My initiative is designed for and delivered in London
Yes
I am 18 years of age or above, by the application deadline.
Yes
My organisation is a registered UK entity and has a London-based address.
Yes
My organisation is a non-profit (e.g. school, university, or local authority) — not a for-profit, which can only join as a partner.
Yes
If there is a for-profit organisation as a partner in my initiative, they work on a cost-recovery basis only.
Yes
My solution is implemented at scale, or if not, I have a clear business plan, a minimum viable solution (prototype, pilot, or proof of concept), evidence of access to a lease for the space you are leveraging, and evidence of work or impact in London within your coalition.
Yes
I am aware that, if I am submitting more than one application to a Challenge run by Ashoka and Go! London, only one of them is able to progress through the stages.
Yes
Are you an employee (and their children and grandchildren) of Ashoka or any of its respective affiliates and participating advertising and promotion agencies?
No
I have read and accepted the Challenge Terms & Conditions.
Yes
First Name
Alexandra
Last Name
Leo
Pronouns
She/Her
Email address
I would like to receive notifications and updates about Go London!, Ashoka, Ashoka Changemakers, and other Ashoka opportunities.
1
Are you an Ashoka Fellow?
No
Are you applying from an organization founded by an Ashoka Fellow?
No
If you are applying from an organization founded by an Ashoka Fellow, please specify the name and organisation of the fellow below.
Lead Organisation Name
Leo's Circus C.I.C.
Year that you started/ registered your organisation
2022
Initiative Title
The Movement + Creative Enterprise Lab
My initiative is designed for and delivered in London
1
Website URL(s) or Social Media Handles
https://www.leoscircus.co.uk/
Initiative Stage
Idea (You have a solid concept and are hoping to get started in the future)
Sectors/Themes: What topic does your project most directly relate to?
Children & Youth
Initiative Summary: Describe your initiative in one sentence
The Movement + Creative Enterprise Lab reimagines underused space at Battersea Arts Centre and Caius House as a dual-site youth movement and production studio, combining aerial training, rigging, costume design, and live event production and performance, and further redesigning how young people access creative sport and enterprise.
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve and who will benefit the most from your solution? How close are you to the problem and/or community impacted?
In Battersea and wider Wandsworth, young people—particularly those aged 11–18 from low-income households and underrepresented backgrounds—face limited access to spaces that meaningfully combine physical activity with creative and technical skill development. While major cultural and community buildings such as Battersea Arts Centre and local youth centres exist, much of this infrastructure remains underused during daytime hours or operates through hire-based models that restrict consistent youth access. This access gap matters in a borough where inequalities persist. In Wandsworth, around one in four children live in relative poverty, and young people in more deprived wards are significantly less likely to engage in regular extracurricular sport or creative enrichment. Yet traditional provision continues to prioritise competitive, team-based formats, leaving young people who are creative, neurodiverse, or disengaged from mainstream sport without spaces that feel relevant, welcoming or culturally accessible. As a result, local young people encounter civic spaces that are physically present but functionally inaccessible for sustained engagement in movement, creative production or employability development. Community venues such as Caius House hold creative and production infrastructure, yet these are not routinely connected to structured movement or enterprise pathways. The issue is not simply a lack of programmes—it is how space is governed, allocated and experienced. Leo’s Circus regularly sees young people disengage from conventional sport despite thriving in expressive, non-traditional movement. Without accessible space linking physical culture to creative production and leadership pathways, participation drops and potential is lost.
Your approach: How are you/ will you addressing the problem outlined above? How does your solution unlock or reimagine access to spaces for sport and physical activity? What role do landowners, local authorities, or other decision-making stakeholders play in your approach? We'd love to know about the origin of your idea, and what was your "aha" moment" that led you to take action?
