Childhood dreams are flying high in downtown Windsor
S
itting front row centre. Watching a surreal
world come to life with a swinging storyline
and beautifully choreographed acrobats
flying weightlessly through the air. You can’t help
but wonder what it might be like to be a part of the
adventure.
Well, Windsor, here’s your chance: the circus is
coming to town, and it’s coming to stay. Circus
school, that is.
The Windsor Circus School will be located in
the historic Chelsea Building on Pelissier St.
beginning in early May. The building was built in
1925 to be the home of the YMCA. The Chelsea
housed the first co-ed community centre and
residential apartments. The downtown YMCA
served the community until the 1990s when it
moved to Victoria Ave.
Tara Linton loves that they’ve located the local
first-of-its kind school in a historic building.
“It’s a cool idea to reuse an older building,” said Linton. “Instead of
letting all these buildings go vacant, repurposing them for something new is
great for our city.
Joe Jelasic, co-owner of the Windsor Circus School said helping to
revitalize the downtown core was a part of why they chose the location for
the school.
“We love downtown and wanted to be part of bringing it back,” said
Jelasic.
The 42 thousand square foot school will offer instructor-directed classes
mirroring those of the world-famous Cirque de Soleil. Cirque originated in
Quebec and has exploded in popularity since the 1990s, growing from one
show to 19 in almost 300 cities around the world.
“Windsor is such an artistic and creative community and the school will
offer an outlet that didn’t exist here before,” said Jelasic.
The school will offer a creative take on fitness, including classes and
parties for both youth and adults. The class schedule was 60 per cent booked
before they even opened for business. “It’s exciting to see such an interest,
and we haven’t even technically opened our doors yet,” he said.
Instruction in aerial silks, aerial hoop (lyra), pilates, plate spinning,
juggling and an open gym are all on the menu to start with. The school will
also offer workshops, seminars and private parties.