From Zero To Something in 6 months Flat

by Blaze Birge

            It’s a typical day here on the Festival Circus.  An ominous cloud of thick white smoke hovers over the tent.  Our generator has gone amok again. We’ve been struggling with a faltering power system for 9 days.  The Romanian mechanic, the Mongolian acrobat and the American Aerialist are running around it like the old Clown Fire Drill.  I don’t even leave my caravan.  A quick investigation from the window and I’m assured that it’s business as usual here on the grounds.  Last week the truck engine exploded, the week before the bunk wagons crashed…I’m learning that catastrophe is as common as teatime.

            It’s England.  It’s Hot.  We’re on a two week stand in the middle of a field somewhere north of London.  The shows, which were catered to a rambunctious audience of 5000 Beaver Scouts, finished on Sunday.  Now it is Monday and we are waiting for our next jump to Oxford University where we will perform during their commemorative Spring Ball.

 

            Festival Circus is an off-shoot from Zippo’s Circus both owned by Martin Burton.  A commercial, touring circus on the one hand, it has also become a hosting stage for the Academy of Circus Arts course (ACA).  Festival Circus provides an authentic environment for an ‘apprenticeship’ style tuition.  ACA, founded in 1993, accepts ten to fifteen students each year.  The students follow the Festival circus tour, living in bunk wagons, training in the big top, learning from the performers and getting hands on, practical experience.  When and if their acts become ready, ACA students have the opportunity to perform in the Festival Circus show. Martin Burton’s purpose in starting the school was to give aspiring artists the opportunity to learn the complete skill set to survive circus life.  In that regard and in many others, the school has been a resounding success. There are several things about the Academy of Circus Arts that are completely unique.  The audition process is more liberal than most professional circus programs in that it accepts students of any age over 18.  Students perform weekly in opening and finale numbers starting from day one. Use-full skills in rigging, erecting the tent, rope splicing, costuming, and apparatus construction are all part of the course focus.  By the end of the course, all the students will have produced an act for hire and more than 85% of the graduates will be contracted for the following season.  To my knowledge, it is the only travelling circus school for adults in the world.

Students range in skill levels from beginners to seasoned artists developing new skills.  Though the school capacity is up to 15, this year there are 11 students. An Austrian, Belgian, 5 English, A Scott, An Aussie and 2 Americans.  Instruction in aerial apparatus, acrobatics, handbalancing, rola bola, slackrope, tightwire, hula hoop, juggling, clowning and dance is given by a team of 7 circus professionals.  On non-show days, students begin training at 7:30am and finish at 9:00pm with only brief lunch and dinner breaks.  Show days usually mean 5 performances per day with a 4 hour training session as well.  Needless to say, the course is grueling.  So much so, that the hammering of 120 odd stakes required to set the tent is considered time off.  Those who finish the course are transformed both physically and mentally.

           

            Outside, Our German student, Marianus Neyrinck, is on the tent opening the kingpole vents to release some of the hot air that’s been stagnant inside the bigtop. He has become a genuine Macgyver, taking on the water supply problems and learning how to fix anything with a stick of gum and a paper clip.  Marianus is also one of our best student performers.  With his double Diablo act solid, he is working on adding a third Diablo into the routine.  We are beginning our third month and already we have student acts in aerial silks, corde lisse, hula hoop, Diablo, hatchet throwing, and handbalancing performing in the shows.  Students who are not ready with their solo act are performing in the opening, finale and the ensemble vaulting number while they prepare their routines.

Inside the bigtop there are groupings of students with coaches, working on tumbling on one side, slackrope on another side and swinging trapeze in the ring.  Steven, the American who started the course with absolutely no experience and about 40 pounds overweight, is executing standing Front tucks with Xiechang, the acrobatic coach from the Chinese state Circus.  Soon they will begin their evening workout.  Tired and sore, they will trudge through an exhausting regimen of exercises like good soldiers for their cause. Bedtime is always welcome, but somehow there is still energy to laugh and socialize at the end of the day. This is a necessary reprieve from the constant discipline. 

Now the directors of the Show, both myself and my husband, David Jones, were once students. Almost a decade later and true to the school’s claim, I’m still performing and using many of the skills I learned on the course.  The school has grown in size and reputation since then.  David and I are taking what we learned from our own experiences and bringing into the course a fresh perspective.  Keeping with the rigid fitness standards that were in force when we attended, we have also prioritized injury prevention, innovation and form.  The course program is more creatively flexible taking influences from new and traditional circus.

If you would like to learn more about Festival Circus tours or for information on Academy of Circus Arts auditions, please go the website at www.academycircusarts.co.uk.