The Fine and Performing Arts Department will present the Middle School Circus! Circus! The Silver Anniversary! In Froelicher Theatre, on Thursday, May 22, 2014, at 7:00 p.m. This year the circus will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the beginning of the circus program at Colorado Academy. The circus has become a rite of passage for CA students with generations of students having participated in the circus program. Says Angel Vigil, the originator of the circus program a quarter century ago, “Spring officially begins at CA not with the first red robin but with the appearance of the unicyclists cruising through the campus.” CA is one of the few schools in the country – public or private – that teaches circus acts to students. Having been profiled in media around the country, CA’s program, says Vigil, trains students “to work hard for a certain goal.
Circus arts combine athleticism and performance skills in a novel and challenging activity. The work requires concentration, patience, timing, tracking skills, gross and fine motor coordination and confidence. Students go on to apply those skills throughout their lives, no matter what they pursue.
This year’s event will showcase Seventh and Eighth Grade students performing together in a circus carnival environment. The circus will include demonstrations of various circus skills as well as a “Featured Act” center ring in the tradition of the classic one-ring European circus. The skills and acts highlighted in this year’s circus are juggling, tumbling, tightrope, stilt-walking, unicycle, Diablo, and devil sticks.
“The skills and acts highlighted in this year’s circus are juggling, tumbling, tightrope, stilt-walking, unicycle, Diablo, and devil sticks.”
Returning showcase presentations will be the rolling globes, three large and colorful rolling balls upon which performers walk, balance and juggle. Also featured are the beautiful aerial ballet of the Spanish Webs, the trapeze, the aerial hoop, the aerial cube and aerial fabric.
One of CA’s most enthusiastic circus alumni is Daniel Sullivan ’11, who, based on his experience at CA, joined Circus Smirkus at the age of 13, the only international youth circus in North America. After graduating from CA, he simultaneously attended the San Francisco Circus center, enhancing his craft, and studied dance at the University of San Francisco. He was then accepted into Montreal’s prestigious L’Ecole nationale de cirque de Montreal (National Circus School of Montreal) where he majored in aerial hoop training under Nathalie Hebert. Sullivan graduates from there this spring and heads to Europe to work.
Tickets for the circus are general admission and can be bought at the door on the night of the performance for $5.00 per person; the show will include a concessions area featuring the circus fare of popcorn and cotton candy.
“The skills and acts highlighted in this year’s circus are juggling, tumbling, tightrope, stilt-walking, unicycle, Diablo, and devil sticks.”
Returning showcase presentations will be the rolling globes, three large and colorful rolling balls upon which performers walk, balance and juggle. Also featured are the beautiful aerial ballet of the Spanish Webs, the trapeze, the aerial hoop, the aerial cube and aerial fabric.
One of CA’s most enthusiastic circus alumni is Daniel Sullivan ’11, who, based on his experience at CA, joined Circus Smirkus at the age of 13, the only international youth circus in North America. After graduating from CA, he simultaneously attended the San Francisco Circus center, enhancing his craft, and studied dance at the University of San Francisco. He was then accepted into Montreal’s prestigious L’Ecole nationale de cirque de Montreal (National Circus School of Montreal) where he majored in aerial hoop training under Nathalie Hebert. Sullivan graduates from there this spring and heads to Europe to work.
Tickets for the circus are general admission and can be bought at the door on the night of the performance for $5.00 per person; the show will include a concessions area featuring the circus fare of popcorn and cotton candy.