Graduate Stories
Kaiya Thomas – BTEC and BA (Hons) Graduate 2024
Did you have any experience of doing circus before you came to Circomedia?
I first discovered circus when I was six years old. I went to go and see a show by NoFit State called Taboo. As soon as I came out the show and I said ‘mum, I want to do that’ and she looked into it straight after. When I was 8 years old, I managed to join NoFit State’s youth circus. I was there for eight years before joining Circomedia’s BTEC and then carrying on to the degree.
What made you decided to attend Circomedia?
When I was at NotFit State, other older students there were applying for the BTEC, and I started to understand that circus was something you could pursue and do properly. I went to the BTEC Open Day at the church and mum said as soon as she saw me there, she knew that was the perfect fit and we had to make it happen.
What did you hope to achieve when you started at Circomedia?
Well, it changed! When I did the BTEC I wanted to do my favourite skills to a high standard. At that time, I was obsessed with silks. When I hit the degree, my mindset changed a fair bit. I knew I wanted to try other aerial disciplines, and I really wanted to work on my physical theatre and character work.
What was your favourite thing about training at Circomedia?
My favourite thing was being able to train around a range of different artists, because everyone has their own skills. For me, I enjoy watching people progress. I absolutely love it. It’s great to have the encouragement and the supportiveness.
The degree was really useful because you get to pick your specialisations.
And by that point I knew what I wanted, so it was really good to drill that and get more focused training time. And the physical theatre progresses massively in the three years of the degree.
How has your Circomedia shaped your professional career?
The training has definitely shaped me in the way of creativity. Finding my own style came within the degree that was really useful. In the Stylistic Forms module, you get to experiment and find what fits you. It also gives you the freedom to explore different styles without feeling like you’re stuck to one.
What have you been up to since graduating?
I’m teaching circus four to five days a week at the moment in South Wales, from youth to adults, and also teaching two days a week with a youth company where we build them up to be able to do performances for festivals and bigger events. And I’ve been doing a fair amount of corporate performances, mainly on aerial silks, which has been great.
Any advice to someone starting their training with Circomedia?
I would say don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Use it as a place where you can experiment and find things you love. And if you know a skill off by heart, feel free to put that kind of to the side and try something new. You can always still ask about the skill that you do love, but you would be a lot better trying to gain as many skills as possible.
It’s the place to discover, keep your mind open, and try new things.
I’d say, if you are looking to not just gain circus skills but want to work on performance character or understand or try different performance styles, Circomedia is definitely the place for you.
Header and image 2: photo credit Chris and Tamsie Thomas