We are addressing the structural access gap by reimagining both space and progression through a shared-site model that shifts power to young people, giving them free, culturally relevant access to creative sport and enterprise. We will unlock 9am–3pm weekday studio hours currently inactive at Battersea Arts Centre and connect them with Caius House, a key community stakeholder with an established hub of local young people and in-house production facilities. At Battersea Arts Centre, inactive daytime studio space will be transformed into a modular movement lab through installing portable aerial rigs and acrobatic mats, creating adaptable zones for creative physical training. At Caius House, existing dance and production studios will operate as the enterprise hub, linking movement with technical skills including rigging, costume design, podcasting and live showcase production. Young people from Caius House will participate in structured co-design labs, shaping session formats, studio layout, progression routes, connections with paid gig opportunities post-project, and showcase themes. The model shifts from transactional hourly hire to a structured shared-use agreement embedding youth voice in programming decisions. Leo’s Circus will lead safeguarding, rigging compliance, and pathway design, with clear progression from participant to assistant facilitator, junior technician, and paid circus performance roles. Our “aha” moment came from recognising that the barrier was not a lack of buildings, but the siloed way movement and creative opportunities are governed. By aligning cultural infrastructure with grassroots youth leadership, we create a replicable framework for unlocking civic space for inclusive creative sport.
Collaboration with young people and the community: In what ways does your initiative engage young people and community members closest to the problem? What role do they play in building the solution you deliver?
The Movement + Creative Enterprise Lab is co-created with young people through Caius House, a trusted community hub engaging over 500 young people weekly in Battersea. Recruitment will prioritise girls aged 13–16, young people eligible for free school meals, and those who are NEET, working in partnership with Youth Battersea, Street Elite and local youth workers to reach those most excluded from traditional sport and creative industries. In the pilot year, 20 young people will participate in structured co-design labs, shaping session formats, studio layout, safeguarding codes, progression routes and showcase themes. From this group, 6 young people will form a Youth Steering Group, meeting quarterly with Leo’s Circus, Battersea Arts Centre and Caius House representatives. Two members will hold defined leadership roles, including “Project Strategy Lead” and “Youth Programming Lead,” contributing to programming decisions and allocation of a designated youth budget line for showcases and equipment. The model moves beyond advisory input. Programming changes will be agreed through structured discussion and board-style voting, ensuring young people influence direction and can formally challenge proposals. Caius House youth workers will support facilitation to ensure inclusive participation. Clear progression routes will move young people from participant to assistant facilitator, junior technician and paid circus performance roles. In the pilot phase, at least 8 paid opportunities (performance, technical and support roles) will be created, with progression into gig-based roles through our wider event network. Battersea Arts Centre will host open studio days and integrate youth showcases into its wider programme, embedding young people into infrastructure.
Potential for/Evidence of Impact: How do you imagine your initiative will make a difference in unlocking spaces for and access to physical activity and sport so far? If you have already implemented it, what difference have you made so far? What is the impact your initiative has had , and or what impact do you envision having in the future?
Over the past four years, Leo’s Circus has delivered creative physical activity programmes to approximately 5,000 young people across London boroughs, primarily in partnership with local authorities supporting lower-income communities. Participants have progressed into paid assistant roles, performance opportunities, and sponsored aerial teacher training. We have produced 3x Arts Council–supported circus shows featuring young performers, gaining local press coverage and providing real-world creative industry experience. This project builds on this proven model while deepening its structural impact. In the pilot year, we anticipate unlocking 12–15 hours per week of previously inactive daytime studio space, engaging 60–80 young people directly and creating at least 8 paid junior roles across performance and technical pathways. We expect a minimum 70% retention rate, based on previous delivery patterns. Crucially, the Lab embeds external economic linkages. Young people will access paid roles within Leo’s Circus’ existing commercial bookings, Arts Council–supported productions and borough festival performances. Youth showcases hosted at Battersea Arts Centre will connect participants to live audiences and industry exposure. The pilot will test a blended sustainability model combining funded access for priority groups with ticketed showcases, school workshop commissions and commercial performance income, supporting youth progression roles beyond grant funding. By embedding creative sport within civic infrastructure and linking it to paid performance and technical pathways, the Lab unlocks sustained participation connected to income, leadership and long-term creative opportunity.
