The University of Kentucky circus club, Circus Cats, highlighted the skills they have been working on at their semesterly showcase, titled “Falling into Winter.”
The showcase depicted 10 performances, representing the transition from fall to winter, the performances were created using acrobatic equipment including silks, lyra (a hanging metal hoop), rope and trapeze, as well as juggling at Barker Hall on Nov. 15.
Circus Cats is the only collegiate circus club in the state of Kentucky that focuses on all acrobatic equipment, sophomore computer science and cyber security major Anaya Ellis said.
Beginning in December 2021, the club has held meetings every Monday where students learn from one another, as there is no official instructor at the meetings, staff advisor and former club president, Kuilee Pipgrass, said.
The showcase’s $1 admission fee and donations went towards safety and new equipment for the club members, according to club president, junior kinesiology major, Amber Singh.
Due to the donations given, the club has evolved since it began in 2021. Two years ago they were able to officially add the trapeze, which attracted junior art studio major Maria Pamukova.
“Nobody was performing on the trapeze when I first started, so I wanted to be the person to start that up,” Pamukova said.
The club has increased its membership over three years, there are between one and 10 new members who showed up to each meeting, according to Pipgrass.
After their first meeting, new members were drawn back due to the inviting atmosphere, Circus Cats treasurer, junior health sciences major, Jordan McKinney said.
“My favorite part is the community,” Ellis said “They (other members) keep encouraging you to keep trying and keep pushing through.”
The club’s social media manager, junior biology major Liz Stuckenborg, said she remembers sitting on her couch a year and a half ago, when she randomly decided to try Circus Cats, then she fell in love with the club.
“It’s important to know that Circus Cats are very supportive of each other and it’s just such a good feeling, like whenever you get a new trick down, everyone’s so happy for you. It’s such a good environment to be in,” Stuckenborg said.
According to Singh the meetings consisted of constant skill-sharing,each member showcases skills they have learned, then they teach those skills to others, this is the way the members are able to grow their skill set without a teacher.
Skill-sharing created well-rounded performers, according to Singh, a unique aspect of Circus Cats and the deep rooted support within the club made the new members feel safe when learning all types of new skills.
This environment allowed for more experienced performers to take from what they have learned from previous members and give that knowledge to newer or inexperienced members, Singh said.
“We accept anyone, beginner or advanced. We have people of all different backgrounds. We have people who have never even been in the gym, and this is their first time dealing with physical activity,” Singh said “We accept everyone, we welcome everyone. We invite anyone to our community.”
