations of vulnerability. More than that, the NGO seeks to use its space to encourage dialogue, promote debates and actions related to coexistence and social integration, the sharing of knowledge, the exercise of citizenship, awareness-raising, the defense of rights, and the valuing of youth leadership. SER (Se essa rua fosse minha) usually forms partnerships with schools in the neighborhood where the circus is located, in order to reach even more young people and get them interested in art, culture, and history, and to help them learn to value their own existence and worth as individuals in society.
I was a student at this NGO for three years, and there I took part in countless conversation circles, dance workshops, percussion, visual arts, theater arts, or simply games designed to make children more comfortable and included in the circus space. It was through these activities that I was able to learn and connect with people of different races, religions, sexualities, and social movements that I had never thought I would meet. I learned to listen and also had my moment to talk about myself and my background. The circus played a fundamental role in my development as a person, and that's why I chose to talk about some of the experiences I was able to enjoy thanks to it.
Photo taken from: fotospublicas.com/dois-jovens-do-circo-escola-benjamin-de-oliveira-de-sao-joao-de-meriti-representarao-o-pais-no-festival-internacional-de-circo-social/
Image description: This is a photograph of a man riding a unicycle under a red tent structure. On the left, we see a green area with tall vegetation and a yellow house with a blue roof. In the background, there is a metal fence and residential buildings. On the right, there is a tall tree and a white building. The man is in motion, balancing on the unicycle, which has black wheels.Before the pandemic, the circus used to hold an annual event called "Candelária Nunca Mais!" ("Candelária Never Again!"), together with several other NGOs. The project took place to remember the Candelária massacre, a brutal episode in the history of Rio de Janeiro in which six minors and two adults were shot to death while they slept, in addition to several other Black children and teenagers being wounded in the attack, which took place on July 23, 1993, in front of the Candelária church. The action carried out at this event was a demonstration in the form of a march, in which the demand was for better public security policies and for an end to violence against Black and poor people, who are the most affected in this scenario. And the circus's interest in promoting this event was precisely because a large part of the tent's students were part of that population, so the goal was to teach us to fight for our rights, to show that we have strength and a voice.
The route of this demonstration started at the Candelária church, went all along Rio Branco avenue, and ended in Cinelândia, very close to the Theatro Municipal.
In 2018, my siblings and I took part in this event, and that will be a day I'll hardly be able to forget. It was the first time I had walked through downtown Rio, and I'm glad it happened to be on an occasion as important and meaningful as this one. I vividly remember being enchanted by the colors, the buildings, and, above all, by the energy surrounding our protest. We were shutting down the avenue, chanting "Candelária Nunca Mais!" and holding up signs with all sorts of provocative phrases.
The circus troupe led the group, walking ahead as they performed a contemporary dance depicting the death of the boys. The choreography repeated over and over, as if symbolizing an everyday situation. It was as if it were asking: "How many times does this tragedy need to happen for it to cause an uproar?", and everyone watching around could grasp this message, since it was blatant, raw. The message was very strong, very clear.
Right after them came several students carrying signs, some with the boys' names, names of young Black and poor people whose lives were cut short by violence. And, further behind, came students walking on stilts (I was one of them) also carrying signs. What was being presented there, as a whole, was extremely moving. Looking around and seeing all those young people, gathered together, showing their art and using it to fight against violence. Not even the scorching heat that day, reflected off that asphalt, seemed to be able to end our desire to show who we are. The moment when I looked around and realized the environment I was in, realized the weight of what I was doing there, that was a moment that will stay with me forever. The route ended, as I said before, near the Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro, and that impeccable building, with its lettering all in gold, was a breathtaking sight. My older brother, the person who ended up encouraging me to start attending the circus, was part of the troupe at that time. He was there performing the choreography, and I asked him what it was like to be part of that moment. In his words: "I felt the weight of the responsibility. Because we were dealing with a very serious, very important subject, and also because it was an event that happened every year at the NGO, so it was an occasion that everyone took very seriously. Especially the one I took part in, which marked the 25th anniversary of the tragedy, so the event felt even bigger. There was also the fact that many institutions were involved, not just "Se essa rua," but several other NGOs involved with children, all showing up, precisely because it was an event about something that had ended children's lives. And the circus was there representing the fact that children have the right to play, to have fun without fear of suffering any violence, which is why we showed our circus arts. The emotion of all those people made the event very beautiful."
Personal collection (author's brother)
Image description: This is a photograph of a street with palm trees on the left and a cloudy sky in the background. In the center of the image, an individual is in the middle of an acrobatic maneuver, with legs extended and the body inverted. On the right, there is a blue fence and a house in the background. On the left, there are stalls and palm trees. The ground is concrete and there is a blue mat in the center.Personal collection (author's brother-in-law)
Image description: This is a photograph of a man practicing yoga in front of a monumental building. On the left, there is a gray car parked. In the center, the man is in a tiptoe pose, with his arms stretched back and his feet together. On the right, there is a yellow car. The building, with classical architecture, has large columns and gold details. At the top, there is an inscription that reads "Teatro Municipal". In the background, people are walking on the theater's steps.Minha memória mais marcante desse dia foi quando nós, da trupe, realizamos o número final do nosso espetáculo. Quando chegamos ao fim do trajeto, na Praça perto do Theatro Municipal, nós realizamos a chamada “morte contemporânea”, que era o encerramento da dança que apresentamos ao longo da passeata. Entre várias cenas, eu interpretei um menino de rua que passava fome, passava frio, era ignorado por todos e chutado por pessoas maldosas. Quando estamos interpretando, nós tentamos nos colocar no lugar de nossos personagens, até para que a atuação fique mais convincente, então foi um sentimento pesado me imaginar naquela cena. Eu parei e pensei “nossa, imagina se eu passasse por isso de verdade”. E eu nunca passei, não consigo imaginar o quanto deve ser ruim. Participar deste projeto foi uma experiência muito marcante para mim, em todos os sentidos.
Besides all the strong emotions, it was also a fun experience because we were able to stop to rest, eat a little, take pictures of that beautiful scenery, and just chat for a while. During that moment when we were relaxing, a few other people from the group and I ended up practicing juggling/balancing and other circus arts, and we got filmed by a TV crew that was covering the event we were promoting. To this day, if you search on YouTube, you can still find the piece that aired on national television. And I was in it! I show up juggling. Pretty fancy, huh?
The circus, for me, is one of the most important sociocultural spaces in São João de Meriti, and I greatly appreciate and value the time I spent under the big top.
Personal collection (author's brother-in-law)
Image description: This is a photograph of a person performing an acrobatic stunt in front of a historic building. From left to right, we see the building with classic architectural details, including decorated windows and a green door. The person is lying on their back on a stone balustrade, with their feet raised and arms stretched back. They are wearing beige pants and black sneakers.Please share the source text you would like translated.
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Dynho Moura, circus school educator, circus artist.
Personal collection (memories)