Innovation: What is different about your initiative compared to other solutions that are already out there? How is your approach original and innovative?
The Movement + Creative Enterprise Lab is innovative because it redesigns how civic and cultural space is allocated, governed and experienced by young people, while introducing an artform rarely accessible at community level. Firstly, it centres circus as an emerging form of fitness, which is growing in popularity but with very few accessible training spaces. The closest dedicated circus training venue to Battersea is in Waterloo, approximately 50 minutes away, with classes typically starting at around £30 per hour—financially inaccessible for many young people who are NEET or from lower-income households. By installing portable aerial rigs and acrobatic mats within underused 9am–3pm daytime studio hours at Battersea Arts Centre, we unlock vertical and flexible space rarely activated for community sport. Alongside movement, the Lab integrates live production learning, including rigging, lighting, set design and business skills, through Caius House’s existing creative infrastructure. Together, this creates a hybrid system combining physical training with technical and enterprise pathways, offering a holistic and culturally relevant progression route not commonly embedded within youth sport models. We are also addressing a structural gap by creating a continuous pipeline from participation to assistant facilitation, junior technical roles and paid circus performance opportunities—progression rarely embedded within traditional sport provision. Crucially, the model shifts from transactional hourly hire to a structured shared-use agreement embedding youth voice in programming decisions. By aligning cultural landowners, youth hubs and creative sport providers, the Lab challenges norms around who space is for—and who has the power to shape it.
Viability and Scalability: How are you setting your initiative up for success, and what is your plan to ensure operational sustainability of your solution and its impact? What are your ideas for scaling your initiative to the next level?
The Movement + Creative Enterprise Lab is designed for operational sustainability through a blended model of funded access, earned income and structured cultural partnerships. In the pilot phase, grant funding will unlock 9am–3pm weekday studio hours and establish the shared-use model. Beyond this, sustainability will be supported through a minimum of three annual ticketed youth showcases hosted at Battersea Arts Centre, commissioned school workshop programmes (targeting at least two per term), borough festival bookings and Leo’s Circus’ existing commercial performance contracts. A minimum of 15% of annual commercial booking revenue will be ringfenced to sustain youth progression and paid junior roles. Clear operational roles underpin delivery: Battersea Arts Centre provides daytime studio access and integrates youth showcases into its public programme; Caius House leads community recruitment, youth co-design facilitation and pastoral support; Leo’s Circus leads safeguarding, rigging compliance, programming and commercial pathway integration. Formal partnership agreements will outline responsibilities, access terms and youth governance structures. By activating existing civic infrastructure rather than acquiring new premises, the model avoids long-term lease liabilities and capital overhead, creating a financially lean and replicable framework. Leo’s Circus has delivered programmes across multiple London boroughs and secured Arts Council funding, demonstrating the organisational capacity required to sustain and grow the model. Monitoring systems tracking attendance, retention, paid progression and space utilisation will generate robust evidence for future commissioning and multi-site expansion.
Roles and Responsibilities: Describe how responsibilities are shared among your team or partners.
