Congrats to the February #AYCOPhotoContest winner Kirkos from Circus Up’s community troupe! Kirkos was so excited to perform in Commonwealth Circus Center’s student show! Thank you to Tess Scheflan for capturing this moment. Kirkos is continuing to work hard, stay curious about each other’s differences, and celebrate each other’s unique strengths.
AYCO Monthly Newsletter
AYCO Youth Membership costs $35 per year and is for anyone 21 and under and college students who are passionate about circus arts. This is your chance to plug into the national circus community, network and show off your circus pride.
Membership benefits include:
Surprise swag mailed to your door three times a year
Eligibility to perform in AYCO event showcases
Discounts on events and merchandise
Monthly email AYCOgram newsletter filled with circus opportunities, news, and videos just for you!
Want to join? Grab an adult and click the button below!
ACE Discussion Series 2022
| The American Circus Educators Association is excited to present a bimonthly online discussion series for continuing education and professional development for circus educators. Each session is based on a particular topic and facilitated by a community expert in that topic! Attendance is FREE to current ACE/AYCO members. Non-members pay a small sliding-scale fee, $5-20. Space per session is limited. Sessions are one hour long, every other month on the second Tuesday, at 12pm Eastern Time/11am Central Time/10am Mountain Time/9am Pacific Time. The sessions are not recorded, in order to create a space where attendees are comfortable participating fully in discussion – though some of the facilitator’s introduction may be recorded and made available to registrants after the session. Check out the upcoming events below! Tuesday March 8th, 2022: Legal Obligations & Preventative Practices – AbuseAll instructors, studio owners, and circus community leaders have a duty to prevent and respond to abuse. This session will summarize federal and state laws related to reporting, prevention, and response to abuse, and raise best practices to consider. Q&A and discussion opportunities will allow all attendees to get community and expert input on the most critical aspects of our jobs and identify the growth opportunities in your abuse prevention and risk management practices. Tuesday May 10th, 2022: Supporting Students with Anxiety and PanicThis discussion will start with an expanded excerpt from the longer training “Unafraid – Mental Health Tools for Circus Communities”. We will discuss elements of anxiety and panic as adaptive traits, and what happens when they become overwhelming or disordered in circus students. Participants will leave with concrete tools for supporting their students who experience anxiety and panic, as well as tools they can use to soothe and ground themselves as needed. |
| Hup Squad 2022! |
| Are you ready to meet the Hup Squad?!?! Check out the latest blog post to meet each of the insanely talented AYCO Hup Squad members and support them on their Circus Journey! |
Safety Spotlight
The Circus Project is a non-profit circus school located in Portland, Oregon dedicated to transforming lives through the circus arts. They offer camps, classes, and workshops in a variety of disciplines for all ages and levels, as well as intensive circus training companies for youth and pre-professional adults. The Circus Project also maintains thriving community partnerships, a robust scholarship program, and strives to infuse all programming with a commitment to equity and access. The Circus Project is also dedicated to supporting artistic development through training memberships, performance opportunities and artist residencies.
“Our experience with the entire process of ACE Safety Program certification was truly valuable to our development as a growing circus academy. We at The Circus Project are honored to be recognized as an ACE approved facility.” -Kari Hunter, The Circus Project
New Circademic Research Survey Needs Volunteers
| Are you an adult recreational aerial arts student?Your help is needed for an academic study to explore injury rates and types. This is a volunteer study for a graduate student project consisting of an online survey taken once a month for four consecutive months that should take less than an hour of your time. All data is anonymous and this project has been approved by the Institutional Review Board of Concordia University St. Paul. The goal of the study is to establish injury rates and generate data that could be used to improve access to aerial arts along with the potential to improve safety for recreational classes. Open to persons who are 18 years old or above, taking aerial arts classes with an instructor, are not seeking to become a professional in the next year or have not been a professional for at least a year. To help become a valuable part of this “circademic” study or for more information, please follow the QR code or link at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/IRAAconsent |
2022 Circus International Film Festival Tickets On Sale Now!
Tickets are on sale now for the 2022 Circus International Film Festival, which runs online from Pie Day (March 13) to World Circus Day (April 16), at https://filmfreeway.com/CircusInternationalFilmFestival/tickets
Please contact circusinternationalfilmfest@gmail.com for sponsorship or volunteer opportunities, and follow @circusinternationalfilmfestival on FB and IG, or visit http://www.circusinternationalfilmfest.com for more information.
Cirques Experience’s 2022 Wheel Weekend
| The 2022 Cirques Experience is hosting the annual March Weekend. Held in the north side of Chicago, Wheel Weekend is a great opportunity to expand circus artists’ skills and knowledge in the world of wheel. There are several workshops including Cyr wheel, Gym Wheel, Judging, Coaching and More! Whether the focus is performance, competition, physical fitness, or merely FUN, all are welcome! Whether a beginner or a professional this is a great opportunity to meet new people and learn new skills. When: March 18, 8:00AM – March 20, 5:00PM Where: 5944 N. Magnolia Ave | Chicago, IL, 60660 | USA More information can be found below as well as registration for Wheel Weekend. https://www.usawheelgymnastics.com/wheel-weekends https://www.cirquesexperience.org/event-details/2022-chicago-march-wheel-weekend |
Circus Smirkus Camp Registration is OPEN!
At Smirkus Camp, kids develop new ways to challenge themselves, learn skills like teamwork and problem solving, get terrific physical conditioning, and enjoy fun summer camp traditions like singalongs, costume themed dinners, kickball, and more!
