Circus Summer Camp teaches kids the art of performance

For Anna Owen, 12, performing was just as natural as walking.

After stepping into a pair of stilts, she was headed off across the floor.

Like many kids, she has a natural gift.

The Circus Summer Camp at Circus Arts Conservatory can help kids discover such skills, but it is also intended for those who have never performed before.

A visit to the camp will reveal students learning the ropes — or perhaps making their tentative first climbs up the aerial silks — as they prepare to present everything they’ve learned, in the format of a circus show, to their families on the last day of camp.

Photo by Ian Swaby

According to instructor Ryan Weston, the Circus Arts Conservatory is a niche offering and a rarity, the only such circus school in the whole local area, even when it comes to locations like Tampa and St. Pete.

It’s the only place where kids have the chance to swing about 25 feet above the floor (with a safety harness and net) on the trapeze, while also learning acts which also include the rolling globe, aerials, rolla bolla, trampoline, wire walking, clowning and juggling.

Rare opportunity

The camp offers students a taste of what they can learn from the conservatory, including its Sailor Circus Academy, its magnet programs that it hosts in companionship with Booker High School and Sarasota High School and its recreational classes for kids and adults.

Some students have gone on to perform in professional capacities.

Rikki Hettig-Rolfe Meaux, the manager of the camp, said camp is also beneficial for the counselors as well, who are students at Sailor Circus Academy.

“They get to choose the theme of their act, and they get to choose the music for their act, and they get to choose the tricks for their act, and I love watching them be creative,” she said. “I love watching them, seeing what they choose, and helping them get better at their job.

Photo by Ian Swaby

Jon Griggs, a former circus performer and the facilities maintenance and safety manager at Circus Arts Conservatory, said the programs are also helpful for other reasons.  

“The people that don't necessarily continue with circus skills — it teaches them a lot of discipline about physical activity, and they carry that over into their regular lives,” he said.

The skills also intersect with another field as well — sports.

Weston, who is the lead coach for acrobatics, is also a 2000 Olympic alternate, an eight-time national trampoline champion, a USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame inductee and a former coach and artist for Cirque du Soleil.

“Athletes make the best circus artists, because you can teach a gymnast how to swing on trapeze; they’ve already got the strength, they have the flexibility, they have the body awareness. They have all the foundation necessary to be a great circus artist," he said. 

He said he is pleased by the conservatory moving in a direction of having kids be able to compete if they desire.

Photo by Ian Swaby

Campers said they didn't take the experiences at the camp and conservatory for granted. 

“It brings my passion out,” said Amelia Guard, 10. “I like that I can do things that some people can’t do, and it’s unique.”

Although she said she found the acts "very challenging at first," she said everything is easy for her now, with the mini trampoline and web being her favorite acts. 

Photo by Ian Swaby

Owen has been attending camps since she was 7, but later started in the conservatory’s Gold Troupe. At first, she was involved in gymnastics, but eventually quit to focus entirely on circus arts.

“It's a little bit challenging, but it's mostly just fun,” she said. “I don't like competing. I would rather just perform in front of people, and I still get to use my skills.

She is interested in one day working at the Circus Arts Conservatory, like Siena Hartzell, 26, a coach at the academy and a former camp attendee.

At age 10, Hartzell began attending at the recommendation of a neighbor.

“I came to a show and was immediately hooked,” she said.

She continued to attend the program until her graduation at age 18, and was certified as an EMT before returning as a full-time employee.

“I just love it so much, and it brings me a lot of joy. If you love what you do, you never work a day in your life, so I don't feel like I'm really working that much,” she said.

“It's a phenomenal camp, very secure,” said Katie Tennyson, whose daughters Hannah and Adelaide Tennyson attend the camp. “They communicate everything. The show is incredibly impressive. It's my kids' favorite camp, I would say ... It's crazy how much they can learn in just a week."