Be An Exchange Student with Circus Mojo, Summer 2013

Cultural Exchange in Germany with Circus Mojo Summer 2013

Circus Mojo is proud to announce a special opportunity for high school students to learn new skills, practice the German language and connect with teenagers from across Europe. Paul Miller has successfully partnered with Circus Pimparello of Germany for this cultural exchange for the past six years.

Circus Pimparello’s 2011 Trip to Circus Mojo:

Setting Up Circus Pimparello Tents:

Pimparello Teen Performer Highlight:

We will travel July 28 through August 18. The cost for this trip is $1,500; the majority of the cost is underwritten by the German Government, which partially underwrites the transportation, food and accommodations for this social exchange. Four spots remain with the potential of Covington Catholic or other Cincinnati-area German or Arts/Theater students joining the Circus Mojo staff and students.

A Message From Cultural Exchange Sponsor Circus Pimparello

We are the “Verein JuKi – Zukunft für Kinder und Jugendliche e.V.“ (“JuKi – Association Future for Children and Young People“). In Circus Pimparello we unite meeting, learning, teaching, nature, circus and pedagogic. Our association is non-commercial and has the official recognition as an organization that independently supports social work with young people. Our association was founded in March 1998 with the aim of offering activities for children, young people and families, where they can have new experiences.

Our task is to make the kids and young adults hungry for life: we want to make them curious about themselves, to others and to their environment. Our circus work is a lot more than teaching artistic disciplines such as juggling, acrobatics and balance. Using artistic devices like dance, theatre and rhythm we want to teach young adults to develop their own creative feat. This is why we are the “new circus.” Circus Pimparello gives space to young people so they can realize and live their ideas, dreams and skills through circus work.

We guide young people through a shaping process in art and culture using circus. Our goal is for kids and young adults to find their own tools to offer them a way to navigate through the complexities of society.

It’s important for us that kids and young adults develop a natural joy in movement through circus. Many times the young adults discover a so-called motion study learning field.

We offer a safe sphere for young people on our circus farm. They try things and in this way they experience the creative possibilities for positive development. The embedded place in nature is healing and inspiring. Our 70 animals (horses, donkeys, alpacas, deer, sheep, goats, pigs, rabbits, geese, chicken and cats) are also used in a pedagogic and therapeutic way.

In our circus we have rich and poor, disabled and abled, socially underprivileged and sheltered, immigrated and German, learning handicapped and gifted kids and young adults. All of them get to know each other. Those pretended opposites are dissolved in the work with circus. Every young person gives his individual skills to the group to create a social cooperation, which is marked with mutual respect and appreciation. Thereby, the kids and young adults are proud of having built something on their own.

We promote engagement with the qualification of the young adults to the so called “circus youth trainer.” We offer extensive courses in different circus disciplines, presentation and pedagogic. Our engaged teenagers are motivated because of the space they have to realize their own dreams and visions.

In 2010 Circus Pimparello was awarded with the “Werkbund Label” for its integrated circus work with kids and young adults. The “Werkbund Label” is given to projects and initiatives that distinguish themselves through outstanding innovative or artistic qualities and social or political prototypical features.

Aims of our circus pedagogic:

1. Development of personality
Circus pedagogic promotes and strengthens kids and teens to discover, accept and display their own personality. Circus pedagogic works through the positive confirmation with artistic, physical and cognitive talents and does not concentrate on deficits. It also shows borders but it encourages youth to expand or to blow them.

2. Development of the group
A goal of circus pedagogic is to unfold mutual trust, to take responsibility for oneself and the rest of the group. There is room for real teamwork to grow on this base. Competences like respect, acceptance, the ability to take criticism and to solve conflicts, furthermore the ability to cooperate and communicate with others. To succeed, everybody has to deal actively with oneself, the group and the circus techniques.

3. Joie de vivre
The fascinating fact of circus pedagogics is the combination of vitality and mindfulness. The fun of doing things together helps to build vital energy and liberating laughter. Desire for exercise and letting go, experiencing focused moments and to flourish playfully are connected.

4. Mutual learning
Circus pedagogic wants to encourage the artistic expansion of each individual of the group. Participation is a major feature of the learning process. Learning from each other and with each other leads to artistic-aesthetic results.

Contact circusmojo@gmail.com for more details on this unique opportunity!

Motivation: Circus Mojo-Style

Three different gigs all in the same day for three unique audiences…  The first a public school, the second, a spring carnival in a medical setting, and the third, one of a 12 week series for wards of the state. Mood Disorder, PTSD, Oppositional Defiance Disorder, ADHD, Reactive Explosive Disorder, Reactive Detachment Disorder. Physical and sexual abuse victims, “The Saddest Boy in the World.” are some of the diagnosis’ for this last group.

