The problem – How to enrich the body as well as the mind in K-to-12 schools.

The solution – Add circus arts to the curriculum.

I first met Jackie Davis in the mid-1990s during one of Wilton’s Arts and Film Festival Main Street events. She was performing as a strolling mime who had drawn an enchanted crowd of onlookers, including me. This was around 1996, the same year she founded Pine Hill School’s Hilltop Circus as a way to enrich the academic experience of that school’s elementary- and middle-school students in a manner that extended beyond the mere physicality of movement into the circus arts.

By 1999, with a core group of 11 of her then-teenage original students, the Flying Gravity Circus was born out of a desire to take the concept of circus arts to other schools. Today, 25 years later, a circus studies program has been added to High Mowing’s curriculum, now led by one of the original Hilltop Circus students and a founding member of the Flying Gravity Circus, Jonathon Roitman.

The Flying Gravity Circus, or FGC as it’s known to its community, has been going strong ever since. In accordance with its emphasis on learning, performing and teaching the circus arts, FGC has been the impetus behind establishing other school-based youth circus programs in Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Toronto.

In early May, in preparation for a 25th-anniversary performance at the Amato Center in Milford, troupe members gathered in the second-floor circus studio above the science lab on the High Mowing campus. I wanted to be there to see what went on behind the scenes a few weeks before the Amato Center performances. When I turned the corner and entered the room, two pairs of feet, held up by four hands balanced on the mats covering the floor, hovered in front of me slightly above my eye level. It took a few moments before they righted themselves and I was introduced to Olivia Lawson and Riley Kenney.

Several other performers waited their turn on the trampoline, while a pyramid of three balanced near the far wall. Soon the trapeze was lowered and two others began an intricate act of balance, timing and strength. What I eventually gained was insight into just about everything needed to put on a quality performance – from warming-up exercises to individual and group rehearsals to discussions with the stage manager, Lauren Lassila, about the “invisible parts of circus,” the lighting, sound, props and coordinating all the components that must come together for a well-staged event.

The group I watched performing in the High Mowing studio was only one part of the troupe, with the younger cast members gathering at another site. Both groups would later come together for joint rehearsals well in advance of the show. The performers I watched rehearse in the campus studio were a mix of youth from neighboring communities, as well as a few drawn from the school’s circus studies program, some of whom I learned had transferred to High Mowing from other schools specifically to take advantage of this program.

I noticed one performer in the back of the room was wearing a heavy cast. When I asked, she told me she had broken her fibula, but added, in true the-show-must-go-on-style, “Now I have lots of time to juggle.” Let it be known that injuries that happen elsewhere don’t stop Flying Gravity performers.

When we had time to chat, I asked Jackie, “Why circus studies?” She was the right person to answer this question. She earned her master’s degree in human development and psychology from Harvard after several decades as a professional mime artist and movement educator. She later coined the term developmental circus arts, which she describes “as the philosophy and practice of circus-making as a vehicle for physical, social, emotional and cognitive development in young people.”

The physical aspect includes flexibility, strength/physical conditioning, handstands, tumbling, trampoline, juggling, balance, aerials, dance and performance/acting. Many of the core courses are designed, as Roitman explained, “to improve fitness, build self confidence and unlock potential.”

The learning experiences and confidence gained with the Flying Gravity Circus can be applied to a variety of life choices from dance and gymnastics, theater and other performing arts to the world of business and other professions, as well as a variety of actual circus options. Besides being admitted to several schools for advanced training in the circus arts in the United States, Toronto, Quebec and Brussels, graduates of Flying Gravity Circus have continued on professionally with companies like Cirque du Soleil and Les 7 Doigts combining storytelling, acrobatics, dance, theater and multimedia.

In addition, dozens of young Flying Gravity performers have been accepted into the Vermont-based Circus Smirkus Big Top Tour – the only traveling youth circus in the United States.

During our conversation, Davis interjected that an inclusive program like Flying Gravity Circus provides a safe-space for everyone in a nurturing and supportive manner. She added, “And it’s magical to be around.” This opinion was also voiced by several of the troupe members I spoke with between their sets of exercises and routines. But even more persuasive was the camaraderie, collaboration, determination to “get it right” and joyous smiles I witnessed, all in hopes of entertaining and inspiring others to view circus arts as a another vehicle for physical, cognitive and social enrichment.