Guest Blog: Fiona Thornhill On All-female Cyr Wheel Show HYENA

"She is the one who turns like a great wheel. She is the maker of cycles. She is the one we leave home for and come home to. She is the mucky root of all women." - Clarissa Pinkola Estes.

Circus has the power to transcend art forms. In its 250th year, it has developed into many genres, and continues to inspire and challenge the status quo. The magic of the internet and space travel may have become mundane, but circus still defies the impossible for audiences.

This year also marks the centenary of some women's right to vote, and yet, sledgehammers in hand, we're still having to swing at that ceiling. So, why did we create HYENA? Because we are wild and unstoppable women, standing on the shoulders of those who came before us.

We are the world's first all-female Cyr wheel trio; we spin in gigantic hula hoops like the Vitruvian man if you were to flick him like a coin. One of circus's fastest-evolving disciplines, our skill is in our strength as individuals and the power we create when we synchronise and spin together.

Our paths entwined at the National Centre for Circus Arts where, coming from gymnastics, contemporary dance and musical backgrounds, we studied under the world's best 'wheelers' and teachers.

In 2015, we graduated with degrees in Circus Arts and also won the school's Entrepreneur Award. Shortly after, we became Associate Artists at Jacksons Lane Theatre and secured funding from Arts Council England to kickstart the creation of our debut show - HYENA.

A documentary on brown-spotted hyenas initiated our invention. Hyenas live in a matriarchal society and have an intriguingly ferocious loyalty to their clans.

Their association with witchcraft in African folklore led us to Clarissa Pinkola Estés's Women Who Run With The Wolves, which explores the female psyche by analysing folk tales from different cultures.

Her ideas about the 'inner wild woman' and our animal instincts being increasingly suppressed by society greatly influenced us, and the book became our bible in development.

HYENA creates a world where sisterhood pushes us to explore the reach of our wildness, with the space to fail without fear. We invented atom-like constructions with our wheels which we perch on and handstand over before being flung into the air.

We sing songs of heart-wrenching ritual and, in ceremony, our tribal solidarity brings us together and ignites a need to discover what we can achieve as three. The show is an honest reflection of real life: of our fierce friendship and of the complexity and vulnerability of human nature.

During previews last year, we were delighted with how HYENA resonated so deeply with women. We also had overwhelmingly positive feedback from male audience members, who were "moved and surprised by the power and skill level displayed by an all-female cast".

HYENA is a show that appeals to everyone. Our company, Alula Cyr, was born out of our desire to empower, and we hold dear the longstanding circus traditions of inclusivity and community. As we devised, we held workshops with children and young adults from a variety of social backgrounds, abilities and disabilities.

These provided us with an unguarded look at the show's developing themes, and on tour we are providing further workshops. Two amazing youth groups will perform curtain-raisers for our London performances at Roundhouse's CircusFest.

A hundred years ago, circus women were at the forefront of the women's rights movement, using their physical strength to question preconceptions of the 'weaker sex' - try searching 'Sandwina'!

Unfortunately our industry, like many others, still lacks equality and diversity. This is improving, but most shows still don't pass the Bechdel test, and those that do are often belittled as part of an 'empowerment trend'.

When putting together our production team, we wanted to help raise the profile of women in the industry, and ultimately all but our composer identify as female. We acknowledge our privileges; we assert ourselves as artists with freedom of expression; we demand autonomy over our bodies and agency over our actions. We know our responsibility to our audience as both creators and performers, and so we will speak truth as we see it.

We hope that you - whether male, female or non-binary - can see yourself as we carry the stories, strength and suffering of the incredible women we've known and pay homage to in HYENA.

This is my tribe and this show is our song. Come and see it - let me welcome you to our world.

Fiona Thornhill is co-founder and co-director of Alula Cyr, performer and co-producer of HYENA. Book tickets here

Photo credit: Mark Dawson Photography