A
N
Circus
Time
Big-Tent skills come to life at Akiva.
T
he circus came to town at Yeshivat Akiva in Southfield when 270 students had
the opportunity to participate in a circus day program.
Led by professional entertainers and skilled instructors from Cirque
Amongus of Livonia and with the help and teamwork of lots of parent volunteers and
teachers, students began a training circuit sampling 10 different circus skills: tightwire,
acrobatics, rolling globes and barrels, equilibristics, hula hoops and stilts, trapeze, magic,
toss juggling and manipulation juggling and cycles.
After lunch, new groups were formed and students each chose their favorite act and
began a focused training session led by teachers and parent volunteers. They had one
hour to assemble an act with the members of their troupe. When the hour was up, stu-
dents complete with costumes and make-up performed. The children displayed their
newfound talents in a show that entertained and amazed the audience. "Students were
left with a sense of accomplishment, showmanship and an experience that they will
never forget — the day the circus came to them" said Mrs. Phyllis Rochen, coordinator
of the program. --
_
information on Cirque Amongus: www.cirqueamongus.com .
Parent-volunteer Elana Lofman helps Samantha, 5, of Southfield while Rachel Spitzer,
11, of West Bloomfield and Elana Greenbaum, 11, of Southfield wait their turn.
Jacob Shulkin, 9, of West Bloomfield on stilts
Yehuda Wrotslaysky, 6, of Southfield, Samuel Grand,
8, of Huntington Woods, and, above him, Nathan
Klausner, 6, of Southfield.
Rabbi Eleazar Durden, assistant principal, gets into
the spirit of the day.
May 24 2007
47