My exposure to circus was as about as in depth as frothing over Cassus’ Knee Deep and vowing to become a circus performer for long enough to fail a headstand upon arriving home, and being disappointed I couldn’t justify the cost of a VIP ticket to Cirque de Solei when they’re in town.
But I must say, I was pretty damn excited (and nervous) when invited to trial Hoot Camp, Flipside Circus' answer to burning calories while feeling as if you'd boarded a time machine to Grade 4 when lunches were spent hanging upside down on the monkey bars.
So, upon a Wednesday night I drove to a little space in Newmarket with loose clothes (check!), a water bottle (check!) and the agility of someone well beyond my actual age in human years (smoker, check!) to what I was told was a “judgement-free-zone”.
I discovered a place where everyone from the extremely fit to the awkwardly unfit can coexist in harmony. I was greeted by a beautiful lady upon arrival who checked me in and took me on a quick walk around the space. I was early, which never happens, so I was there watching the class before me (a kid’s circus class) as all the fellow campers walked in.
I wasn’t alone as a newbie; I was joined by a couple of university aged kids, one of which admitted to only being here because of his diehard admiration for Pink’s ability to pirouette mid-air throughout her entire discography. It’s at the precise moment the same gentleman struggles to do a decent pushup during our warm-up that I breathe a sigh of relief; no one is taking this class while on a break from touring Cirque de Solei – we’re all working out and having a bit of fun in a comfortable environment.
After the rather gruelling cardio/ strength warmup, which comprises around 20 minutes of alternating moves to a soundtrack of upbeat dance music, it’s onto the “serious” circus stuff.I have to say, I certainly didn’t expect the class to move so fast. I think years of Pilates and yoga has got me in a mindset of having to bide your time in the dull beginner-phase that I expected would translate in circus to partaking in a bit of juggling or maybe even re-learn to summersault. That’s not what Flipside is about though. Within 10 minutes of setting up the silks (those long, dangling pieces of fabric that circus artists use to effortlessly climb and perform amazing feats on) I was encouraged up there to perform some cool flip moves. Chris, the divine instructor who was equal parts intimidating (due to his pure circus brute) and encouraging (you couldn’t ask for a kinder, more patient person to talk a beginner through what must seem to him as easy as walking) talked us through the moves as we partnered up and laughed among ourselves about how shitty our coordination/ strength/ balance/ ability to listen was.
In the class were some more advanced participants, which created a lovely balance for us newbies, and I was genuinely overwhelmed by how patient and supportive everyone was to each other. A gentleman who had been doing it for a year or so continued Hoot Camp as he explained it allowed for all levels of ability and experience to coexist and progress at their purely personal own pace.
After the silks, we practiced some basic moves on a small version of the “cloud” before moving to the big boy “cloud” himself (the hanging trapeze type structure that allows you to swing from the ceiling; hang by your legs in the air etc). The cloud was incredible. Again, I didn’t exactly expect my first class to entail being flung in the air and performing moves well beyond what I thought I was capable of. Chris calmly talked each willing participant through the moves as the rest of us took a small moment of recovery – the physical gruel is not to be underestimated – it is intense! I feel I only made it through the 2 + hours because of how truly fun it was.
After the cloud was done, we moved back to the mats and performed some amazing warm-down stretches that made the next day a lot more bearable (though to be honest, I was in that kind of enjoyable pain where you feel super proud and fit, for a good few days after).
I discovered during my class that a few women were participating because they heard about it when dropping their kids at a Flipside class – most of whom never thought this was something they could do. Which makes a lot of sense to me; as soon as you're exposed to the pleasures of circus; as soon as you can experience the feeling of flying metres above the ground held up by only your legs; as soon as you walk home with the kind of “hell yeah” swing in your step that has you thinking maybe your dream of being a circus performer wasn’t as crazy as you once thought; it all just kind of clicks.
I wish all adults the chance to take this class or another circus training class at Flipside; beyond being an awesome way to work out, it puts you on such an emotional (and physical!) high that you’ll want more and more. Such great heights indeed.
