Acrosports :: Gymnastics, Performance and Circus Arts

In this issue: Robert and Toly are Montreal's most wanted Summer KinderCamps PreSchool Classes - Shakin things up this Summer! Acro Summer Fun Nights! Get your Fruits & Veggies at the Big Top Shop From the Desk of the City Circus Artistic Director M.A.T. (Mobile Acro Training) Program Update	City Circus Alumni Off to Montreal!

	Training hard and achieving personal goals is 90% of what being a circus performer is all about. Two of our City Circus performers, Anatoly Koshelev and Robert J. Webber III, recently auditioned for the National Circus School in Montreal, Canada, a prestigious training facility known all over the world for producing circus performers of the highest caliber. Graduates of their program go on to star in such performance troupes as Cirque du Soleil and Cirque Ingenue. AcroSports students and staff are always aspiring to be greater and work harder, and what better way to challenge oneself further than to take one's performance abilities to an even higher level of training? I decided to attend the audition five months before the audition date, and I feel I was as physically prepared as I ever could have been within that time period. I thought of relatively little else; at every decision I would ask myself, "How will this affect my audition?", says Robert Webber, 21, about the audition. "I can't really think of anything that City Circus could change to have prepared me more. All the tools are there for any person to pick up and use to excel," he says about how City Circus training helped him with his audition. "Well, first and foremost," says Anatoly about City Circus helping him with his audition,"if not for City Circus, I would have never even thought of doing circus as a career, I would have never heard of the National Circus School of Montreal, and I would still be living a life governed by what I think people want for me rather than what I really want for myself. So, yeah, you could say City Circus helped just a tad!" Anatoly went on to say, "To be honest, I at a loss to find what I would change about the training to make it more directed at the audition. Perhaps I'm just sentimental now that I look at it in retrospect, or maybe it just worked really well." City Circus offers a nine-hour-per-week training program in which students learn basics in almost every circus discipline, while focusing on a specific chosen core area. The challenging structure and expected commitment level of City Circus troupe members gives these performers a first-hand understanding of what to expect from a professional performer's life. And as Anatoly and Robert have heartily attested, the program well prepares students for a future in circus. There are two auditions per year for prospective new City Circus performers, and two original productions presented annually. Troupe members are also often involved in community events where they perform and bring joy to local celebrations throughout the year. The next round of auditions will be held late summer. If you're interested in auditioning for City Circus, contact Tim Barsky at 415-665-2276. Best of wishes to Robert and Anatoly in Montreal! We'll miss you!

	PreSchool Classes – Shakin’ Things Up in the Summer!
	Yes! We will be holding preschool classes throughout the summer! Current Spring preschool students will NOT be receiving notification of a priority registration password, however, as summer registration is open to everyone on the same day, Monday, May 21st. This is a good opportunity for your child’s friends who are not already students to get into AcroSports and sign up for the same popular class with your child. And though our summer schedule has a reduced number of morning classes, in order to make room for the circus campers who will be here every week, there are a few more afternoon options to choose from. This makes for a busy and lively gym throughout the summer! In order to accommodate everyone, preschool morning classes share gym space similar to how regular afternoon classes do all year round. More classes will meet downstairs, in the preschool areas, but students will also come upstairs to use the tumbletrack and trapeze. Sometimes older children will use the downstairs dance floor, so we close the green curtains to ensure the activity of these students won’t disrupt or distract preschool classes. Afternoon students may find that they have more floor space available than during the school year, since fewer school age classes are offered in summer. Weekend classes will continue as usual. Circus campers use the lockers for their shoes and lunch, so don’t be surprised if your favorite locker is taken. We try to reserve the first bank of lockers adjacent to the toy area for preschool students. When campers come downstairs for lunch around noon each day, that’s the cue for preschool students to head upstairs and use the main floor. This transition can be noisy, as older kids laugh, chat and bang locker doors, but even sensitive young children can relax knowing that now it’s their turn to use the upper floor. Summer is an exciting and active time at AcroSports. Preschoolers, often very curious about what the big kids are doing, are invited to come every Friday at 4pm to see the Circus Camp show. We look forward to seeing you here!

