When Jessica Hentoff was in college, she fell in love with the art of circus. She travelled with a youth circus, and her first coach, Warren Bacon, encouraged her to pass on her dedication to the craft. She taught her peers how to juggle in the dorm and even returned to her high school to teach students there. Hentoff became a professional circus performer, but she never lost the desire to spread joy and knowledge through teaching. In 1988, she started a circus troupe in St. Louis, working with 10 children. In 2001, that troupe grew into Circus Harmony, a nonprofit dedicated to teaching the circus arts so more children can defy gravity, soar with confidence and leap over social barriers.
“I started sharing the circus arts not only because it’s fun and exciting, but also a great tool for helping people of all backgrounds find their strengths, realize their creativity and learn to encourage themselves and others to be the best they can be,” Hentoff explains. “It’s amazing what some of the kids are able to do. Being in the ring is like an alchemy crucible—it’s transformative. It changes you and how people perceive you.” Circus Harmony operates out of City Museum, providing regular performances there as well as traveling across the region and even the world to present shows. It also offers classes at schools and rec centers throughout St. Louis.
Circus Harmony is always looking for new students. Registration for spring classes is now open, and Hentoff recommends getting the whole family involved. “You’re never too old to join the circus—our oldest student was 93 and learned the trapeze,” she says. “The gift of a circus experience is a memory they’ll never forget. History gets made in the ring every day.” To support Circus Harmony while staying on the ground, people can book performances or purchase the nonprofit’s Defy Gravity coffee blend and other merchandise from its online shop.
Circus Harmony has worked with tens of thousands of local children and adults. Many of them have gone on to become professional circus performers, performing for companies like Cirque du Soleil, Seven Fingers and The Flying Wallendas. One alumnus, Sidney Iking Bateman, even transitioned from circus arts to professional wrestling with the WWE. He is working on establishing his own youth development nonprofit in Florida. “Passing it on is the Circus Harmony philosophy,” Hentoff says. “We’ve worked with so many students who have gone on to share the circus arts either through performance or teaching others.”
As Circus Harmony approaches its 25th anniversary, there’s a lot on the horizon for the nonprofit. A brand new youth circus show called Misterioso from guest director Susan Voyticky will be presented at City Museum in February. The troupe also is working on developing a play centered on Bateman’s life story and the impact circus had on it. Bateman will perform alongside current Circus Harmony students at the nonprofit’s Silver Circus Soiree Gala on April 11. “We are a small, grassroots nonprofit, and we depend on community support,” Hentoff notes. “Everyone can be a part of the circus by helping give a child their wings.”
Circus Harmony uses the circus arts to build character and expand community for youth of all ages, cultures, abilities and backgrounds. Its Silver Circus Soiree Gala is April 11 at City Museum. Pictured on the cover: Circus Harmony students perform in downtown St. Louis. For more information, call 314.436.7676 or visit circusharmony.org.
Cover design by Julie Streiler
Cover photo by Anne Corrigan
Pictured at the top: Circus Harmony empowers children and adults through the circus arts.
Photo: T.J. Corrigan
