People who have seen a performance by world-renowned Cirque du Soleil cannot help but notice the similarities to Saint Paul’s own Circus Juventas. Those similarities are likely to become more pronounced with a new partnership between the two companies. Circus Juventas is one of a handful of youth circuses to be chosen by Cirque du Soleil as a training center for emerging circus professionals.
During its 28 years in Highland Park, Circus Juventas has seen hundreds of students become professional performers, according to Dan Butler, who with his wife Betty Butler directs the youth circus school that they founded in 1994.
Butler said there is a growing interest in the circus arts throughout the world. Nearly 1,000 students are enrolled at Circus Juventas this year. The new collaboration with Cirque du Soleil “puts us on the map globally,” said Butler, who trained as a trapeze artist with Ringling Brothers in the 1970s. “Cirque is the pinnacle of everybody in our industry.”
“It’s amazing what they have built (at Circus Juventas),” said Andre Lachance, the Cirque du Soleil program director who earlier this year visited the youth circus’ big top on Montreal Avenue. “You can see the passion and drive they have. The quality of the program and the people really impressed us. We can do great things together.”
According to Lachance, trainers from Cirque du Soleil’s headquarters in Montreal, Canada, will travel to Saint Paul some time in 2023 to begin conducting NexGen development workshops for young artists and trainers in Circus Juventas’ professional development program. Just four other youth circuses were selected for similar partnerships, including those in Brattleboro, Vermont; Avignon, France; Budapest, Hungary; and Maia, Portugal.
Circus Juventas managing director Rob Dawson performed and coached with Cirque du Soleil for 21 years. He was behind the invitation to Cirque to visit Circus Juventas last October and see its advanced students perform. “They were amazed by the facility,” Dawson said. “They found our students to be very professional already.”
One advanced student at Circus Juventas who is considering applying for the Cirque du Soleil workshop and eventually becoming a professional circus performer is Lindsey Johnson. Johnson, 21, who grew up in Macalester-Groveland, was introduced to the circus arts at age 7 at a Circus Juventas summer camp. Although she is working toward a degree in graphic design, “my real passion is circus,” she said.
Dawson and Sun Yanhong will co-direct the Circus Juventas program for advanced students who are pursuing a professional career in the circus. Yanhong is a Cirque du Soleil alum and a former performer with China’s Flag Circus.
Circus Juventas’ professional development program is a two-year course that augments advanced training in the circus arts with instruction in theater, dance and injury prevention. It also teaches career skills such as contract negotiations.
One advanced student at Circus Juventas who is considering applying for the Cirque du Soleil workshop and eventually becoming a professional circus performer is Lindsey Johnson. Johnson, 21, who grew up in Macalester-Groveland, was introduced to the circus arts at age 7 at a Circus Juventas summer camp. Although she is working toward a degree in graphic design, “my real passion is circus,” she said.
Johnson specializes in dance trapeze and silks. Silks involves climbing several stories up on silk drapes and performing acrobatics high above the ground. In addition to such skills, she credits Circus Juventas for teaching her resilience and a solid work ethic.
Aidan Chang, 21, of Highland Park is also planning to apply for the Cirque du Soleil workshop. Chang devotes about 40 hours per week to training at Circus Juventas. He hopes to go professional someday with Cirque or another troupe. Chang said he has learned some 20 disciplines in the four years he has been enrolled at Circus Juventas, including what he described as “throwing and catching people.”
Circus Juventas’ programs for less advanced students will continue as usual. “There are no tryouts,” Butler said. “All students can find something they do well and build their self-confidence.” Training under the big top goes on year-round. The school has a large coaching staff and a production crew that includes script writers, set designers and builders, costume designers, and sound and lighting designers.
Plans are now in the works for the circus’ 2023 season, which kicks off in April with the production Time Travel. The spring show will feature four stage sets and more than 1,300 costumes for the 740 beginning and intermediate students who will be performing. The summer show, Arthurian Legends, will follow in July and August.
For more information, visit circusjuventas.org.
— Carolyn Walkup
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