Isn’t it every kid’s dream to run away and join the circus and have circus adventures? Okay, I might have just stepped back to the last century there for a minute. But seriously, weren’t you totally mesmerized by the acrobatics, animal tricks and excitement when you went to the circus? I know I was – and still am. My mom and I went to a performance of Cirque du Soleil over the summer when I was in Calgary on an impromptu visit. I was really excited to feel like I was part of the performance, that’s how entertaining and interactive the experience was.
While I don’t plan on running away to join the circus in this lifetime, I did enjoy trying out some of the different areas of circus-ing (is that a word?) last week. I was really nervous to go, but the intro class was only $5 – so what did I have to lose? It was a rainy evening in Vancouver as I made my way across the bridge from North Van. . . in to the great unknown.
Circus West is located at the PNE (Pacific National Exhibition) in Vancouver. I walked in to the arena and saw all kinds of different circus-things. . .and luckily, I ended up with a group working on the trampolines, first. Did you ever have a trampoline growing up? We had one at my mom’s montessori that she owned. . .but these are WAY bigger (and more fun)! The silks were really hard for me, but I could see how it would be a fun focus!
TAKE THE LEAP, SURPRISE YOURSELF!
It’s never too late, or too hard, or too weird to start something that’s really new and exciting. At CircusWest, adults and teens aged 13+ discover what they’re really made of.
Circus arts makes for a perfect training: they help build and maintain core strength, balance and flexibility while providing a unique way of artistic expression.
Classes include a variety of circus arts, like swinging trapeze, tissu, trampoline, acrobatics, main a main (handstands), as well as different dance techniques and general introductory classes. They are part of 6 week programs, offered on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons.
Takeaway: I want to work on my upper-body strength before taking one of the full classes. I really liked the trampoline part the most, so that would be the class for me, I think.
