12 Year Old Dreams Of Finding A Circus Camp
This summer, Circus Smirkus camp welcomes 12-year old Audrey Webb all the way from Flower Mound, Texas.
We learned about Audrey through a feature on her local news station and we were really impressed with her dedication to circus and her desire to find a camp to hone her skills deeper. So much so, in fact, that we offered her a scholarship to Smirkus camp this summer.
Audrey goes to school online through the Texas Online Preparatory School and says having the classroom in your bedroom has its perks. She can go to class whenever she wants, takes courses meant for high schoolers, and is already fluent in Spanish. But the best part of going to school at home is that she’s able to spend most of her time in the backyard preparing for the circus.
“I’m scared of heights, but I love this,” Audrey said enthusiastically. Audrey started defying gravity four years ago after, her mom says, they’d exhausted every other hobby under the big top. “Figure skating, hockey, gymnastics, dance. You name it, we tried it. And she hated it all,” said Karin Webb, Audrey’s mom. Audrey even tried golfing, but hit herself in the head with the club.
When she was eight, her parents found out about a circus school around the corner and it turned everything upside-down. She started doing aerial acts and dreamed of performing for sold out crowds around the world. Audrey has gotten so good at this high-flying act, she takes circus classes with people three times her age and hopes to go to college on a circus scholarship.
She even convinced her parents to put a giant rig in the backyard under one condition: she pays for it. Which, she did.
As part of a school project, Audrey made a presentation, set up a GoFundMe page, and raised the money to start her own one-ring circus. Since then, she mostly uses the contraption for practicing, but recently performed for family and friends on Easter.
We were so impressed with what we learned about Audrey through this story that we invited her to come join us at Smirkus Camp this summer. We’re thrilled to welcome her, and know that she’ll make friendships that will last a lifetime with other kids who love circus as much as she does.
Watch the story by WFAA News in Texas below: