Circus for Everyone: Circus Learning around the World

Learning is not discrete from life, although we often think it is. Perhaps it is the monastic tradition of scholarship from which our institutions of higher education evolved that makes us think of learning as cloistered - apart. Students and faculty in schools and colleges often dismiss the significance of where they are and what they are doing in relationship to the "real world." But when we learn, are we not engaging with the world? Is not that what learning means? The subjects of our studies are rooted in the world and the process by which learners extend themselves into the world through study is also real.

A further distinction has traditionally been made between learning - which is thought of as a mental process, and the physical experience of the world. Today the distinction between mind and body is less discrete than in the past. We now know we are holistic beings; physical health and mental health are not achieved separately.

One of the most exciting examples of learning - of mastering the possibilities of the world, happens when a child learns to walk. Those first steps are complex, difficult ventures into the unknown that require balance, thought, effort and courage. When the steps are achieved and a child proudly moves forward under its own power, the holistic nature of learning is demonstrated.

As a child does not stop learning having managed to walk, a student does not stop learning once the student leaves school and moves into a world which reveals itself to be no more real than school, only different. Learning is a lifelong adventure. Writing this book has been such an adventure for the author, a retired academic whose area of specialization has, heretofore, been theatre. He was introduced to circus when he was six and has been a lifelong fan. That was the extent of his involvement until 1995 when he met Alla Youdina, then the Creative Director of New Circus Acts for Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Youdina was preparing an act not far from the author's home in Vermont. He accepted her offer to watch rehearsals and witnessed a group of young Russians, Americans and a Mongolian - strangers speaking different languages, learn together. Each was a unique personality with a unique way of learning which Youdina encouraged.

Bodies and minds had to be prepared for the demanding work. Each day began with a run up and down mountains at the ski resort where they were working; each day's practice started with a lengthy warm up. Then they worked to bring to life Youdina's dream of butterflies and a spider on a giant web. As the act developed, the author witnessed the excitement he had recently seen when his granddaughters took their first steps. Mastery was being achieved; not just walking, but dancing, spinning and flying through space individually and as members of a team dependent on each other for their safety.

The author followed the act to Florida and watched it grow and modify as Youdina and the acrobats integrated it into the 1996 Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Blue show. He continued to watch during the act's two year tour; the act wasn't learned and then repeated mechanically. Most performances were preceded by rehearsal; all by a thorough warm up. Each performance integrated learning and performance.

Intrigued by the process he had seen, the author set out to discover how circus performers came to be that; the first working title was New Performers for a New Circus. In recent years, the New Circus, usually in one ring, placed greater focus on the performance of its artists than on spectacle. Where did those remarkable people come from?

At the same time, the author encountered Circus Smirkus, an international youth circus in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom with which Youdina also worked. In Bennington Vermont, where the author lives, Circus Minimus provided a summer program that taught circus skills to youngsters. It soon became apparent that all these activities were part of a resurgence of interest in what he came to think of as Circus Learning. This became the subject of the book.

Circus Learning continues the joyous experience the child has when starting to walk. It provides focused physical activity; it is a team sport that is non-competitive. Rather than defeating another, one advances one's skills as far as possible alone and with a group. Each achievement becomes a plateau for further achievement. When one can juggle three balls - try four. Four? Try five. The only competition is with the participants’ ability to transcend the limits of time and space. With Circus Learning, earthbound folk learn to fly and stop time. Objects can - when properly manipulated, defy gravity. Like dancers, circus performers demonstrate the ability of humans to extend the possibilities of the body, just as trainers extend the possibilities of animal achievement.

Circus Learning can produce legitimate self-esteem in those uncomfortable with academic learning which all too often is presented within traditions of class and caste. Circus Learning enables those who have fallen into social roles that make them outsiders find ways into community with their peers. This is not just true of children. First generation college students venturing into an unfamiliar campus environment find that mastering circus skills develops faith in their ability to cope with other learning situations.

Circus Learning is difficult. It requires focus, effort and the ability to move beyond failure. It teaches good work habits. In a world in which the media lull youngsters into passivity and computers encourage them to inhabit virtual realties, Circus Learning provides an authentic world in which the individual controls his or her actions. Perhaps that is one of the reasons for its new popularity

This study also considers how the methodology of Circus Learning can be adapted to other learning. We will note the importance of teachers whom students can trust and who, in turn, trust their students. We will see how clearly defined goals and clearly defined methods for achieving them make it possible to venture into unknown and frightening areas. Whether looking at professional training, children's training or recreational programs, we will try to discover the process that makes Circus Learning unique.