Author: Adam
Adam is a circus teacher and runs Airborne Circus. He tweets irreverently as @CircusBoy1.
www.airbornecircus.com
When Acrobats Hit the Gym
Thanks to Amy for this one.
Circus Comforts
I’ve been strangely absent recently. Hopefully this little gem will make up for it.
You can read more about Creature Comforts on Wikipedia.
Suicidal Divers
This Is Not The Vehicle You Are Looking For
Allie Cooper’s Vertical Rope
Given the backgrounds of most of us Circus Geeks – at least the more prolific of us writers – I sometimes feel we overlook some of the other circus skills that are out there. Today’s lesser talked about circus skill: Corde Lisse.
This is Allie Cooper. She’s a rope artist based in California whom I met at a circus party some time last year. She’s very lovely and put together one of the most enjoyable promo videos for her rope act that I’ve seen. In some ways it reminds me of Danny MacAskill’s Way Back Home.
You can also follow Allie on twitter.
Follow @ayeleleyeeHave you seen other promo videos that are striking, unique or different? Let us know in the comments below.
A circus queen timely Absurdity
The USDA just fined Feld Entertainment $270,000 for Animal Welfare Act (AWA) violations. This is the largest fine given in the AWA’s four-decade history. Mother Jones recently exposed this cruel industry. Circuses are one of the cruelest forms of “entertainment” out there. Read the full Mother Jones article now.
You, Me & The Circus
You, Me & The Circus is a fantasy, drama, musical in the vein of some the great writer/directors of screen and stage, Frederico Fellini (8 1/2), and Bob Fosse (All That Jazz, Chicago, & Cabaret). You, Me & The Circus is an intimate story about four people falling in and out of love told over an afternoon of intense conversation, soul searching, and new discoveries revealed on a journey leading to an undeniable truth. – Taken from IMDB
Note: It may or may not contain actual circus but does have credits that include acrobat, circus artist, clown and stilt walker. I wouldn’t hold out too much hope for much circus though but if you like films maybe you’ll like it anyway.
Cube Juggling
This is about as circus-geeky as it gets.
The Wall of Death
Here’s a short film about the last remaining traditional family of daredevil wall riders to travel Europe and the British Isles.
You can see some other bikes in this post here. (Make sure you look at the videos linked to in the comments too!)
Aerial Voltige
Here’s a lovely little fly number with 4 (four) catchers, including one on a rotating, swinging cradle.
Midnight Circus
I have no idea what they’re singing about but in a funny kinda way I almost like it.
I Want To Learn Circus – Part 2: Circus in the UK
Many people these days want to learn circus, whether it’s just for fun or fitness, or professionally because they want to be a performer.
Regardless of why you want to learn circus, the circus arts are a fantastic set of skills to have and to learn. Training in circus skills is great for strength, flexibility, stamina, dexterity and coordination, and is also incredibly social. Circus skills are used to develop physical, mental and social skills in young children are used around the world as a tool for social change with disadvantaged youth.
Depending on your age, experience and your intention (do you want to be a professional performer or do you just want to do it for fun/fitness?) there are many skills you can learn and lots of places you can learn them.
Through this short series of posts I’ll direct you to a variety of places where you can learn them. Rather than trying to list every place or circus company in the world that offers circus skills training (which I’m pretty sure would be close to impossible) I’m going to try to point you in the right direction. If you can’t find anything on your doorstep, get in touch with something in your region and they can probably tell you about more local groups.
Following on from Learning Circus – Part 1: London, I thought you’d probably be interested in some places to train circus skills outside London, around the UK. So if you’re not in London and want to learn circus skills either professionally or for fun and fitness read on… Continue reading “I Want To Learn Circus – Part 2: Circus in the UK”
Circus Fitness
“Circus is good for you,” said Ernest Hemingway. (Yes, it hurts; yes, there are injuries; but consider the level of fitness of your average circus artist compared with Joe Blogs.) And in the video trailer for the Taschen book The Circus 1870-1950 (see Arron’s post here) Voiceover Man describes how in the 19th and early 20th century “the display of women’s physical strength was groundbreaking.”
Doing circus makes you strong, flexible, agile and coordinated. Who wouldn’t want that?
I don’t know why but in recent years people seem to embracing that circus is in fact good for you, and a whole host of circus fitness programmes have been springing up. Here’s a few that I’ve spotted.
*The full Ernest Hemingway quote is “the Circus is good for you. It is the only ageless delight that money can buy.”
Reebok & Cirque du Soleil’s Jukari – Fit to Fly and Fit to Flex
You can read more about Jukari in this NY Times article or on the Cirque du Soleil website.
Hulaerobics
Hoopilates
Juggle Fit
Circus Fit
A US youth fitness programme launched by Ringling Bros Barnum & Bailey.
Obviously attending any circus skills class would help you get fit and if you’re looking for a class you can start by checking this post on Learning Circus.
Do you know of other circus classes that are designed to improve fitness? Let us know in the comments below.
Learning Circus – Part 1: London
Many people these days want to learn circus, whether it’s just for fun or fitness, or professionally because they want to be a performer.
Regardless of why you want to learn circus, the circus arts are a fantastic set of skills to have and to learn. Training in circus skills is great for strength, flexibility, stamina, dexterity and coordination, and is also incredibly social. Circus skills are used to develop physical, mental and social skills in young children are used around the world as a tool for social change with disadvantaged youth.
Depending on your age, experience and your intention (do you want to be a professional performer or do you just want to do it for fun/fitness?) there are many skills you can learn and lots of places you can learn them.
Through a short series of posts I’ll direct you to a variety of places where you can learn them. Rather than trying to list every place or circus company in the world that offers circus skills training (which I’m pretty sure would be close to impossible) I’m going to try to point you in the right direction.
Being a Londoner, I thought I’d start with circus training in London. So if you’re in London and want to learn circus skills either professionally or for fun and fitness read on…
Circus Cartoons
Yesterday I watched the Bugs Bunny cartoon “High Diving Hare” and it got me wondering “what other circus cartoons are out there?” Here’s a small selection of some of the circus cartoons that I’ve found so far.
High Diving Hare
Mickey’s Circus
Continue reading “Circus Cartoons”
The Amazing Evelyns
Circus Graffiti
This piece of graffiti art is in support of Circus Child and located just to the north of the Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London. Circus Child identifies and supports social circus projects around the world.
The Kitchen Sink Circus Cabaret
For those of you that are London based (at least this weekend!) there’s a circus cabaret you might like to see…
~ The Kitchen Sink Circus Cabaret ~
Witness hand-balancers, jugglers, acrobats and more!
*This post is an unashamed plug for some of my friends who are putting this show on. I’m not able to see it but it should be damn good!
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