#1 May 9 we performed for more than 600 kids at Ft Wright Elementary for the “Greatest Scores On Earth” Pre-testing motivational assembly with the children from FT Wright’s Circus Mojo classes. The day before we offered a similar show for the student of Beechwood Schools.

From 600+ public school kids to 50 kids in a psyche unit, to 12 wards of the state, circus is a tool for motivation and connection.

Our second event of the day was for the Spring Carnival at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Psychiatric Unit in North College Hill where we offered a bit of performance and hands-on opportunities for success. To see a teenage girl learn to spin a plate with cuts and burns all over the arm she was using was an amazing sight to behold. When I say amazing, I mean it was profound to see a girl who had inflicted these wounds to her own body, behaving with such delight after learning how to spin a plate. It went beyond a “trick” and even better, this person happened to form a bond with her teacher, Sharon Alvarez Miller. (Sharon learned many circus skills in Mexico and has been working with Circus Mojo for more than a year. Our other staff members have been around the world performing on stage as well as for detention centers, enhancing the overall scope of experience needed to connect with this population.)

Our last event of the day was our third class with the young men from the Children’s Home of Northern KY (CHNK) or Chunk as they call themselves. The litany of syndromes and disorders at the top of this blog all came from the pre-session meeting with the staff. (We are hosting two twelve week sessions with CHNK and are working to track behavior and attitude progress) I share our biggest achievement with this group – there was a boy who was obstinate; HE DID NOT WANT TO PARTICIPATE! I cracked a few jokes hoping he would crack… but to no avail; it was just not working. A bit later, I was trying to get a song on my iPhone for the act and my phone froze, so I asked for his help. He was resistant at first, but then decided (albeit begrudgingly) that it looked like fun to help out with the tunes… “Maestro can you please rewind the song?” Then he did it. In the Circus Mojo way of engagement we choose the toughest people to work with and once they fall in love//line all others follow.

And please, don’t even get me started on the 21 OB/GYN third-year Residents we hosted for an all-day retreat. These folks had been one of the toughest events I’ve ever worked! Tune in next time to see how the Doctor’s gig went!

Gratefully,
Paul Miller

Everything I Need to Know, I Learned at Circus Mojo (Part 2)

I’m 35 years old. I’ve gone skydiving in Indiana, whitewater rafting in West Virginia, mountain hiking in Alaska, snorkeling in Hawaii and have felt the mist of Niagara Falls in Canada. One thing these all have in common is that they took place prior to my having two beautiful children in 2003 and 2005. Obviously, my life changed, not to mention the havoc that was wreaked on my body. I mellowed out.

I’ve been an apprentice for several months now at Mojo, and so I’ve been working very hard to train my muscles (and tame any fears/apprehension/etc – it can be intimidating to step out of your comfort zone) to be able to do things I’ve never done before.

But this past weekend – you guessed it, at Circus Mojo – I learned an important lesson. Neither childbirth nor age can hold a person back from something they want to accomplish. I saw this in two instances.

The first was during the Advanced Circus class on Saturday morning, when I met Emily, a friendly acrobat instructor that Pauly so kindly has brought into the Mojo atmosphere to train us all further on gymnastics. The class (about 20 of us) split into three rotating groups of juggling, walking the tight wire and training with Emily.

It was during this time that the important lesson we’ve all heard about being able to do anything became an “ah-ha” moment for me. Granted, I have these often, as I’m a creative through-and-through, but since I joined Mojo, there’s been this high-pitched voice in the back of my mind asking me if I’m too old to start this, and questioning if it’s too hard. I think this voice is common for others as well, hence the reason I’m sharing this with you.

So, three things that Circus Mojo helped me accomplish on a bright and chilly Saturday morning: handstand (without a wall! Thank you Emily!), several new juggling tricks that involve passing rings with one- to three other jugglers (Thank you Donald!), and holy smoke, I actually walked across the tight wire (Thank you Kaitlyn, Andrew and Adam!). Unbelievable. So I sort of feel like if I can do this, anyone can. You just have to want it bad enough. I’m also toying with the aerial silks, which seems like a distant dream…part of me thinks it’s just too hard given my age/weight/flexibility, but then my audacious side counters that thought with the notion that those are simply excuses. Stay tuned.

Wolfgang Bientzle performing on the gym wheel during a private party at Circus Mojo.

