YOUNGSTERS ran away to the circus, learned how to sing with their hands and dressed up in wacky costumes at a Cowley festival to encourage disabled artists to unleash their creativity.
Extraordinary Bodies, a collaboration between Cirque Bijou and Diverse City, put on circus skill sessions at the Ark-T Centre on Friday for the Roar Festival.
Young people were able to try out accessible versions of acro-balance, juggling and hula hooping.
It was one of a vast array of workshops that took place on the first day of the arts extravaganza.
There was also the opportunity to get messy and make slime with Science Oxford, learn yoga and meditation in the wellbeing area or get a henna art tattoo.
For those more into music and dance Oxford group Sol Samba were on hand with a carnival masterclass, plus there were African drumming and spoons and folk music sessions.
There was even the chance to explore a different way to express music by using British Sign Language with the Handy Voices song workshop.
Young people could also come and test out new accessible instruments which had been made by participants on the Hackathon summer course.
Then on Saturday it was all about inspirational performances from disabled artists, with those who attended including Blink Dance Theatre, Handy Voices and the Cowley festival's organising committee of young disabled people the Roarsomes.
There was also a special appearance by Britain's Got Talent winner 'Lost Voice Guy' Lee Ridley, who cannot speak due to cerebral palsy and performed his stand up routine, as well as comedian Juliette Burton fresh from the Edinburgh Fringe.
Created in 2015, the festival has grown in popularity so much that this year the first to be spread over two days. Lucy Parker, who organised the event with centre director Emma O'Shaughnessy and assistant co-ordinator Minky Hoyer-Millar, said: "The idea is that it gives the young people a chance to see performers who show them what they can do.
"I think the popularity of Roar shows how much there was a need for something like it in Oxford."
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