Courtesy of Circus Harmony
The balancing act poster
Flyer for The Balancing Act: Walking the Pandemic Tightrope
Circus Harmony is showcasing its first online event, The Balancing Act: Walking the Pandemic Tightrope, which will focus on topics including the pandemic, social justice, the presidential election, and more. The show starts at 7 p.m. on Saturday, October 10.
Courtesy of Circus Harmony
Circus Harmony's Bailey Brothers Trio
Circus Harmony's Bailey Brothers Trio
Circus Harmony is a nonprofit circus organization that uses the arts to motivate social change. The Balancing Act mixes executive director Jessica Hentoff's love of circus performance and educating children. Acts will be performed by Circus Harmony students and alumni in their homes and told in their own point of view. The show will focus on the symbolism of walking through life, especially during a pandemic, as one does on a tightrope: balancing with one foot in front of the other.
“When we first went into quarantine six and a half months ago, we were like, 'Oh, it'll just be a couple of weeks, maybe a month,'” Hentoff says. "When you are learning to walk a tightrope, when you start to lose your balance, don't stay in one place and fight to regain your balance. Take your next step forward. That is the best way to regain your balance."
Courtesy of Circus Harmony
Circus Harmony act
Circus Harmony student shows off her moves
Hentoff has worked with young people for more than 40 years and says she's noticed increasing levels of stress and anxiety among them. With the amount of uncertainty in the world, she says it's only gotten worse.
“As we were looking at how unbalanced everything seems, one of our students actually said that usually every grown-up she would go to and ask [for help] doesn't know what's going on. No one knows how to fix this," Hentoff says. “And that makes the kids even more stressed and anxious.”
Another student, a 9-year-old African-American contortionist, says she feels her childhood is being stolen from her. Each time she turns on the TV or looks at social media, there are Black lives being killed, she says.
The show includes several acts that will be displayed in different Zoom boxes including complex juggling acts and acrobatics. Hentoff describes the show coming together like a quilt, stitching performances together to create the final product. “We're getting a very personal look at where people are right now,” she says. “This is the way we can see each other and work together, and that's the way we're going to do it. And then we want to share it with other people.”
Hentoff's hope is that viewers can take away at least one positive thing from watching.
“It's become a show unlike anything we’ve ever done before because it's a time unlike any we’ve ever been in before,” Hentoff says. "The show is both really wonderful circus acts, because that's what we do; created by incredible young people, because that's who we serve.”
Register here for your free ticket to The Balancing Act. The show will include a 24-hour fundraiser to help support the organization during the show.
