by Charles Spillar

Yes, the title is true. I witnessed it yesterday while visiting the last classes of the summer at Tucson Circus Arts here in Tucson. In their stilt walking classes I saw normal size children grow to over 8 ft. tall. This class was one of many conducted at their large studio these past two weeks exclusively for children.

The classes offered this year included Stilt walking, Poi spinning, Taiko drumming, Aerial silk, Ballet and Journal Writing. These were their first classes created just for children. They have taught Circus arts to adults for many years around the United States and in several foreign countries.

Professional performers with extensive backgrounds teach all of the classes at TCA. The class I visited was taught by Nadia Hagen of Flam Chen fame. She starts her stilt walking class with a series of over 50 different stretching exercises designed to build strength and coordination. Students are then taught to properly put on their stilts and next experience a series of exercises while on stilts. The students then practice walk-around procedures to develop their skills lead by their instructor. (more…)