This summer, Circus Smirkus is offering the following sessions at Smirkus Camp, including placement-based camps that require a video submission, as marked with ★ below:
Smirkling Camp | 1 day | June 18 | Ages 5-11 Just Added
All Levels Circus Camp | 1 week | June 19-June 24 | Ages 8-16
All Levels Circus Camp | 2 weeks | June 26-July 8 | Ages 8-16
Intermediate Camp | 2 weeks | July 10-22 | Ages 12-18
★ Intermediate Skills Intensive | 3 weeks | July 24-August 12 | Ages 12-18
★ Advanced Ensemble | 3 weeks | July 24-August 12 | Ages 12-18
★ Advanced Individual Acts | 3 weeks | July 24-August 12 | Ages 12-18
Get more information and sign up at www.smirkus.org/camp-sessions
NECCA Presents: The Circus Spectacular
| Tickets are on sale now for the Circus Spectacular, NECCA’s dazzling fundraising show starring guest artists from circuses around the world! This is a unique opportunity to see some of today’s most renowned high flying aerialists, acrobats, and jugglers in Brattleboro, VT on the Latchis Theater stage, and a live stream option if you prefer to watch from the comfort of your own home. Don’t miss an evening of incredible, world class entertainment for the entire family! WHEN: Sat, March 5 at 7:30 pm (in person & streamed live) and Sun, March 6 at 1:00 pm (in person only) WHERE: Online and at The Latchis Theater 50 Main St. Brattleboro, VT 05301 COST: $15-50 (all sales benefit NECCA’s scholarships and programming) TICKETS: https://www.onthestage.tickets/show/new-england-center-for-circus-arts/circus-spectacular-60657/tickets MORE INFO: https://necenterforcircusarts.org/about/circus-spectacular-2022 Share the Facebook event with your friends and schedule a watch party: https://fb.me/e/2WurrftxR Volunteer for a FREE ticket: https://necca.ivolunteer.com/event_cs2022 |
NECCA Youth Circus Camp
| In our youth camps for ages 3-17, your child will receive top-notch instruction in a noncompetitive environment. They’ll get a sense of pride and increased confidence as they learn communication skills, perseverance, and self-determination, as well as how to be a spectacular acrobat, aerialist, juggler, or clown. We honor the traditions of the circus by including activities to develop creative and performance skills, share the history of circus while passing along fun circus traditions. Students will work in groups by age and ability for the best learning experience. We work with the energy of our youngest students by including separate art activities and quiet time suited to their learning needs. Sign up for 1, 2, or 3+ days – each day will include a new and fun experience for each student. WHEN: February 21 – 25, 2022 from 8:00 am – 12:00 pm Full-Day Camp Schedule: * 8:00am–8:30am: Drop off at NECCA * 8:30am–10:00am: Rotating activities including trapeze, fabric, lyra, juggling, mini-tramp, balancing, stilting, clowning, and acrobatics * 10:00am–10:15am: snack * 10:15am–12:00pm: Rotating activities including trapeze, fabric, lyra, juggling, mini trap, balancing, stilting, clowning & acrobatics * 12:00pm: Pick up WHERE: 10 Town Crier Dr Brattleboro VT 05301 COST: $50/day REGISTER: https://necenterforcircusarts.asapconnected.com/#CourseGroupID=42318 MORE INFO & COVID POLICIES: https://necenterforcircusarts.org/youth-camps Email: info@necenterforcircusarts.org | Call: 802-254-9780 |
Game of the Month: Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better – Conditioning!
Materials Needed: Just a partner!
How to Play: In partners, person A chooses an exercise, like squats, and performs one squat. Then your partner has to do two squats. Back to person A for turn, do three squats. Continue alternating 10 turns. Next time, let person B choose an exercise, like pushups, and start the challenge.
Variations: Play each round until one person can’t continue. Try in groups of three. Play with more people too, and have each person take turns doing the same amount of reps (everyone does one squat, everyone does two squats, etc.).
CSAW Microgrants for US Circus Artists of Color
CSAW – Connection Circus Students Around the World met their fundraising goal for the second year in a row and it means that they can provide another year of Microgrants! To be eligible to apply for a CSAW Microgrant for US Circus Artists of Color you must identify as a person of color who is a citizen, resident alien, or permanent resident of the United States looking to further their education in circus and/or fund their circus related projects and needs. All applicants must be 14 years or older to apply for and receive a Microgrant. Applications are open from the 1st-15th of every month. For more information click here.
Discounts for AYCO/ACE Members
Want to get discounts with these awesome Circus vendors? Discounts are just another awesome perk of being an ACE member. Become a member today!
AYCO News Article Submission
Interested in including your news or events relevant to the national circus community in AYCO/ACE’s newsletters? Send your submissions to communications@americanyouthcircus.org by the 2nd Friday of the month to be included in our monthly newsletter. Submissions should be no longer than 150 words, written in the third person, and include appropriate links and contact information if relevant. We cannot include PDFs or images, but we can link to them. Please also indicate if you would like your submission included in the AYCOgram (directed towards youth), ACE News (directed towards organizations and educators), or both.
Thank You to our Gold Members!
We Are The American Youth Circus Organization!
 | https://americanyouthcircus.org PO Box 1123, Easthampton, MA 01027 We are a nonprofit 501(c)3 Support AYCO with a Donation |
| Connect with Us |  |  |  |
