FEATURE
FEATURE
positive, productive activities
and behaviors which are not
otherwise available to them; to
build important leadership and
relationship skills; to develop
a sense of belonging, purpose,
and power; and to experience
excitement, uniqueness,
and appreciation for the
contributions they make to their
community. the students to return to the
neighborhoods they live in with
a new feeling of self-worth. To
offer them a place to express
themselves gives them the
opportunity to know themselves
and to recognize their individual
assets, offering them a positive
image of themselves and the
opportunity to create healthier
relationships in society. ...
Certainly part of what makes
the work ‘social circus’ is the
population that comprise
the participants. There is no
question that when circus
classes are offered to people in
marginalized situations, they are
labeled ‘social circus’ because
the activity is being offered
for the reason of giving them
a positive alternative to the
personal and social situations
they happen to be in. It is
meant to go deeper than just
teaching someone to juggle.
The intention is for the circus
activity to be a bridge to take
the participant from one point
in their personal and/or social
lives to another. The purpose of the social circus
is not to transform youth ... into
contortionists, clowns, trapeze
artists, etc. but to teach life
lessons, like Circus Harmony’s
theme of “teaching the art of life
through circus education.” When
you give youth the opportunities
to develop and become aware
of their capacities … and offer
them programs that open new
doors, giving them the possibility
of interacting with society in a
positive way, they can become
contributors to society instead
of 'social cases' living in at-risk
situations.”
Helizete Da Silva Rodrigues
Avrillon, Doctor of Anthropology
and Sociology, put it this way:
“Social circus goes beyond the
goal of giving spectators the
joy of seeing the glorification
of the human body performing
magnificent feats. Its intention is
firstly to give young performers
the power to break the label of
“good for nothing” or “stupid
kid” and accomplish something
extraordinary ... that empowers
Social circus is the appellation
applied to Mobile Mini Circus in
Afghanistan, Phare in Cambodia,
Circolumbia in Colombia, and
countless others. Cirque du
Soleil’s Cirque du Monde’s map
of social circuses, available on
its website, shows an incredible
spread of programs around the
world. The map explains which
programs are included: “As part
of its activities, the organization
offers a social circus program,
with the personal and social
development of the participants
as its primary goal.”
Whatever it is, social circus,
in general, is not meant to be
a gateway to a professional
circus career. But it can be! It
has been for a number of my
students and for students from
Cambodia, Colombia, Israel,
and other places. My personal
definition of social circus is the
use of teaching and performing
circus arts to build character
in individuals and build bridges
between communities in order
to motivate social change.
Right now, my advanced
students, the St. Louis Arches,
are performing with Circus
Flora, a professional one-ring
theatrical tent circus they
work for on an annual basis.
Helping me direct the Arches
this year is an alum of the
troupe, Sidney ‘Iking’ Bateman.
Iking’s hoop diving act with
his partner, Melvin Diggs, who
is also an alum, will also be
part of Circus Flora. The act
is on a short break from their
tour with Les 7 Doigts de la
Main’s Cuisine & Confessions.
The soundtrack for Iking and
Melvin’s hoop diving act is them
talking about growing up in St.
Louis and just waiting to be the
next person shot or arrested. It
was recorded before the Mike
Brown incident that literally
set Ferguson on fire. The
act symbolizes the hoops or
doorways they went through to
escape those circumstances.
Iking’s first plane flight was
to the 2005 AYCO festival in
San Francisco. At the 2009
AYCO Festival in Pennsylvania,
I remember Melvin speaking
to the assembled group saying
that if he weren’t in the circus,
he’d probably be dealing drugs.
Melvin and Kin were both
part of the Peace Through
Pyramids partnership with
Israel. Traveling in Israel helped
prepare them for living in a
foreign country when they went
to school at Ecole Nationale
du Cirque in Montreal. Now,
they are successful world-
renowned circus artists touring
the world! Another of our
students, Renaldo Williams,
from East St. Louis, is currently
working with Cirque du Soleil.
There are two students from
Phare in Cambodia attending
Ecole Nationale Du Cirque in
Montreal. One of the Galilee
Circus alums is at a Flic Circus
School in Italy. Members of
Circolumbia tour all over the
world.
This spring, we were able
to bring Peace Through
Pyramids to Ferguson thanks
to grants from the Regional
Arts Commission and the Arts
& Education Council of St.
Louis. Funding was augmented
by the Jewish Federation of
St. Louis, and we created
a Peace Through Pyramids
partnership with children
from Saul Mirowitz Jewish
Community School, which is
located in an affluent St. Louis
suburb. We created a show
with twenty-eight children. The
program was meant to help
participants learn circus arts,
define themselves as circus
performers instead of being
from a certain neighborhood,
work with people from different
socioeconomic backgrounds,
and change public perception
about young people from
Ferguson.
As I was leaving after the last
show, one of the Ferguson
moms pulled me over to share
with me just how much being
part of this social circus had
meant to her daughter. Their
family lives very close to the
Ferguson police station that
had been an epicenter for a lot
of the violence in the past year.
The girl learned to juggle in her
very first class. In the final show,
she hadn't dropped a ball in her
solo or partner juggling. This
little piece of circus success
had given her a very real feeling
of empowerment along with a
strong dose of pride and joy.
Social circus helps participants
connect with their own power
and potential.
One night of that first journey
to Israel, we stood around
watching my students do
somersaults over a campfire.
Rabbi Marc turned to me and
said “When I first invited you
to Israel, you said it was too
dangerous. I’m watching this
and I have to ask you, “What is
your definition of danger?!” I
honestly told him it was when
I felt we were not in control
of a situation. I knew my flying
children could safely leap over
a campfire. I didn’t know that
we would be safe in Israel. But
we took the risk anyway, and
it was the beginning of a great
social circus adventure that
has rippled out into the world
and continues to do so. Most
importantly, students from
both countries are performing,
living, and working all over the
world, still in touch with each
other and still inspiring people
wherever they go! They took
control of their lives and are
showing the world that anything
is possible. “Esse quam videri.”
Social circus is about helping
young people to overcome not
only gravity but labels and other
limitations placed on them
by society. It is about giving
children the power to define
themselves.
—JESSICA HENTOFF is the artistic/execu-
tive director of Circus Harmony, the social
circus organization she founded in 2001. She
has been teaching and performing circus
arts for 40 years and using circus arts to
motivate social change since she started the
St. Louis Arches youth circus troupe in 1989.
Her remarkable vision and use of circus arts
to build character and expand community
has brought about ground-breaking and
bridge-building programs like Circus Sa-
laam Shalom, which connected Jewish and
Muslim children, Far East Meets Midwest,
which combined Asian and Midwestern arts
and artists, and Peace Through Pyramids,
an ongoing collaboration between the St.
Louis Arches in the United States and the
Jewish/Arab Galilee Circus in Israel. These
trademarks of Circus Harmony are the
embodiment of the organization's mission to
help children "defy gravity, soar with confi-
dence, and leap over social barriers, all at
the same time."
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