Posted 6/26/2008 6:02:59 AM by Ed Limbach
News from Joe Scott viewed 4582 times
Friday, June 27, 2008 - St Louis
Great story about five teenagers and horses with Circus Flora
THE CIRCUS LIFE: Warrenton family trains and rides with Circus Flora
 | | Bill Barrett photo -- Jennifer Buck leads Trixie into the ring with riders Elliana Henthoff-Killian and Claire Kuciejczyck-Kerman. |
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By Joe Scott
Wednesday, June 25, 2008 4:05 PM CDT
These five teenagers do things on horses that most riders don't do on purpose - back flips, somersaults, dances, vaults, handstands, juggling.
In the center of it all, the one turning with the longe line in the center of the Circus Flora ring, is Jennifer Buck of Warrenton. Jennifer trains riders with the Ianna Spirit Riders and choreographs the performance for Circus Flora.
Perhaps most amazing is that four of the five performers had no experience around horses three years ago."That's part of the program, that they'll learn all these life skills from being responsible and taking care of the horses," Jennifer said.
Some just want to perform. Others are considered "at-risk" students. They don't always come in with positive attitudes, Jennifer said.
"You see them develop relationships with each other, start to trust one another," she said. "And they relate to the animals. It's hard not to love horses. I think that changes them."
That's why each summer Jennifer and her family - daughter Sophie and husband Dave - run away from their home in Warrenton to join St. Louis' own circus, Circus Flora.
On Friday, they waited outside the Big Top along with famous circus families, whose big-top traditions go back generations. There's the flying Wallendas, now famous for their family's high-wire act, who trace their family's circus roots as far back as 1780. Giovanni Zoppe, as Nino the Clown, is a sixth generation performer; the flying Cortes family, which goes back four generations.
Dave sits nearby in a folding chair, in shorts and a T-shirt, watching and waiting for the show to start.
The Bucks now have their own circus tradition. Sophie, now 3 years old, rode a pony in with the whole troupe last year, and now comes in with the troupe as part of the Sherwood Forest story. Circus Flora weaves a story in along with its performances, and this year it's the tale of Robin Hood. It's a European circus tradition.
"My favorite part is getting to tell people my daughter is in the circus," said Dave, the Warrenton High School principal who will be Wright City School District's assistant superintendent in the upcoming school year.
"She just loves it," he said. After shows, Sophie runs around the lot, playing and eating with kids from the other circus performers.
The learning experience doesn't start and stop with the youth or children, he said.
"In a circus, everyone helps one another," Dave said. "Everyone pitches in and learns from one another. The skills people have here are amazing."
Each student has his or her own challenges. One comes from a family of 12, so it's hard for his parents to get him to practice on time three days a week. Another doesn't have much parental support. Others need work on flexibility or strength.
The Ianna Spirit Riders group is culled from 12 teens who train year-round as part of a program through the Circus Day Foundation and Therapeutic Horsemanship in Wentzville, where Jennifer is equine director.
Jennifer started equestrian vaulting at age 14 and founded an equestrian vaulting team at William Woods University in Fulton. She taught a vaulting class at the university and has performed and coached on national and international vaulting teams.
Laura and David Balding, owners of Circus Flora, asked her to train youth in equestrian vaulting.
"To us, it's very important to have equestrian vaulting as part of the circus," said David Balding. "They're helping keep alive the tradition of equestrian vaulting. It goes to the very roots of circus history."
Jennifer said the circus was never on her radar. But Circus Flora is dedicated to European-style traditional circus, dedicated to keeping circus history alive.
Performing is a big motivator for the students. Most are in the St. Louis Arches, an acrobatic troupe for youth based at St. Louis' City Museum. Most are from St. Louis, although one lives in Troy.
One of the riders, Claire Kuciejczyck-Kerman, plays Maid Marion and is in many acts throughout the performance, although all participate in different acts throughout the circus.
During Friday's performance, the guys performed Cossack riding, touching ground, vaulting over the horse as it ran, doing handstands and flips.
Elliana Henthoff-Killian, Claire and Rosie Eastman started off with gymnastic moves, balancing, splits, and dances all bouncing in time with the horse's trot and canter.
Lemond Carmickle and Matthias Staley do Cossack riding, touching down on the ground, vaulting over the horse, mixing in handstands and flips.
Lemond finished with a back flip that went so fast it was hard to see how many revolutions he did. All were done to loud applause from the crowd.
"When I first started, I thought it would be easy," Lemond said. "Then, when I got up there, I thought I was going to kill myself."
Rosie is the only one with much horse experience.
"She's here every day all day long," Jennifer said. "She's cleaning out the stalls, bathing and feeding horses."
Rosie started at Circus Flora when she was 10, cleaning up after the animals. She's willing to put in the work because she loves performing.
"The feeling you get in the ring is great - people clapping and cheering for you," Rosie said. "Some people just love it. I'm one of them."
Rosie's mother, Christy Bertelsen, said it's exciting to watch her daughter in the ring.
"People who see her perform say, 'Isn't that scary?' It's not scary because it comes in stages," she said.
From Memorial Day weekend through June 22, Circus Flora and its performers' home was in a parking lot behind Powell Symphony Hall off Grand Avenue in downtown St. Louis. The large red and white tent was their work space.
"We live in a 35-foot horse trailer with about 12 to 14 feet of living space," Dave said. "We're right next to the goats and the horses."
Carlos Svenson has a trained goat act, and stays next door.
"The circus is like the U.N.," Dave said, noting that Svenson is from Sweden; the Zoppe family is Italian; the foot juggling family, the Poemas, is from Argentina; and the flying Cortes family is from Colombia.
"I took the kids to the movies to see 'Kung Fu Panda,' and there were kids from six different nationalities all in one row," he said. "It's great for Sophie to be exposed to all those different cultures."
Dave's days involve cooking for and entertaining up to 10 kids ranging in age from 7 to 18 - along with Sophie.
He takes care of the horses, too.
Circus Flora also has a road trip to Nantucket Island this year. Last year, they performed not only on Nantucket Island, but South Carolina, too.
What makes the travel and living in a horse trailer on a parking lot in the middle of a city parking lot worth it?
"Seeing them smile when they've done a great job," Jennifer answered. "Hearing the crowd cheer for them."
It's the calliope call of the circus.
"I love it," said Matthias, who started out juggling. "From a really young age, my burning desire has always been to run away and join the circus. This is what I've always wanted." -- Jessica Hentoff Artistic/Executive Director Circus Day Foundation www.circusday.org Office: 314-436-7676 Cell: 314-226-3633 Peace through pyramids! Harmony through handsprings! |
