It’s a new year at Prescott Circus, and a new generation of eager and able circus stars is on the scene! In January, we returned to our 4 partnering school sites: Parker, Piedmont Avenue, Laurel, and Manzanita (with students from Manzanita SEED and Manzanita Community.)
Prescott Circus has proven to be very popular at Parker Elementary, as we are teaching a large cohort of 35 students, 6 returning from last year. Teaching Artists Texas Holly, Sara Moore, and Demarcello Funes are working to build the foundation for another successful year at Parker.
Piedmont Ave. circus juggling practice. Never Give Up!
At Piedmont Avenue Elementary, we have 29 students, 7 returning from last year. Teaching Artist Jamie Coventry and site director Helen Garfinkle jumped right into program on the first day. Their students played games, were introduced to juggling, and created handshakes to present to their peers for their first “performance.” “This is going to be a good year,” reported Coach Jamie.
The students at Laurel similarly got right down to business on their first day, creating and performing a one-ball juggling routine. Teaching Artist Natasha Kaluza, staff member Ceara Walton (former Prescott Clown), and site director Helen Garfinkle (Laurel School teacher) have the pleasure of teaching a group of 26 students, 6 returning from last year. “I can already see we have talented, enthusiastic clowns on the way,” boasted Coach Natasha.
Coach Texas leads a game with Manzanita circus students to “get the ball rolling”.
Our first weeks at Manzanita SEED/Community were also successful. 32 bright and excited students signed up for circus, 5 of whom returned from last year. Coach Texas Holly and Coach Tyler Parks will again be offering their expertise to teach and inspire this year’s clowns.
Ceara Walton teaching the new hip hop dance to the Parker circus students.
All of our Spring programs have had special guests this year also. Ceara Walton, who also coaches at Prescott Elementary, has been visiting all the sites since January and teaching the students a hip hop dance in preparation for our program wide Showcase (see below). Students from the Prescott Circus Performance Company from Prescott Elementary have also been visiting all of the different groups. The shared classes include student lead warm ups, team building games, and skill sharing.
Prescott and Laurel school students practice the hip hop dance together!
By all accounts, 2014 is off to a promising start and we are beyond excited for the year ahead!
Save the Date!
Showcase 2014 is Saturday, March 22nd at Oakland Technical High School. Showtimes: 11:30am and 2:00pm. 2 Free Shows featuring students from all across Oakland performing juggling, acrobatics, clowning, hip hop dance, and much more! More details coming soon!