Circus Arts

Ages 5-12

Bravely tumble the road of acrobats, enter the theatrical world of clowns, fly like the trapeze performers of our dreams, and unlock the potential of creative circus in a safe and joyous way. Circus performances have captivated the imaginations of generations of kids, but these are activities that don’t have to live in your child’s imagination alone. The Playground Gym offers a class experience that allows kids to explore circus, performing and visual arts in a controlled, safe, noncompetitive and fun atmosphere.

Come play in the virtuosic worlds of clowning, acrobatics, aerial and partner balancing. Every class includes stretching, an invigorating warm up, games and skills development. Using traditional circus equipment like stilts, trapeze, balance boards, hoops, juggling gear, and more, we will develop strength, flexibility, coordination skills, kinesthetic awareness, right/left brain integration, balance, reflex improvement, and gross and fine motor coordination. These are among the long list of benefits offered by these arts that carry directly into other realms of athleticism–and life. The circus arts’ blend of dexterous, unique and empowering skills simultaneously challenge the body and mind unlike any other, and the variety of skills also means that everyone will succeed at something, so kids don’t juggle a sense of accomplishment

About Circus Arts’ head Coaches

Noah Veil (nOah) was virtually raised on stage and throughout his youth he co-created, performed and directed highly stylized physical theater shows that toured to international festivals in Germany, Jordan, Scotland, Italy and the United States. After graduating from the Dell’Arte School of Physical Theater in 1998 and performing original sketch comedy for Royal Caribbean Cruises, he formed his own productyion company, DreamAwake Productions to promote his shows. He has since worked with HBO, Cirque du Soleil, director/producer James Cameron, and countless music and art festivals. To compliment his busy performing and directing schedule, nOah has been joyously teaching adults and children the myriad styles of theater, circus, act creation and education for over ten years. He is a co-designer of the pedagogy for the children’s arts education  San Francisco non-profit, Vagaboom. He arrived in Portland (and The Playground Gym) in 2010. For nOah, teaching kids is a great way for him to give back to what inspired and, he feels, saved him as a child: an individual’s ability to shine and grow through play.

For the full scOOp On nOah’s latest shOws visit www.dreamawakeprod.com

Martina Oskarsson finished her degree in Childhood Development in Sweden in 1999. Since 2005 she has been developing her skills as a teacher in the movement community, taking teacher training workshops in yoga, acroyoga, aerial and tumbling. She graduated from the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theater in 2007, and is a creator and performer of theatrical circus shows. From 2007 to  early 2010, Martina taught circus arts and gymnastics in San Francisco and Oakland at Head Over Heels, Fitness in Transit and Vagaboom.

Now that she is a new mama she has returned to Portland to raise her child in this blossoming creative community, and to continue teaching what she loves.

Visit the classes homepage for schedule and pricing. We’d love to have you–call or email the gym to enroll today! 503-235-7529.