Acrobatics, Aerial Dance, Fire Spinning, Unicycling and Clowning Around
In Portland, The Circus is Always in Town
Ordinary folks are getting involved in acrobatics, aerial dance, unicycling and general clowning around. Photo: Heather ZingerJune 15th, 2011
By Hannah Aronowitz
Double-decker bikes, fire-spinning clowns, flying trapeze artists and death-defying acrobatic stunts. In Portland, you don’t have to wait for the circus to come to town.
From concerts to parks, in studios and on the street, circus arts performers are taking over every inch of this city. For exercise, fun, a challenge and a treat, ordinary folks are realizing they don’t have to leave town to join the circus and are getting involved in acrobatics, aerial dance, fire spinning, unicycling and general clowning around.
The Wanderlust Circus is perhaps Portland’s largest collective of performers who join together to put on breathtaking shows involving an ever-evolving group of clowns, aerialists, acrobats, stilt walkers, contortionists, jugglers and unicyclists.
The acrobalance troupe Kazüm is one of the Wanderlust Circus’ star spectacles due to their impressive mix of human strength and tension, comedy and costumes.
Ulrikka Haveron founded Kazüm in 2005 after she found her way to Portland from Texas a few years earlier. She started taking classes at Do Jump!, a local company that creates a unique blend of theater, aerial work, dance, music and visuals.
“There was nothing like that in Texas,” she says. Coming from a dance background and with a tiny build, Haveron says it was way more fun to practice acrobalance—a blend of adagio (partner lifts, throws and tosses) and hand balancing.
“There were a lot of people playing around with it, people were interested, but I had a dream of something more organized,” she says.read more at:http://www.neighborhoodnotes.com/news/2011/06/in_portland_the_circus_is_always_in_town/
From concerts to parks, in studios and on the street, circus arts performers are taking over every inch of this city. For exercise, fun, a challenge and a treat, ordinary folks are realizing they don’t have to leave town to join the circus and are getting involved in acrobatics, aerial dance, fire spinning, unicycling and general clowning around.
The Wanderlust Circus is perhaps Portland’s largest collective of performers who join together to put on breathtaking shows involving an ever-evolving group of clowns, aerialists, acrobats, stilt walkers, contortionists, jugglers and unicyclists.
The acrobalance troupe Kazüm is one of the Wanderlust Circus’ star spectacles due to their impressive mix of human strength and tension, comedy and costumes.
Ulrikka Haveron founded Kazüm in 2005 after she found her way to Portland from Texas a few years earlier. She started taking classes at Do Jump!, a local company that creates a unique blend of theater, aerial work, dance, music and visuals.
“There was nothing like that in Texas,” she says. Coming from a dance background and with a tiny build, Haveron says it was way more fun to practice acrobalance—a blend of adagio (partner lifts, throws and tosses) and hand balancing.
“There were a lot of people playing around with it, people were interested, but I had a dream of something more organized,” she says.read more at:http://www.neighborhoodnotes.com/news/2011/06/in_portland_the_circus_is_always_in_town/
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