Dear Friends,

Spring has sprung!! I saw evidence today of greeeeeen! We hope you are all enjoying the recent bouts of sunshine we have gotten in New England, because we sure are.

Last month, Circus Up staff gathered to share ideas and accomplishments, and to work together to brainstorm about coaching challenges. We kept coming back to one point about the importance of fostering resilience with the young people we work with. For instance, how do we encourage a student who had a bad day or who is struggling with a particular skill to stay engaged and, more importantly, to keep having fun? 

Our coaches all had different ideas about how to work together  to better instill resilience in our students.  Like most of our staff meetings, we laughed and passed around plates of fruit and muffins while working through these complex topics. Gathering like this gives us the reminder we all need right now: hard work is much more meaningful when it's done in community, with people who care for one another.  And, modeling how to take care of ourselves and our co-coaches is one great way we can teach our youth to do the same, going back to building resiliency! With acceptance and curiosity of differences, with laughter, and with the belief that everyone has something significant to contribute.

With love,
Leah Abel, Executive Director and the amazing Circus Up team 

Kirkos and coaches are gearing up for a busy summer of community engagements! Keep and eye out for future newsletters and follow us on social media @circusup to know exactly where and when to show up for a fun time for all ages!

Luana started aerial silks in 2018 at a circus school in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and circus quickly became more than a hobby, changing how she thinks about resilience, confidence, and learning, in and out of the silks. This year, Luana moved from Brazil to Massachusetts to pursue her master’s degree where her research looks at the connections between circus coaching and adventure education, especially how coaches build progressive challenges, support autonomy, and create trust and reflection in the learning process.

Lumyr is a Boston-based dancer who has been dancing for over a decade. With a love of dance, and a passion for people, Lumyr finds joy in the product and process of creating art.  His passion is to see a dance community without walls in the city of Boston where a "we can '' attitude thrives among all its participants. 

Sng started her circus journey in South Korea in 2019, and has loved it ever since! She attended Dartmouth College, where she performed in Dartmouth Aerial Arts. In school and in her professional career, Sng has been passionate about DEI and volunteer work. After taking classes at 3C, she looked for opportunities to tie together her love of circus and volunteering, leading her to Circus Up!

It may have been a cold couple of months but spending time in community with other arts and youth development organizations kept us warm! Leah and Olivia were inspired by performances from local artists at the State House on #CreativeSectorDay thanks to MASSCreative.

And at the Mayor's Youth Summit, Leah ran into a Kirkos alum along with many other future leaders!