On Friday night I had the privilege of seeing the fabulous Cheeky Cabaret at The Starcourt theatre. It was brilliant! Hanne hails from here and was one of the talented performers. I grabbed her from her whirlwind schedule for a chat.
Hanne aka Hannie Helsden – “ We moved to Rosebank when I was about 5. I went to Rosebank Primary School then onto Trinity. I come from a gymnastics background. I did gymnastics at North Coast Academy of Gymnastics in South Lismore from the age of 7 and I would train 3 or 4 times a week. I really loved it. I was never that great. I wasn’t the rising star in the gymnastics scene but I was very confident. I would go to competitions and whether it was the beam or the floor, I’d get out to present and all the judges would say, Wow! She’s going to be great, because I had this pizzaz and then I would do my routine, fall off the beam 3 times and they’d say, Oh no she’s not that great! I was very committed though and even though I didn’t win I never stopped training.
In high school with all your teenage dramas I just found if I was ever upset I could go and do my 3 hours of training, do all the strength conditioning, flexibility, tricks and I’d be so tired by the end, all my troubles had melted away and I would feel better about myself.
A lot of people drop out of gymnastics after 16 because there’s not really anywhere to go as it’s a competition scene. I never wanted to stop training so I moved into a bit of youth circus where I had a gymnastic coach. Her name was Bronwyn Wilson and she was an Aerialist. She used to bring her aerial hoop and silks into practice. She really inspired me to get into circus. I also did some circus arts in Byron Bay when I was about 16 and I worked there on the flying trapeze rig.
High school finished and I got a job touring Australia and New Zealand with a family circus. When the tour finished I moved to Melbourne to pursue it further by going to NICA (National Institute of Circus Arts). It’s the only facility in Australia where you can get your Bachelor of Circus Arts. It’s 3 years of full time circus training. After being accepted into NICA and I was so pleased about that my hips were really sore. I went to a Physio in Melbourne and found out I had to have surgery on both my hips. I had to defer my training so I did costume design for a year and then I did the 3 years of full time circus. I have made costumes for myself and my friends so it’s really handy to be able to sew.
I finished the degree in 2013 and since then I’ve been working as a freelance artist. I also got a job working at Pole Divas in Melbourne teaching aerial hoop and pole dancing. I teach a lot there and I really love it. I started there at the end of my degree and I’ve been doing a lot of circus gigs around Melbourne and a few things interstate and overseas.
I’m involved with the Queer community and scene in Melbourne now and I’ve been working with a show called Yummy which is a drag cabaret show and I feel like I’ve found my home with that show.
Today I’m back in Lismore which I’m really excited about and
I’m bringing one of my signature acts that I debuted with Yummy this year. I’m really looking forward to the community and family seeing what I’m really passionate about. The collection of artists is fantastic, a great lineup of people from all over who have been touring the world.
There’s a big creative community in The Northern Rivers, a lot of circus artists are relocating to Brunswick Heads. Lismore is great. I would love to come back here to have a family. I can’t see myself raising a family in a big city because I come from here and I love coming home. I’m hoping I can persuade my partner to move up this way and have some babies.”