Circus Blogs: Camp News Big Top Tour News Residency News

The official Circus Smirkus Camp Blog

Session I a.k.a. Session FUN

Our first full week session of camp has come and the hits keep on rolling!  This session is big not only in camper numbers but in range.  Despite range of ages, and range of abilities, every single one of campers has been meet with challenge and magic here. From kids who struggle to pull themselves onto the trapeze to kids who can virtually fly on the silks, everyone came ready to roll, and roll they have!  Acrobatics, Juggling, and Clowning have all been equally popular this week.  Ask any camper what their favorite thing is and the answers vary, “Dead…

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Let’s Chat (a word about Snapchat)

Hey All, I’ve plugged the Snapchat a couple of time on this blog and I just wanted to take a moment to tell you all about the app and how we use it.  Snapchat is an app for smartphones that allows people to share photos and videos that doesn’t pile up over time.  Brevity is the name of the game!  This allows us to show you all a behind-the-scenes, up-to-the-minute look at our days here at camp that won’t pile up on your phone.  We will be posting Snap Stories all throughout the summer here at camp.  A Snap Story is…

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Camp has Campers!

It’s been months of preparation and weeks of setting up but we finally have the first of our 2016 campers, and we (both campers and staff) couldn’t be happier! It’s oft been said that a camp doesn’t really come alive until the campers arrive and Smirkus is no exception. Until Sunday morning when our site was teaming with the excited shouts and joyous laughs of our Intro campers, I never really appreciated the nature of this magical place. The look on the faces of our campers as they went into the air for the first time or the frivolity in…

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Houston, we have a staff.

Big things are happening here at Camp, friends!  Did you hear that the staff is here?  THE STAFF IS HERE! We had assembled little by little over the past few weeks but on Sunday we all officially landed for our week of training and orientating.  Done your typical get-to-know-you games, learning about our stances on Harry Potter and such.  We had a glorious hike on Beeler Mountain with some spectacular views. Not that it’s been all work though, we’ve had some time to get to know each other as well, walks to Willey’s and enjoyment of the beautiful surroundings and…

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Signs Point to Smirkus

The signs of the season are all around us.  The grass is liberated from its icy white sleep, the leaves have begun to reach for the sun, a warm wind brings the air of summer, and Circus Smirkus is up and running again.  Yes, perhaps my favorite sign of the summer is the white and blue tents that dot the various skylines of New England. I’m Aaron, the PR Intern at Smirkus Camp this summer; a Smirkus super-fan, I’ve seen the Smirkus tour every year since 2000.  I was five when I discovered Smirkus, my mom took me a town…

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The Art of Clowning

At Smirkus Camp, aerials, juggling and acrobatics always translate well to photography and video. We can see the beautiful skills unfold with strength and flexibility. There’s another artform taught at Smirkus Camp that is harder to show in photos and produces a unique magic with real time audience participation: The Art of Clowning! Don’t be fooled, the physical comedy in clowning also takes strength and flexibility to achieve. Clowning requires a sensitivity to emotion and an ability to produce timely reactions that connects to the audience through laughter, empathy, and sometimes a touch of sadness. You can find Smirkus Camp’s…

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End of Session II, Beginning of Session III

Session II ended with a bang! 85 kids in one circus tent, performing 10 different acts, an opening, a finale and a “Hup! Hey!” for our Smirkus family audience! It is a true mark of skill and professionalism that every single camper worked together to create an entire show with our talented coaches. The campers performed with beaming smiles and bright eyes. We are so proud of our campers for the hard work they put in the past two weeks, going outside their comfort zones, learning challenging new pyramid combinations, tumbling, and choreography. Congratulations to all for a successful show!…

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Smirkus Camp Staff Talent Show

Last night was a special night for Session II campers because Smirkus Camp Staff had the opportunity to share our skills with the campers in the Staff Talent Show! We have an incredibly skilled staff. Being able to see everyone’s professional acts really is a treat. The campers LOVED seeing their coaches, counselors and office staff perform, giving us a glimpse into their professional lives as living, breathing, and hard-working circus performers! The campers see their own potential reflected in the coaches (many of whom were once Smirkus campers and Smirkus Troupers too!) While campers come to 41 Clown Alley…

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Fun in the Sun!

Happy Tutu Tuesday! Yesterday the campers kicked off the second week by planning their acts for the Session II Showcase! These kids have been working incredibly hard and we are so looking forward to sharing their progress with friends, parents and family on Friday. From clowning to pyramids, to Spanish web routines, and diabolo, you are in for a real treat as campers will show off their acts in Mama Mia! The first week everyone spent time developing new skills, building on foundations and brainstorming their final performance but now the focus is (almost) entirely on creating those acts. Parents,…

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Happy Fourth of July!

The whole town of Greensboro and all of Smirkus Camp celebrated by marching down past The Willey’s Store to the Town Hall in the Greensboro Funky Fourth of July parade. Leading the Smirkus Camp jugglers, hula hoopers, diabolo-twirlers, and kazoo-players atop the backseat of longtime Greensboro resident Clive Gray’s 1930 Pierce-Arrow convertible were three stars of Greensboro: our red-nosed Circus Smirkus founder Rob Mermin, Junior Salls and Mark Lichtenstein. It is truly amazing the magic that one person with a dream can build. Over the past 28 years that dream lit a spark in people’s hearts, and the dream grew…

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