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Minn. Circus School Helps Kids Fly High
She described a group practicing a seven-person pyramid on the high wire, a complex trick that involves intense precision and teamwork. If one person messes up, the safety of the team is at risk.
There was a slight squabble before the group began practicing, she said, "but then all of a sudden they have to tune it all out and focus on what they're all about _ which is moving safely across the wire. ... They can't just storm off the field and say 'The heck with this.'"
  Co-founder Betty Butler, left, works with Jazmin Hedges, right, and Zach Morgan, center, at Circus Juventas in St. Paul, Minn., Thursday, June 28, 2007. Circus Juventas is a performing arts circus school that teaches kids amazing high-flying tricks _ and the self-confidence, discipline and focus it takes to do them.(AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt) (Ann Heisenfelt - AP) 
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The Butlers say Circus Juventas is inspired by international circus models, which focus on athleticism and artistry. Some of the Circus Juventas coaches come from as far away as China or Mongolia. There are no animals and no ringmaster.
On a recent summer night, the Big Top buzzed with energy. The advanced students rehearsed the opening for their summer show, while three girls flipped through the air on bungee trapezes nearby. Meanwhile, some coaches worked with 5-year-olds on a trampoline.
Cheryl Ober, of Minneapolis, watched as her 9-year-old daughter, Jenna, trained in an advanced acrobatics class.
"It's just amazing the upper body strength that these girls have," Ober said of the older students. "These kids can scale these ropes in nothing, and there are Marines that can't do that."
Morgan, the free-faller, was home-schooled until high school and his mom got him involved in the circus as a sort of physical education class. He stuck with it over the years, he says, because he loves performing cool tricks, and he's grown attached to the community of performers.
"If you are falling, you have to trust that you know everybody well enough that they are going to catch you, and that makes for a really tight knit group of people," he said.
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