Here's the "best of" our original show stills from the 2nd half of Toys Take Over, CircEsteem's 3rd Annual Team Circus. Look for our HD show clips of the first half all week!
It's a delight to see teens involved in producing, directing, choreographing, publicizing and enacting an entire circus arts show themselves. And these are extraordinary teens.
They've traveled the country, Germany and Switzerland performing hundreds of shows. They're not only excellent performers, they teach and mentor younger kids in CircEsteem's highly recommended classes and summer camps.
ChiIL Mama's own Du-Jay (11) and Sagezilla (8) have been involved with CircEsteem since fall of 2010 and love it! They've both acquired the skills for pre-team now and can be seen in the show, opening for their team mentors.
Sagezilla's contortionist tricks include going through juggling hoops!
We highly recommend CircEsteem for the playfully serious vibe, excellent caliber of instruction, and their commitment to multiculturalism and making circus arts affordable to all Chi-Town kids.
Du-Jay was shy and reluctant to even do a scene with a partner in class when he first began at CircEsteem. Now he has three shows under his belt, with a real audience and little stage fright. He has blossomed into quite the confident kid and uses his circus skills to break the ice in other social situations.
Four of the talented team kids are headed off to college in the fall with the help of scholarships and matching funds from CircEsteem's work/college program. If you'd like to take classes--available for toddlers to adults--or register for summer camp (slots are filling fast!), or make a donation to this rockin' non profit, then check out their main site here. For loads more CircEsteem coverage from ChiIL Mama, try the search bar in the top right and/or type CircEsteem in at ChiIL Mama's YouTube Channel.
*We've bartered a reduced fee for circus classes in exchange for video, photography & writing services. All opinions expressed in features are our own.
