Youth Circus to Circus Tutor & now America!
She joined youth circus at four years old and hasn’t left since…
Until now, she’s heading off to America
Danni first joined Skylight at just four years old, her youth circus journey began at our old and well loved home, The Broadwater Centre. Following in the footsteps of her mum, Adele, who’d already caught the circus bug years prior.
Even then, she threw herself into every show from stilt walking to juggling, globe walking to trapeze, always with a big smile and clear love for circus and performing.
Developing Circus & Teaching
Danni began volunteering in Skylights youth circus sessions at a young age and developed her teaching skills through our Creative Employment Pathway. Moving from a dedicated youth volunteer, to paid staff member and now freelance teacher & performer.
In 2018, she joined the very first cohort of Spotlight, our youth performance troupe. The group co-created and performed circus acts events across the North West. The group were working towards their first solo show Mammoth, due to take place in March but unfortunately pandemic put plans to a halt. Post covid many of the group moved onto university, meanwhile Danni stuck around to both juggle her studies while further developing both her own circus skills and teaching.
Current Projects
Today, Danni is a skilled circus and aerial artist and a much-loved member of the team within the Skylight family. She works across a range of projects, from Side by Side, our family circus sessions, right through to our big community circus performance projects, such as Sparrow Hill and most recently, Sky-Fi
With creativity, calm encouragement and a real understanding of both the art form and the young people she works with, she continues to inspire the next generation.
Educational Psychology Studies & Circus
Outside of Skylight, Danni is studying Educational Psychology at the University of Leeds, blending her love of learning with her passion for understanding and helping people. She also teaches circus and aerial at a number of venues in the North West.
Next stop, America
She’s about to take on a brand new adventure as she travels to America for the summer. She’ll be teaching circus and aerial at the wonderful Camp Lindenmere.
Danni is such valued member of the Skylight team, inspiring the next generation and beyond and we couldn’t be prouder!
We’ll all miss her over the busy summer period, but we’re super excited to hear all about her adventures when she returns.
A chat with Danni
Last weekend, while Danni was busy inspiring families at the Children’s Adventure Farm Trust, we roped in another one of our amazing circus tutors (and women of many talents) Gil, to ask her some questions. From her favourite Skylight Circus shows to stories from youth circus. Grab a cuppa and have a listen!
Circus Journeys, from Youth Circus to Teacher
Read Transcript
Transcription: Interview with Danni
Interviewer: Gil
Date: 14th June 2025
Gil: Gil interviewing Danni on the 14th of June 2025. Danni?
Danni: Hello.
Gil: Hello!
Danni: Hello.
Gil: Let me just slide the microphone in.
Danni: Oh, there’s a lot of questions…
Gil: You’re not supposed to see them!
Gil: Okay, first question: What is your favourite circus or aerial skill to teach or perform?
Danni: My favourite aerial skill to perform is aerial hoop.
Gil: Mhm.
Danni: And my favourite to teach, probably aerial wise is doubles, because it’s just cute and it’s nice to see people working together.
Gil: Nice, thank you. What was your favourite show and why?
Danni: I think my favourite show was Spark, because it felt serious, you know? But also really fun, all the bright colours, and the days we performed were sunny, on the big aerial rig, and then there was the parade we did. I feel like we got involved in lots of different things. It was nice working with everyone together and I liked doing doubles with Annette. That was fun we worked really hard on that.
Gil: Excellent. What’s something you’ve learned about yourself through circus?
Danni: I’ve learned that you’re not always the best at something and that doesn’t matter. As long as you’re enjoying it and getting something good out of it, it doesn’t matter what anyone else is doing. Circus has taught me not to compare myself to others. Everyone has different qualities and talents, and you have something special that belongs to you so does everyone else. So there’s no point in comparing.
Gil: Cool. I like that.
Danni: So basically, it’s believe in yourself because you have talent.
Gil: How do you think circus has helped shape who you are today?
Danni: It’s helped shape me because I’ve met so many good people through it. People who are always there to have fun whether training or working, even when I was younger. It was always a safe space for me. I guess it’s shaped me to always try to be kind, and if you can help someone help them.
Gil: I might cry! I’m really going to cry at this one… If you could tell your younger self one thing about being in Youth Circus, what would it be?
Danni: The same thing stop comparing yourself to everyone else. They’re probably focusing on themselves anyway, and comparing just makes you unconfident. I’d tell myself to believe in myself, go for it, and stop holding back just because I think I’m not going to be as good or whatever.
