Author Archives: Circus Smirkus
The Power of Persistence
by Jennifer Carlo, Executive Director At the Winooski school district in Vermont, the circus has taken over the sixth grade! Visit one of the classrooms, and you’re bound to hear sixth graders discussing exactly how many steps it takes to build a circus tent. (It takes six steps to build one circus tent, by the way, but if every sixth grader completes a tent they will have done 132 tasks.) You’ll see them designing and creating posters for their upcoming circus performance, or practicing juggling or diabolo. Click here for a fabulous gallery of the posters! All of this helps kids learn the Power…
Head Coach Josh Shack Explains It All For You
Director of Programming Josh Shack has held many positions at Circus Smirkus. He was a camper, and then performed in the Big Top Tour, he’s been the tour production manager, as well as a residency artist. Last summer he added a new title to the mix: Advanced Camp Head Coach at Circus Smirkus Camp. This year, he’s working on developing new curriculum for the Advanced Performance Camp Programs for campers who are training at the highest level. “Smirkus is known for its performance,” Josh says, “and so I want to make sure our campers are getting the chance to really…
Green Mountain Knitting Guild Retreat
Smirkus Camp can be the perfect place for your retreat! Just ask the Green Mountain Knitting Guild! This group rented the Smirkus Camp facilities to run their weekend workshop; the common area was set up for their knitting circle, the dining hall and kitchen perfect for crafting their custom dyes (and the all important meal times!) and everyone had cost-friendly sleeping quarters. All set as the fall foliage was beginning to turn into a vibrant riot of color.
Star Drops in the Tents
Editor’s Note: This post was written by Camp Communications Intern Magdalene McCaffrey Under the blue and white stripes of Mamma Mia’s copula, the red, green, and pink silks are attached to the rigging hooks. In billowing lines, they’re pulled and secured as campers file into the tent. The campers take off their shoes and step onto the trocellen mat to sit on the ring curb. Coaches lead the kids in stretches as the rigging is finished, then they step into the center of the ring and pull themselves onto the silk. “We’ll be working on our star drops today! So let’s go over how to set…
Aaron’s Farewell Tour
Editor’s Note: This post was written by Anne-Marie Wood and Eric Schondorf, parents of 5th year trouper Aaron Schondorf Watch this video looking back on Aaron’s years with Circus Smirkus, created by Andy Bell. As we look forward to Aaron’s fifth and final season with The Big Top Tour, we can’t help recall driving up I-91 to Lyndon, Vermont in 2010 to take Aaron and his brother, Ethan, to the one-week summer Smirkus Camp session. Even though it was Aaron’s first time away from home, from the minute we walked onto campus, the Smirkus counselors and staff could not have been more welcoming…
Having a Ball at Camp
Editor’s Note: This post was written by Camp Communications Intern Magdalene McCaffrey “All right! Everybody grab a second ball and we can work on the next combination,” the class rushes to the front of the tent to the waiting carton of various juggling balls. A warm wind blows under the lifted walls of Lottie as the campers reassemble on the mats in varied lines. Grinning some begin to toss their balls, feeling the weight before coach Book Kennison has a chance to example the new combination. Some fall to the mat with light slaps and giggles fill the tent. “Okay,…
Local Talent Coming Back To Waltham
Editor’s note: This story first appeared in the Waltham Patch in Waltham, MA on July 23, 2019 and was written by Scott Souza WALTHAM, MA — Arlington High School rising sophomore Glenn Doyle has been told there could be quite a crowd of familiar faces from the Spy Ponder wrestling team for his homecoming this weekend. Only the 15-year-old won’t be showing off his skills on the mat — where he placed third at 106 pounds in Division 2 Metro States as a freshman this past winter — he will be showing off his skills as a clown and acrobat for Circus Smirkus…
Charles Keidel
Charles Keidel Acro Coach All Sessions Charles Keidel is a circus artist who just cannot seem to stand still, in the last year alone he has bounced from performing, creating, and tour booking an East Coast and Montreal reaching tour of Coated (2019), to performing in San Diego for a holiday season as a teeterboarding elf at SeaWorld, to Las Vegas where he trained and developed acts to compete in Viva Fest and debuted his first solo unicycle endeavor at Sanctuary in Chicago. Needless to say, a summer in the most magical corner of the world, coaching at Smirkus Camp is a much…
Georgie Johnson
Georgie Johnson Sessions: All Around Circus Camp, Sessions 1 & 2 Georgie Johnson is a circus artist, dancer, and choreographer. Beginning circus arts in 2010, she has studied at the New England Center for Circus Arts, Oberlin College, and L’Accademia Dell’Arte among other places. Georgie has shaped her passion for moving by exposing herself to a myriad of forms and techniques including circus, contact improvisation, flamenco, capoeira angola, contemporary dance, and physical theater. Over the span of her career she has choreographed and performed solo dance trapeze, devised, directed and assisted collaborative projects, installations and films and taught circus and movement in various capacities….
Smirkus Features Local Rising Star
Editor’s note: This story first appeared in the Caledonian Record in St. Johnsbury, VT on June 30, 2019 and was written by Staff Writer Amy Ash Nixon ST. JOHNSBURY — The circus is coming to town! Circus Smirkus is making a two-day stop in St. Johnsbury, presented by Catamount Arts – July 2 and 3. Two shows are planned each day, at 1 and 6 p.m., and the stage is the grounds of the Green Mountain Mall, on Route 5. One of the troupe members is local student Asom Hayman-Jones, 17, of Glover, who is a rising senior at St. Johnsbury Academy. This is…