Fredericton circus camp teaches kids tricks of the trade

FREDERICTON – For most kids, summer vacation is a chance to play with their friends all day. But some Fredericton campers are taking that to a whole new level.

The Charlotte Street Arts Centre is hosting the first Anglophone Circus Camp in Fredericton. Instructor Lodvi Bongers is teaching kids everything they need to know to join the circus.

“It could be rolla-bolla, the diablo, flower sticks, balance sticks, Chinese plates, juggling, you name it. It’s all there,” says Bongers.

Campers spend the morning learning the tricks of the trade. After lunch, they learn acrobatics and tumbling. It all leads up to a mini circus performance at the end of the week.

While the tricks are neat, instructors are hoping the kids pick up some bigger lessons.

“One of the real benefits of learning this type of performative art is that it teaches you patience,”  says Lisa Anne Ross, the director of arts development at the centre. “There’s all kinds of physical benefits as well, but there’s a sense of self confidence that can develop as well.

“When you master something that on the first day you picked it up and thought ‘this is impossible, I’ll never be able to do this’ and five days later you’re doing it — that’s an amazing feeling,”

Ross says the kids have shown great energy so far. They’re learning to focus in on skills and keep practicing, even if it takes a while to learning something new.

“That’s the wonderful thing about circus camp, is that all day long we’re trying new things, we’re taking risks, things are dropping, plates are going down, balls are going down but it’s all about picking it back up and trying again.”

Bongers agrees.

“Any seven-year-old is going to be buzzing, here and there… And the thing that’s really special about the circus I find, comparing it to other art forms, is it’s all about the small victories.”

The campers are definitely excited about the tricks they’re learning, but 12-year-old Molly Hall-Jarratt is hoping to take her circus skills to the next level.

“If you want to be in like, Cirque du Soleil, they could be like ‘do you know anything?’ and you could be like ‘yes, I went to circus camp! I can do all the stuff!’ and they would be like ‘you’re hired!’,” she says. “And then you’ll be a millionaire.”