	Please note there is NO Priority Registration for Summer Session
	Both Spring and Summer students will maintain Priority for the Fall 2007 session (registration begins mid-August)
	Summer 2007 Kinder Camp For ages 4-5 June 11-15 & August 27-31 Half-day morning or afternoon camps Still have spaces available! For more info or to register go to www.acrosports.org
	M.A.T. (Mobile Acro Training) Program Update
	AcroSports is closing another successful school year of providing services to over 20 San Francisco-area schools and community centers. This summer we will continue to offer programming at a number of sites, including the Palo Alto JCC, Columbia Park Boys and Girls Club, Temple Emanu-El, Academic Chess Camp, and Starr King Elementary School. Thanks to a generous grant from Team Up for Youth, Acro-Sports has also recently returned to San Francisco’s juvenile hall, the Youth Guidance Center, to provide the students there with a third year of circus arts programming. Praise also goes out to those schools that have brought Acro-Sports into their communities to work with their students. Some of the preschools we have worked closely with this past year include Cow Hollow, Circle of Friends, Gar Noe, Haight Ashbury Co-op, Learning Bridge, Little People's Workshop, St Paul’s, St Finn Barr, Sweet Peas, and St Phillip’s. Other schools, both public and private, include Children's Day School, Buena Vista Elementary, Jean Parker Elementary, June Jordan School for Equity, Live Oak, and Thurgood Marshall High School. It takes a lot of mutual effort and dedication to make these programs work, and without the commitment of the staff and parents at each of these sites, the programs wouldn’t have been possible. We are always looking for new sites to collaborate with! If you are interested in bringing the M.A.T. Program to your school, please contact Outreach & Offsite Manager, Toni Martinez, at toni@acrosports.org or 415-374-4442.
	Get your Fruits & Veggies in the Big Top Shop
	An active child needs plenty of nutrients throughout the day. Often children are drawn to “junk food,” and it seems like a struggle, not only for adults, but for kids to squeeze the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables into their diets each day. The Big Top Shop at AcroSports makes a true attempt to offer healthy alternatives for our active youth and parents on-the-go. Bananas, apples and oranges are probably the least expensive items on our menu, and yet they’re the least chosen items for kids to snack on. So next time you purchase fruit from the Big Top Shop, your child will get a special prize! If you’re interested in getting further nutritional information, here’s some great online resources: - California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness:www.canfit.org - Center for Science in the public interest: www.cspinet.org - Lesson plans for different produce of the month: www.harvestofthemonth.com - SFUSD Nutrition Education Project: www.healthiersf.org/nutrition Keep in mind that at AcroSports we’re trying not only to improve fitness and build strong bodies for tomorrow, but also help establish healthy eating patterns that will further that end.
	Vans painted by Eric Norberg	Many thanks to Larry Rosenberg, of Larry Rosenberg Photography, for his on-going support and his beautiful photography that made the images on the M.A.T. vans possible and many other great AcroSports images, photos and art for over 10 years! www.LRphoto.com
	From the Desk of the City Circus Artistic Director
	In the 6 months since I stepped on board as the Artistic Director of City Circus, I've been blown away by the level of talent, determination, and drive exhibited by the 13 members of the troupe. Together with their specialty coaches, we've been working hard to create a show unlike anything you've ever seen before. In working with these very talented young artist-athletes, I have come to believe that the practice and performance of circus is a powerful way for young people to form a lasting ontology for life. Simply put, circus teaches us how to love. In circus we learn that the things we fear- emotional risk and physical injury, for example are in fact not flights of fancy, but realistic concerns. Then looking clearly at the situation, without deception, we face our fears, and learn to reach for our dreams in spite of the very real risk that we will face as a result. To face this within art is to face it within life as a whole. And that is in part why I am so very proud of the kids in City Circus, and of the show I have been priviledged to create with them. "I hate you, a love story," City Circus' next production, is a dark comedy about trying to figure out love & affection while you're 30 feet in the air. Combining aerial performance, contortion, juggling, hand-balancing, body percussion, acrobatics, clowning, and live beatboxing, the show brings an imaginary world to life amidst acts of stunning virtuosity. Featuring choreography by Shannon Gaines, long-time AcroSports coach and co-founder of Vau de Vire Society, and a live score performed by beatboxer Carlos Aguirre, composer for Stacy Printz Dance, the show runs June 15th through July 1st at The Brava Theater Center. We do so hope you'll join us! All the best, Tim Barsky Artistic Director, City Circus