Project date: August – September 2025
This exciting four-week project offered complete beginners the chance to learn the art of stilt walking entirely for free, thanks to generous funding from Arts Council England and the wider partners supporting Encounter Festival.
Over the course of 4 × 1.5-hour training sessions at The Ferret, participants received full stilt-walking tuition, professional safety training, and the use of specialist equipment, giving them a safe and supportive environment to explore a brand-new performance skill.
We welcomed six trainee performers onto the programme, each developing confidence, balance, and performance presence across the four weeks. The project culminated in two public performances at Encounter Festival, where the trainees showcased their new abilities as part of a vibrant, community-led celebration of arts and culture.
This project not only opened the door for new performers to discover a unique circus discipline, but also strengthened local arts engagement and created an accessible pathway into the world of street theatre and festival performance.
pHOTOS BY dANIEL mCcULLOUGH pHOTOGRAPHY & mICHAEL pORTER pHOTOGRAPHY
THIS PROJECT WAS FUNDED FROM UK GOVERNMENT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LANCASHIRE COMBINED AUTHORITY, ARTS COUNCIL ENGLAND, LANCASHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL, WITHOUT WALLS AND PRESTON CITY COUNCIL