Saturday morning was one big instance put together. The other was Saturday night, when I met the incredible gym-wheel performer from Germany, Wolfgang Bientzle. I’ve been hearing about Wolfgang since I became a Mojo apprentice – this man is 45, has performed and coached for Cirque du Soleil, has won eight world champion titles, 11 European champion titles and more than 60 German champion titles for this art form. Obviously he’s no longer in his 20′s, but during Saturday night’s show (see circus pictures here) for 200 Jewish YP’s (Event by Access/Mayerson Family Foundation) I watched Wolfgang perform (as very nearly as I could through the curtain backstage) and felt inspired by his age and skill. Audience members were letting out little screams as he commanded the wheel this way, then threw his body that way.

What does all of this mean? No excuses. Circus teaches us that anything can be done!

Enthusiastically,
Cherie Dawn

Circus Mojo Hosts the Accidental Circus with Dante’s Gypsy Circus

Friday, May 18, 2012, join Circus Mojo and Dante’s Gypsy Circus as we host The Accidental Circus for an evening of Darwinism in Action & Luscious Cabaret. Collaborators since 2002, they are once again on the warpath to hilarity on their 2012 East Coast Tour. As ever, this show promises danger and humor, beauty and song, and weird social commentary ~ all in the first act.

The show will be at Circus Mojo, 322 Elm Street, Ludlow, KY. Performances by Circus Mojo and Dante’s Gypsy Circus! Tickets are only $15!
Doors open at 7:00; Show starts at 8:00.
Not quite an all ages show, this one is recommended 18+ due to creative cussing.
Visit www.dantesgypsycircus.com to purchase tickets today!

Ringling Brothers Circus in Cincinnati: A Week to Remember

We’ve known for months that the Ringling Brothers Circus was coming to Cincinnati this March. The week prior to the show’s opening, Pauly and Karen roamed the downtown streets sharing smiles and bringing a taste of what was to come:

On opening night, Ringling provided Circus Mojo with a generous number of tickets so that our crew could attend the show – and of course, it was the greatest on earth! The high-wire, the clowns, the wheel of death (!), tigers, elephants…thrilling, beautiful, and simply out of this world. What a surprise when, after the finale, the boss clown came out and took us on a backstage tour!

By the time the evening wound down and we had all returned home, I didn’t think the week could get any better. But it was only Thursday…as I drank my coffee the next morning and checked my email, I saw that Circus Mojo was going to perform on Friday night’s pre-show for the Ringling Brothers. Let me say it again because it feels so good: Circus Mojo was to perform for the pre-show for Ringling Brothers!

There are many stories to be told of that afternoon as several clowns joined Pauly and gang for a homemade lunch (thanks to Matt!), games, juggling and shared tricks. When I arrived at Mojo for our rehearsal, the room was full of rings flying through the air and there was an excitement that fit well with the show’s theme: “Fully Charged!”

Adam (left) juggles with a Ringling clown (right) as Pauly shows another performer how to walk on the giant red globe. Picture by Tres Kutcher.

The time went by in a blur as we prepared for our set, loaded two vehicles, flew across the bridge to Cincinnati, miraculously got past security and then before I knew it, we were backstage and set to go on in Ring Three. Two favorite things that I’d like to share about this: one, was seeing an elephant backstage with us. Living near one of the nation’s top-rated zoos, I see elephants fairly regularly, but this was surreal. The second great part was that the performers from Ringling were beautiful – not just physically. They welcomed our motley crew into their space with open arms and were incredibly supportive and friendly. I thank them for this.

Visit our facebook page to see more pictures from our Ringling Brothers experience, including our rehearsal and the pre-show in which our group performed juggling, hooping, poi and more.

Fully charged,
Cherie Dawn

Circus Arts for Healing

As I write this, I’m still wearing my costume from tonight’s Circus Mojo performance at a grief support group session. Pink shirt, purple leggings, etc. The only change is that I’ve kicked off my boots and let my pigtails down. Until I go to sleep, I’m guessing that the evening will still feel very present.

Tonight, we – Pauly, Matt and I – brought circus as a healing art to this special group of people who’ve lost loved ones. When I heard about the opportunity, I jumped on it, as I’m always looking for ways to give back. And it was just what I expected. When we entered the room for the evening, Pauly immediately invoked smiles from the dozens of children who were sitting front-row on the floor, with dozens more parents and helpers seated behind them. If you haven’t seen his hat routine, then I encourage you to look for it – this simple hat becomes a character itself, bouncing from head to hand to shoulder, to audience and then back again. The kids loved it (I loved it, too!).

Next, I hopped up and performed with my glow poi; it went well.

