Good Hope School Turns into Big Top

St. Croix Source  ::  John Baur

For students throughout the territory, the first week of school means back to books, back to reading, writing and arithmetic. At the Good Hope School, it was also back to the big top, as students from pre-school to ninth grade were learning circus skills, from juggling scarves and devil sticks to balancing feathers and spinning plates.

For the opening weeks of school, Good Hope is hosting Rick Davis of Circus Smirkus. Davis is a longtime circus performer who for the last eight years has traveled from school to school, training students in circus arts, and helping them put on their own circus performance at the end of the program.

Friday morning, sixth grade students filed into the school's pavillion where they were greeted one by one by Davis. Standing only a little over five-feet tall, Davis found himself looking up at some of the kids. But with a strong presence and friendly demeanor he had their immediate attention. Within five minutes he knew each of their names – he could even recall which was Amanda 1 and which Amanda 2 – and had them focusing on the day's lesson – juggling scarves.

There are four "circus secrets" to learnng the tricks, he explained. Watch, try, try again, and take it step by step. Then he had each pick up a red scarf – followed in later steps by a yellow and a green scarf – and get to work.

Within 20 minutes all 15 of them knew how, and most could do it pretty well. Davis worked around the group, offering tips, correction and lots of encouragement. When any of them completed six tosses, he'd cheer, shake his or her hand and welome "the world's newest juggler!" telling them, "You'll remember this day for the rest of your life."

Raquel Cedano, the head of school at Good Hope, said one of the school's parents had heard about the Circus Smirkus program and brought it to her attention. It seemed, she said, a perfect way to begin the school year, giving the students something different and exciting to work on as they transitioned from summer vacation to the classroom.

Cedana also pointed out that the program reinforces the schools dedication to arts.

"It's one of our three pillars," she said. The other two are academics and athletics.

Circus Smirkus is a New England-based program that visits schools all over that region. A resident of New Hampshire, Davis said he usually visits about 25 schools during the school year.

Davis said he had grown up thinking that the circus life was somethig a person had to be born into. It didn't seem to apply to him, he said. Then, in the early 1970, he graduated from college with a combined degree in philosophy and psychology.

"So I did the natural thing for a person with a degrees in philosophy and psychology. I became a clown," he laughed.

He was attending a performance of the Ringling Bros., Barnum & Bailey Circus when he noticed in the program an item on how to apply for the circus's clown program. He applied and was accepted. After 10 weeks of training he found himself a circus clown. It was a good fit, he said.

"I wanted a job where I could travel. I wanted a job where I could be creative. And I wanted to live communally with people," he said. The tight circus family of about 150 people travelling from town to town is like "a little microcosm" of the world, he said.

For four years he traveled with the Ringling Bros. circus, then spent a year with a circus in Puerto Rico. After that he developed his own solo, silent comedy show that he performed for about 15 years as a stage act at colleges, summer camps, fairs and festivals.

"I never did birthday parties," he added quickly.

That was followed by a new solo comedy show, one in which he also spoke, which he performed about another 15 years.

About eight years ago a friend suggested he try teaching. It turned out to be just the career move he needed. Performing the same show over and over gets old, he said.

"You start doing the same thing night after night. I got to where I knew exactly where the audience would laugh, exactly how long the show would take. That's the way I was relating to human beings. I was less and less enamored with performing."

Teaching with Circus Smirkus doesn't pay as well as performing can, he said, but it's a more reliable income. And he really enjoys working with the students.

After his experience in Puerto Rico he jumped at the chance to come back to the Caribbean, although he arrived for his Good Hope gig the day before Hurricane Earl hit the islands and that threw off his schedule.

The Good Hope School circus show will be Friday morning. When he finishes here he'll go back to New England, where he travels mostly from Maine through Massachusetts. He said the Vermont Arts Concil is particularly supportive providing funding for small schools, some with as few as 60 students, to take part in the program. Cedano said Good Hope had applied for and received a federal grant through the V.I. Department of Education to bring the program to the St. Croix school.

Davis was just beginning to explain how he is able to quickly remember every student's name, when a new group of students – these were third graders – came down to the pavillion, grinning and giggling. Davis was immediately back on his feet, greeting each individually at the entrance. Each one was about to become "the world's next juggler!"

It would be a day they'd remember the rest of their lives.