What we’re about
We are Castellers of London, and we build human towers! We’ve been rehearsing and performing in London since 2015.
We enjoy it and think you will to. No experience needed, and the whole family or an individual can join in. So, we are open to everyone, but if your ego says you must be the star... then maybe this is not the activity for you :-)
We are more about helping each other out and building as a team. So it is together we are the star.
“Castells” - or Human Tower building - is a Catalan tradition where a group, called a “colla”, rehearse and perform to build towers as high and as complicated as possible. Some colles can have a team of hundreds taking part to build towers of 9 levels, but then many, like ours, have a team of around 80 for a performance to build 6 levels.
This tradition has been happening in Catalonia for over 200 years and is recognised by UNESCO as intrinsic to Catalan culture, but it can be enjoyed by everyone!
Whether in Catalonia or here in London, it is a great way to integrate people. Everyone is important in building a tower, a Castell. If you build a Castell then you are a Casteller but no one then divides you up saying the German casteller or the Portuguese Casteller. We are all Castellers. All the same.
In London we also do not divide people up into male or female, so we don't use the female name for the role or the male name as they do in Catalonia. For example we do not say, Casteller and also Castellera. You are a Casteller.
Simple. All the same.
We are a community group where everybody is welcome, and everyone has a role: big or small, short or tall, strong or even not so strong (like most of us!), there is a position right for you in a human tower. In any given tower, there are upwards of twenty people of all shapes and sizes - in performances, we may build structures with eighty people. Our membership is very open and mixed: we have members aged nine to seventy-five, and families are always welcome.
The language we use is English for instructions but we keep the Catalan names for the roles. Just as you would use the traditional names if doing ballet or a martial art, there is no sense in inventing a new name. We are proud of our links with colles in Catalonia and with the traditions.
You will hear a lot of Spanish and Catalan spoken but you might also hear a wide variety of other languages as we are a very international group. Do not be put off, because as mentioned, English is also used in all group chat/ discussions and most importantly for training instructions.
Our group was affected by the pandemic with people moving out of London but we are back and growing again: we have around 30 to 40 members rehearsing weekly, but for performances we may reach eighty.
Apart from building human towers in our performances and rehearsals, we also meet regularly for drinks at the pub, nights out, days at the park and outdoor adventures.
We Train /rehearse twice a week:
- Wednesdays 7-9pm: Meet us inside Borough Market near to the Globe Tavern, off Bedale St. We are inside the glass walled 'Market Hall' on the corner. Enter from inside the market.
https://goo.gl/maps/45MWM6Gk8CdZECzH8
Look out for a group climbing on each others shoulders :-). If in doubt we will be wearing black faixes (a large black cotton "belt" wrapped around our waists). - Sundays 3-6pm: at The OBC, 3 Webb St, London SE1 4RP. Please don’t be late but press button 5 if you are and someone will come let you in. There will be a break during this rehearsal where we sell drinks and snacks. Any money we raise goes to help offset the cost of the rent so we can always keep it FREE to take part.
https://goo.gl/maps/NCSzC5Q6RU5ABnNYA
Just pop in at any of our rehearsals and give it a go; as simple as that! No Meetup fees or anything like that.
Feel free to contact us and ask any questions.
Check out our
Instagram: CastellersOfLondon
Facebook: CastellersOfLondon (https://bit.ly/2OUhnkQ)
Twitter: @CastellersLDN (https://twitter.com/CastellersLDN)
Website: www.castellersoflondon.org.uk
* * * What should I expect in a first rehearsal? * * *
During rehearsals, we practise a variety of structures - some with a view towards an eventual performance and others just for fun! At your first session, if you'd like to, you can expect to have the opportunity to learn how to safely and securely climb on the shoulders of someone and likewise how to support someone climbing on top of you, as well as learning in general how the structures we build work. In the base in particular, the Pinya, is it engineering with people.
Our learning curve is very gentle, and we take a "safety first" approach at all times - research in Catalonia on castells has suggested that it is considerably safer than other sports such as football, and we regard the safety of our participants as our top priority. We have a group of members who are our "welcome team" who are there to introduce you to castells at your first session.
After our Wednesday and Sunday rehearsals we go to the pub - please do join us for that as well!
