MY MEMORIES OF CIRCUS CAMP
by Mia Jones (9)
My parents sent me to T.C.A Camp for 2 weeks and it was AMAZING!!! I learned so many new things. Our day was broken into 4 classes with 2 healthy snack breaks and lunch. I learned from the artists from Flam Chen, and Odaiko Sonora.
First, we do Taiko drumming with Odaiko Sonora, which is really fun!! Taiko means BIG drum! The BIG drums were made of old wine barrels with stretched cow skin over the top. To hit the BIG drums you use a bachi. The bachi are thick wooden sticks. We also used seashells and other Japanese inspired instruments to make rhythms.
After Taiko drumming we have snack break, healthy snacks like hummus with bell peppers are provided- YUMMY!!! Now, that we have some energy it’s time for Aerial Silks.
In Aerial Silks you are up in the air wrapped around silk. There are different things you can do like climb up the silk and then come down like a mermaid. At the end of Session 1 we had a Recital for our parents- I did the splits in the air. My parents were amazed and my brother was cheering me out loud.
Right after Aerial Silks is lunchtime. You can bring your own lunch or you can pre-order a lunch from EPIC Café. They make really good food and cookies.
My favorite thing is Stilts! When you put on your stilts someone helps you up, the first thing you have to do is stand next to the towers to learn how to balance holding on and zero point and how to step in place. Once you feel good you can start to walk. You also have to learn how to fall which can feel scary but it’s not, it is really fun! At the end of the week we get to walk to the park on our stilts. You can climb stairs and even go down the slide if you are real safe. We even played freeze tag on stilts.
When stilt time was over- you guessed it- another healthy snack! Now at the end of each day the last class changes. It can be Globe, Poi, Juggling or Clowning!
Globe is walking on a huge sphere ball called a Globe. This requires patience and balance. This was the hardest to me. Don’t worry a counselor/artist is always there to spot you.
In Poi we all stand in a circle to practice spinning our Poi. Poi means ball in Maori a Polynesian culture and language. You get to use a soft cloth wrapped with duct tape and a nylon string to practice with. Because the real balls are hard and the real string can even be chain links, you don’t want to learn with that it is not safe and will hurt when you knock yourself in the head or body.
When we learn to Juggle we use tennis balls filled with rice wrapped with colored duct tape. But, you can use many things to juggle like scarves, discs, clubs, anything you can hold and catch with your hands you can juggle. If you get real good you can juggle with other people making passes back and forth.
Clowning was super fun too. It wasn’t like you might think just learning to be a clown with a red nose and big shoes. We learned different ways to have arguments using gibberish language. The words don’t make sense but you learn that your own movements and even the tones you use are just as important as words; this is your body language.
Now you have heard about it why don’t you check it out for yourself next summer! Check Rhythm Industry’s website to find out about upcoming shows and classes you can take and learn circus arts too. I promise you will love it!
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AND HERE’S GERRY LOEW’S SHORT FILM OF CIRCUS CAMP 2010!