Matt, who has an ability to be spontaneously funny, took the stage next with juggling and stilt walking. Shortly after that we welcomed our audience to join us in spinning plates, walking on stilts, and balancing on the rolling globe. At least for an hour or so, grief was not at the forefront. I think, we were able to offer more than simply tricks and entertainment, but also a reprieve.

I’m grateful to have shared this evening with this group of warm people who opened their minds to experiencing things that were possibly new, and definitely silly.

As I wind down for the evening, I realize that this is the stuff that really does make the world a better place. Keep reading below to hear Pauly’s perspective on this unique evening.

Humbly,
Cherie Dawn

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“What, a circus at a grief event?!” Earlier that day Renee, Circus Mojo’s Operations Manager who holds the circus together, got a call at her home: “Will there be a clown in make-up?” a nervous caller asked.

The tension was thick as we entered the room…Half the room was red-eyed from crying in the past hour, a quarter didn’t want to be there (teens who were dragged out to deal with personal loss in a group setting), and the other quarter was children who needed a good laugh.

On our way in, I ran into the door and caused a scene. Slapstick is funny, and the kids laughed because they hurt and are delighted that someone else “hurts” too, although in a much different way.

After this, I entered slowly while playing a tune on the melodica. Then a few bits with the hat. First, I tossed it to a kid who doesn’t want to be there. One of my rules is to engage the tough ones.

I was thankful to the little giggler who was at the front of the group laughing – this gave others permission to others to enjoy something. Working in these unique environments is easy on some levels because we bring the unexpected. Adults laugh when they’re uncomfortable; kids laugh when they’re having fun…. Adults laugh when they see their kids having fun, which brings comfort.

Another thing I like to share with others, is this: when you’re frustrated, BREATHE. This evening we spun plates together; I encouraged everyone to not think about it too much as they became flustered while trying to spin the plates – but thinking won’t help you spin a plate.

By the end, all where smiling and had a achieved something special…even us, who get to bring JOY to those who need it.

Gratefully,
Pauly

Everything I Need to Know, I Learned at Circus Mojo (Part 1)

It was about an hour before show time as we – Pauly and the majority of the show’s cast – nailed down the final details of the performance list. If you’re not familiar with this, it’s when everyone works together to determine who will go on stage when, making sure that everything has a nice flow for the audience.

For this particular set, I was on stage five times: juggling three rings with a partner, spinning glow poi during a poi/diabolo piece, juggling scarves, belly dancing and finally simply posing and looking pretty for the audience while several performers worked their magic during the big finale.

After a few minutes discussing the line-up, it was complete, with one exception.

While I’m not one to complain, but I  had a problem: the scarf juggling was to happen just prior to the belly dance set, which required a drastic costume change. The only time I had was during a brief and spectacular juggling routine from Donald, who amazingly worked his way up to juggling seven balls.

“Pauly, I really want to juggle scarves,” I said, somewhat sarcastically, as he’d been teasing me about trying to get out of that particular routine since the day before, “but I don’t have enough time to change costumes.”

He replied, “what do you mean, you don’t have enough time? How about if you wear the belly dance costume during the scarf routine?” Well, that was the last thing in the world that I was going to do, so I simply said that I couldn’t be in the scarf routine.

Lesson #1 was about to be learned: never say you can’t.

Pauly and I agreed that since I needed to be in the scarf routine, and I wasn’t going to wear a coin bra during it (if for no other reason, the scarves could’ve caught on my coins! Eek!), perhaps I could slowly transition the costume throughout the show. So the costuming went something like this:

Ring juggling and poi = Circus Mojo T-shirt, pink skirt, black tights, high socks with stripes, black boots
Scarf juggling = Circus Mojo T-shirt over a black belly dance choli (shirt) and coin bra, black flared belly dance pants, minus the boots
Belly dance = choli, coin bra, pants, camel belt, coin belt, bare feet
Finale = Bam! back to the original costume

What a difference it can make, to be flexible and work together to make things happen! Pauly and I were able to successfully meet each other halfway. And the costume changes couldn’t have been done without were made much smoother with help from Karen, who masterfully hung my tapestry in a corner so I could have some privacy, and Lauren and Sharon, who helped me tie (and untie) things here and there for the belly dance costume.

Speaking of costumes, I loved the outfit that Sharon, Circus Mojo's resident aerialist, put together for this show.

This particular lesson was learned just in time for the Macy’s Arts Sampler 2012, during which Circus Mojo welcomed several hundred guests who not only enjoyed a free circus, but also got to try out the tight wire, spinning plates, aerial silks and more during the free workshop that followed. Check out pictures from the Macy’s Arts Sampler on our facebook page.

Til next time,
Cherie Dawn