In this month’s spotlight, we’re delighted to share an update from Shirley Alexander, Director at Community Circus Paisley. Below, she writes about their Additional Support Needs programme, which has flourished since it started in 2023.
“My body has never felt so free.”
This is feedback from someone who has been in a wheelchair all their life, after they took part in a circus workshop at the beginning of our ASN (Additional Support Needs) programme. It’s a sentence that has stayed with me—and one that continues to shape why I think our work is so important.
At Community Circus Paisley we started our ASN programme in 2023, working with one organisation in Renfrewshire. I didn’t know then how much it would grow—I just knew we wanted to create a space where people could experience circus in a way that felt accessible and genuinely theirs. Since then, it’s become a core part of what we do. We’re now working with seven partners across Renfrewshire, and with support from Renfrewshire Council and the Cultural Organisations Fund, we’re able to keep developing this work over the next three years.
Circus is incredibly adaptable. In our sessions, we keep things flexible—juggling scarves, balance, movement, and increasingly harness work and aerial. Being lifted and supported can open up new sensations of movement, and for some participants, that’s where that sense of freedom comes from. There’s no pressure to perform—just space to take part.
For me, it’s the quieter moments that matter most: a small breakthrough, a new skill, confidence growing over time. I see real pride in those moments—from participants and their families. It builds into something bigger—a sense of freedom, connection, and belonging.
What’s growing now feels bigger than a project. It’s a community—and one I’m excited to keep building.
About Shirley Alexander
Shirley Alexander spent 25 years working as an accountant in Financial Services before co-founding Community Circus Paisley—a move that came with what she still describes as the best resignation letter anyone could ever write: “I’m resigning to run away and join the circus.”
Since then, she’s built a whole new set of skills, stepping well beyond spreadsheets and into the world of circus. What matters most to her now is seeing that work up close—watching people grow in confidence, find their place, and realise they’re capable of more than they thought.
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