Swinging, acrobatics and gravity-defying swirls help children find their feet at thriving Dubai Circus School
Anine-year-old boy hangs mid-air as he clings on to two swirls of fabric cascading from the ceiling. He wraps his arms and legs around them and jolts into a swing before landing onto the cushioned mat placed below.
“That’s my brother,” Victoria Saint Pierre says proudly as she waits for her own acrobatics practice session to begin. Victoria, 14, was around the same age as her brother Alan when she started going to Dubai Circus School in Al Quoz.
“I’ve always loved gymnastics and flexibility, and I really enjoy learning new tricks,” she explains with a charming smile. “I’m pretty good at it, too.”
While Victoria does ground acrobatics at the school, which involves tricks such as front pikes and back handsprings, her brother is in an aerial silk class. It is one of the most recognisable circus acts and involves artists performing aerial acrobatics while hanging from a specialised cloth.
The school also offers classes for adults, but Marcela Bello, who runs the school with Javier Galeano, says they welcome younger clientele. “I come here every Tuesday right after school,” says Victoria. She hopes to continue to maintain her flexibility.
Strength and flexibility are some of the most important characteristics when performing circus tricks. It takes a lot of body strength to climb a silk cloth, for example, and the academy has more than a dozen teachers to guide students through the process.
The warehouse-turned-circus playground also has an aerial hoop, trapeze bars, a trampoline and a hammock. Students can join group lessons or private classes, or use the facility to practise their moves.
Donna Taylor Driscoll, who sends her daughter, River, six, for aerial silks training, adds: “This is a safe space for children. You can see that the coaches love what they do, and they’re amazing about encouraging the kids to love it as well.”
Taylor Driscoll says benefits spill over at home, especially when it comes to health. “River practises her moves and stretches at home,” she adds. “She also eats more vegetables because she knows she needs them to be stronger and be able to climb the silks higher, for example.”
It works that the school is more concerned about their students’ happiness, rather than only focusing on technical progress.
Bello, who is from Colombia and is also an art director and a producer, says the city’s circus school is primarily about spreading happiness.
“We want to empower children. We want them to feel seen and appreciated.” She adds that “something magical happens” when she sees students perform in recitals. Bello says it can also
address many of the misconceptions about the circus, and she aims to raise awareness about what it entails.
“Some people think it’s all about performing animals, like elephants,” she says. “But it is more about discipline, expression and happiness. Our goal is to make students try something fun and new, to feel confident and become a better version of themselves. If they happen to also want to become a circus performer, we can help them in that regard too.”