Everyone Should Go To Circus School
We have all dreamed about running away to join the circus but most of us outgrow that fantasy by about age eight.
The closest I’ve come to fulfilling this fantasy was working for Cirque du Soleil one summer as an usher- crazy people gave me a headset and extra responsibility- moohaha….
But I decided to take the next step last night.
I am sore as hell but I loved it!
I bought a single class with Cirque-ability through Groupon and had to use it before the end of the year. If I froze from my fear of heights, I figured I had nothing to lose but $15.
I had to book in advance and was lucky enough to get in before they closed for the holidays.
The hardest part was probably finding the building itself. They have very specific instructions to print out their map and directions otherwise you will likely not find them- and they are right. At one point I gave myself five minutes to find them and then I would leave. Thankfully I looked up and found them.
It was not what I expected. They advertise themselves as an “aerial, acrobatic and fitness studio” but somehow I was envisioning flying through the air. The studio is small but has everything you need.
I was early so I went up to the loft area to wait- and proceeded to intimidate myself when I snuck glances at the class before us.
There was no way I was going to be able to do what those girls were doing. Thankfully I didn’t have to.
There were 12 of us altogether and people stuck close to their friends. I, of course, went on my own so I just stared at the supports.
What surprised us all was how much we would learn to do. The class was split in two and we took our turns on the static trapeze, the hoop and finally silks.
One of the hardest things to do was getting on the apparatus itself. I ended up in the “slow” group. Yay. I felt the pain of the girl who just couldn’t get on them- that fear had crossed my mind when I watched the instructor demonstrate the tricks so effortlessly.
There is definitely a physical element to it but I also had to convince myself mentally that these were things I was capable of doing. If these girls could, why couldn’t I?
I was doing okay until we got to the silks. The one instructor was giving her group a bit of a boost- mine wasn’t that instructor. Damn. But at that point I my arms were tired and I needed food.
I felt pretty good when I left the studio. It was only after I sat down to eat that everything started to tighten up. Everything hurt. In class and in conversation with a friend who knows someone very dedicated to all things circus, it was conveyed you haven’t done it right until you hurt.
Well, I guess I did it right(ish) and now I am thinking about taking classes in the new year.
I have always wanted to learn how to do a handstand….
AngryEgg 