The Movement + Creative Enterprise Lab is delivered through a structured partnership between Leo’s Circus, Caius House Youth and Battersea Arts Centre, with clearly defined responsibilities aligned to unlocking civic space and embedding youth progression. Leo’s Circus (Lead Delivery Partner) Alexandra Leo and Emma Nhamburo, Directors of Leo’s Circus, hold overall strategic and operational responsibility. Leo’s Circus leads safeguarding, risk management, installation and compliance of portable aerial rigs and acrobatic mats, curriculum design and session delivery. They manage progression from entry-level participation to assistant facilitator, junior technician and paid performance roles, alongside financial oversight and monitoring (attendance, retention, paid progression and space utilisation). This ensures the Lab delivers safe activation of space while embedding structured pathways into leadership and paid opportunity. Caius House Youth (Community & Co-Design Lead) Delrita Agyapong, CEO of Caius House Youth, leads youth engagement strategy. Caius House recruits through its weekly engagement of 500+ young people, prioritising girls aged 13–16 and young people who are NEET. Youth workers facilitate co-design labs and support the Youth Steering Group, ensuring the programme reflects lived experience and that youth voice shapes how space is governed. Battersea Arts Centre (Cultural Infrastructure Partner) Amaya Dent and Ella Gamble provide 9am–3pm studio access and integrate youth showcases into public programming. Their involvement embeds young people within established cultural infrastructure, shifting access from temporary hire to institutional inclusion. Six young people will form a Youth Steering Group, influencing programming and showcase budget allocation.
Upcoming Milestones: Please provide an overview of the milestones that are required for your initiative to come to fruition/to grow.
Months 1–2: Partnership Formalisation & Site Preparation Finalise partnership agreements between Leo’s Circus, Caius House Youth and Battersea Arts Centre Confirm 9am–3pm weekday studio access schedule Complete safeguarding updates, insurance and risk assessments Install portable aerial rigs and acrobatic mats Secure freelance circus artists and production practitioners (rigging, lighting, set design) to lead specialist sessions Develop monitoring framework (attendance, retention, paid progression, space utilisation) Months 2–3: Youth Recruitment & Co-Design Recruit 20 young people through Caius House, Street Elite and Youth Battersea Deliver structured co-design labs shaping session formats across movement and production strands Establish Youth Steering Group (6 members) and confirm leadership roles Months 3–9: Programme Activation (Dual Strand Delivery) Deliver weekly circus training sessions (handstands, acrobatics, juggling, aerial silks and aerial hoop) Deliver parallel production workshops in rigging, lighting, set design and live event coordination Unlock 12–15 hours of daytime studio space weekly Progress participants into assistant facilitator and junior technical roles Allocate initial paid youth roles Months 6 & 9: Public Showcases Deliver two ticketed youth showcases at Battersea Arts Centre Young people take on performance and technical roles (rigging support, lighting operation, stage coordination) Months 10–12: Evaluation & Scaling Strategy Analyse data across participation, retention, paid progression and space activation Produce a documented “Creative Sport Space Activation” blueprint Initiate commissioning conversations for expansion into additional sites
Capacity-Building Participation and Support Funding: If you were to make it as a finalist, you will be required to participate in an 8-week capacity building programme. If funding/ cost is a barrier to your participation, we may be able to offer up to 10,000 GBP of grant money available to support you. Please break down below, if it is the case, what costs you would incur and you would need covered. (Please note that there are restrictions on how the grant money may be used; please refer to the T&Cs for further details.
As a small social enterprise delivering active youth provision across multiple boroughs, senior leadership time is directly tied to programme delivery and commercial income that sustains free access for young people. Participation in the 8-week capacity-building programme would require dedicated time from both Directors of Leo’s Circus and coordination with partner organisations, temporarily reducing income-generating and delivery capacity. To ensure participation does not disrupt active delivery or youth progression pathways, we would require support for the following costs: 1. Leadership Time Contribution Partial compensation for 2 hours per week over 8 weeks (16 hours total) for two Directors. 16 hours x 2 people x £25 per hour = £800 2. Delivery Backfill (Sessional Cover) Cover for freelance circus practitioners or assistant facilitators to maintain weekly sessions during reduced leadership capacity. 8 sessions x £120 sessional cover = £960 3. Travel & Participation Costs Travel to in-person sessions, materials and incidental costs. Estimated at £240 Total Estimated Support Required: £2,000 This support would enable full engagement in the programme while maintaining stable operations, safeguarding standards and continuity of youth provision. Participation would directly strengthen our governance, commercial sustainability and partnership development, accelerating the Lab’s long-term viability and scalability.