Gil: Mhm. What keeps you coming back to circus even when life gets busy?
Danni: Charma.
Gil: (laughs)
Danni: She drags me there. No, I’m joking! It’s like a little family, you know? Sometimes I really don’t want to get on the train from Leeds, especially when uni work’s heavy. But I know I’ll have a great time when I’m there around all my favourite people, doing the thing I love and I love doing it at Skylight. So that’s what keeps me going back. I’ve always come back to Skylight.
Gil: It’s like a family, isn’t it?
Danni: Yeah.
Gil: What do you love most about circus?
Danni: Did I already answer this one?
Gil: No.
Danni: Oh then I’d say: it’s that there’s something for everyone. Even if you’re just throwing one ball up and down, there’s something in it. Some people love performing and make a job out of it. Others come for confidence building. It’s not just about the skill, it’s everything that comes with it.
Gil: Yeah, makes sense. What’s one of your favourite or funniest Skylight memories?
Danni: One is when I was doing doubles with Neely I think that’s her name and everyone was watching us. We did that doubles move where you flick around, and I just flew off and landed on the mat. That was funny, and then the other day, Charma stood on my shoulders and I couldn’t stop laughing. Oh and when I nearly broke myself on the hoop, but Charma caught it on camera. My new favourite is when me and Gil were trying to go to bed because I was really tired, and we just couldn’t stop laughing for like 20 minutes! We don’t know why it was funny, but it was.
Gil: Tell people who haven’t been in Youth Circus what it’s like to grow up through Skylight Youth Circus.
Danni: It’s like a family. As soon as you walk in the door, you feel included. No one’s judging you everyone wants you to do well and teach you things and just be your friend. It’s really supportive. If you’re having a bad day, it’ll cheer you up. If you’re already having a good day, it makes it even better.
Gil: Now let’s talk about your future aspirations. What are you most excited or nervous about for your summer in America?
Danni: I’m most excited about learning new circus skills, I’m hoping to develop a lot and bring it back with me to teach and become a better teacher.
I’m most nervous about leaving home. I’ve never really moved far uni’s still close to home. And now I’m literally leaving everything I know behind for three months. Also, I know I won’t have my phone much, so it won’t be easy to just text people at home that’s probably what I’m most nervous about.
Gil: And what does the future hold for you, goals, dreams, ambitions?
Danni: I hope I’m always teaching circus. I hope I never stop. And I want to be an educational psychologist. So I hope the future holds that for me too.
Gil: Do you think that’ll feed into your circus work?
Danni: Yeah. I think there are a lot of benefits of circus for people with special educational needs, psychologically. People have this idea of what circus is, but they don’t have a clue. It’d be great to research how circus affects the brain, especially for SEN, and how it makes people feel good.
Gil: Don’t you think there should be a proper BBC documentary about circus and what it really is?
Danni: Yes let’s propose it!
Gil: Right, who do we talk to?
Danni: I don’t know, we’ll work it out.
Gil: What do you think makes a great circus tutor?
Danni: Someone who’s patient. Someone enthusiastic, so they can pass that energy on. Someone who understands it doesn’t matter whether they can do it or not, it’s about being supportive. Telling a child it’s fine if the plate drops, they’ll get it another day or in a month. Someone encouraging, supportive, and who makes the effort to know each young person, what they like, don’t like, or if they need anything extra.
Gil: What’s your favourite thing about teaching circus and aerial to young people?
Danni: Seeing people come in really nervous, not talking to anyone, lacking confidence, and then six weeks later they’re getting on a trapeze they struggled with before, smiling, chatting with new friends. Circus brings people together, especially those who feel unseen in other places. At Skylight, they’re seen. And they feel that, I hope.
Gil: Last question, Danni. What have the young people at Skylight taught you?
Danni: To always have a laugh. They’ve taught me to be… what’s the word?
Gil: Resilient?
Danni: Yeah, resilient! They’ve taught me to have fun, and that anything is possible. Some of them come in with no belief in themselves, and then they do the thing. Could be days later or the same day, but they do it. They’ve shown me that if you believe in yourself, anything is possible.
Gil: Yeah… yeah. Excellent. Thank you for talking to us today, Danni. We’ll leave it there for now. But if you want to hear more from Danni, tune in next time, same time next week!
Danni: Bye!
