M.A. students perform in Solstice at St. Paul’s Circus Juventas
It’s a Tuesday night in early December, and Circus Juventas (CJ) has just finished dress rehearsal.
Combining every factor of the show like costumes, makeup, dialogue, and the events, the actors and coaches are working to polish their upcoming performance for opening night.
As for their winter performance, running from Dec. 5 to 14, this year’s theme is Solstice.
A re-run of their 2022 show, it integrates all of the seasons, while still catering to the holiday season.
Minnehaha students Luka Karkabi and Joy Uthmann will both have roles in the show, with Karkabi starring as Jack Frost and Uthmann as an elf and moss ball.
“I like circus because I like challenging myself, and when I don’t challenge myself, I kind of just feel empty,” said Luka Karkabi. “So challenging myself is a really big motivator to keep doing it.”
Karkabi, a senior at Minnehaha Academy, has been doing circus for 12 years.
“I’ve been a part of circus Juventas since the kinder’s program that my mom put me in,” said Karkabi.
After the initial sign-up, Karkabi decided to stick with the program due to his love for acrobatics and being active.
“I mostly loved it for learning flips, because I was a crazy kid,” said Karkabi.
Going into freshman year, he continued to feed his love for the art as he gained the confidence to attempt and mastering new skills.
“Although not linear, I love seeing constant improvement,” said Karkabi.
Karkabi, now in his senior season at Circus Juventas, has two productions remaining.
“I’m looking forward to expanding my skills set and being more confident in my performance,” said Karkbi.
Circus Juventas is a family-run circus school located in St. Paul. Utilized by many, CJ is a zero-cost, zero skill requirement 504 nonprofit program. This allows students who may want to pursue circus or acrobatics, but don’t have the resources or funds available.
“[Circus Juventas] creates and fosters the idea that our students do not feel boundaries or obstacles in imagining and building their future,” said founder Elizabeth Butler on their website.
With the cost factor being removed from their organization, Circus Juventas has been able to help and impact countless numbers of youth each year.
According to their website, “CJ has now grown into the largest performing arts circus school in North America, serving over 1,500 students through year-round classes and summer camp programs and 50,000 spectators annually.”
Supporting the circus
With the help of their yearly galas, silent auctions, and sponsors—like Blaze Credit Union, Health Partners Tria, and YOX Toys—Circus Juventas is able to continue supporting the youth of Minnesota.
“They all are great sponsors of CJ, and help with the funding,” said former student and coach, Rachel Butler-Norris, who is the daughter of the founders, and currently serves as artistic director at Circus Juventas.
In November of each year, Circus Juventas hosts their annual gala. Providing financial support, the gala contains a silent and live auction, as well as segments of the summer show.
“It’s our biggest fundraiser of the year,” said Butler-Norris.
The current show, Solstice, integrates all of the seasons while still catering to the holiday season.
“It’s a totally original narrative to Circus Juventas, which is really fun,” said Butler-Norris.
Featuring Saint Lucia Day, a Nordic holiday, Samhain, a Celtic festival, and Midsummer, a Scandinavian celebration, the production is able to highlight different ethnic holidays and traditions.
“It’s a celebration of different celebrations,” said Butler-Norris.
“I’m a little nervous because I don’t really like having bigger roles,” said Karkabi. “I usually prefer just doing tricks and not acting, but I feel like I can do a good job.”
The acrobatics in this show will differ from their regular stunts, as they will be integrating Adagio.
“Adagio is very similar to cheerleading stunts, but with a circus element,” said Karkabi.
With bases and flyers, individuals will flip, throw, and catch each other all while still acting their part.
In addition to Adagio, Ariel acts like the Davinci wheel, triangle trappeese, and Mexican Cloud swing will all be present in the show. On the ground, some of the acts showcased will be the vault mini, a table comedy, and a fire dance.
“One of my personal favorites is aerial silks,” said Butler-Norris when asked about her favorite act to coach.
While Karkabi has an acting role, Uthman, on the other hand will have more of a movement-based role.
”I’m in the mini trampoline event [as a moss ball] and the tumbling event [as an elf],” said Uthman.
This is Uthman’s 4th performance with Circus Juventas since joining in the fall of 2021 after switching from club gymnastics.
“I knew Luka from middle school, and I remembered that he had this really cool Circus Juventas hoodie, and I was like, maybe I should give circus a try,” said Uthman.
Through working with Circus over the past couple of years, Uthman not only loves the community but also appreciates the creative and non-repetitive practices.
“It’s great we never do the same thing twice,” said Uthman.
With the upcoming performance being Uthman’s first winter show, nerves worry her, but the excitement is just as prominent.
“I’m looking forward to when I’ll be super comfortable and I can just have fun on stage,” said Uthman.
As CJ is gearing up to share their production this month, their hard work and strong dedication will shine through.
“The way in which students work together and how they have to come together in order to achieve something is really unique,” said Butler-Norris.
Working with, and fine-tuning their performances for almost the entirety of the year, progress is shocking to the staff of CJ, who have been there since day one of practice.
“Being able to see that progression and growth when we finally perform in July and August, it’s just so amazing to see how far they can take it and how far they can push themselves,” said Butler-Norris.
Knowing that students take away great amounts from the performances, Butler-Norris is hopeful that students have learned, or will continue to adopt, the skills of resilience, dedication, teamwork, and working together with others towards a common goal.