on the town
Education MATTERS By Ryan G. Van Cleave
CIRCUS SCIENCE MAKES LEARNING MEMORABLE No doubt about it—if the circus world has a capital, it’s Sarasota, because that’s where John Ringling moved the Ringling Brothers Circus winter quarters back in 1927. Since then, generations of circus performers and support staff have called our community their home, forever impacting its social and economic life in profound ways. Launched in 1997 under a different name, The Circus Arts Conservatory honors this tradition and builds on it, too, by being the only 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational performing arts organization dedicated to sharing the entertainment, education, and enrichment of the circus arts in Sarasota. Their world-renowned Circus Sarasota presents annual performances in a one-ring, fivestar, European-style Big Top. And the Sailor Circus Academy, America’s longest-running youth circus, is known throughout the world as “The Greatest ‘Little’ Show on Earth.” But the most important commitment The Circus Arts Conservatory has may be its robust education and outreach efforts, which work wonders with local students and schools throughout the year. That commitment is being made easier, thanks to the $4 million renovation being done beneath the dome of the Sailor Circus Arena on Bahia Vista Street, which has housed years and years of amazing youth circus history. What’s astonishing is that the nearly seven decades of performances and educational activities have all been done without air conditioning. Thanks to private funds and a state grant, that’s going to change just in time for next year’s 70th anniversary of the Sailor Circus. But those funds are going to do more than just pay to cool the arena—they’re also going to cover the costs of replacing the current 1,500 individual chairs with retractable seating for that same audience size. In addition, they’re going to
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pay for new concrete flooring, and a new sprung performance floor, too. These changes will also allow people with disabilities of any type to more easily attend performances, classes, camps, and activities. This much-needed facility upgrade has Education Manager Karen Bell feeling ecstatic. Since 2012, The Circus Arts Conservatory has instructed more than 20,000 students from 30+ elementary and middle schools. “Once we have the new facilities,” says Bell, “we’ll be better equipped to handle many, many more students. Our dream is to have every elementary and middle school participate in our educational programming.” The circus-based classroom education programming used by Bell and fellow instructor Robin Eurich (who some might remember as Rusty the Handyman on WGN’s “The Bozo Super Sunday Show”) is based on a definition of arts integration provided by the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts: “Arts integration is an approach to teaching in which students construct and demonstrate understanding through an art form. Students engage in a creative process which connects an art form and another subject area, and meet evolving objectives in both.” For Circus Arts Conservatory teaching artists and educators, this means that they visit area schools and demonstrate circus acts, then engage with the students to better understand the relevant areas—like physics, engineering, or language arts— behind those acts.
