Spilyay tymoo., May 13, 1977, Page 6, Image 6

PAGE « WARM SPRINGS, OREGON MAY 13, 1977
Circus Captivates Crowd
Everyone was a kid the
day the circus came to town —
including the performers them­
selves !
It was hard to remember
during the spectacular enter­
tainment provided by the
Lewis and Clark Youth Circus
that the fearless flying and
fire-eating folks were just nor­
mal school children. Traveling
from Astoria to dazzle the
Warm Springs community
April 29, the circus troupe left
many people wondering — can
our school do that?
Take an average junior
high school, add a dedicated
coach or two and a lot of hard
work and cooperation and you
may end up with just such a
show. Borrowed money and the
assistance of the Clackamas
High School Circus coach
helped get Lewis and Clark’s
circus off the ground about
five years ago. Now with
grants and support from the
school district, the circus is
well established and coach
Max Bigby notes that the per­
formance has grown from ten
to over twenty acts.
With the training and per­
forming help of several circus
alumni, the kids presented a
variety of displays, all in a
surprisingly professional man­
ner.
r
!
THRILLS — The Commun­
ity Center gym was trans­
formed into a jungle of lad­
ders, trapezes, and ropes sus­
pended from the ceiling. The
stiff-necked audience witnessed
a dizzying display of talent and
raw guts as performers spun,
flipped, dangled and sailed
without nets.
The kids
FLAMES
played with fire, and got away
with it, when they juggled
flaming torches and, to the
amazement of the crowd, swal­
lowed flames with apparent
relish.
SPILLS — It was their
first performance of the year
and therefore did not go with-
out the quota of spills, none
serious. A dropped juggling
ball, a wobbly unicycle or a
tumble from the balance board
was greeted with friendly en­
couragement from the aud­
ience and a smiling shrug from
the performer.
WHEELS — A bicycle built
for seven circled the ring pick­
ing up riders in various com­
binations, making pyramids
and towers of balancing bodies.
Teams of unicycles wheeled in
formation.
LAUGHS — Down on the
floor, clowns boxed, juggled,
and otherwise cavorted to the
amusement of kids and adults.
A boy on high stilts was prop­
ped up and mingled with the
crowd, and some * little peop­
le” with oversized heads
danced and collided.
AND BEYOND THE SAW­
DUST — At a powwow held in
their honor the night before,
the circus kids from Astoria
discovered the collected talent
of the Warm Springs youth,
who war danced, owl danced
and butterfly danced for the
visitors. The graceful and
poised circus performers were
not immune to giggles as they
attempted to dance the unfam­
iliar steps with the locals. But
one Astoria boy won himself
an Indian record for his per­
formance in a war dance con­
test at thé powwow emceed by
Nathan Jim, Sr.
Photos by Cynthia Stowell