School keeps circus performance art alive in Oakland
OAKLAND -- When high school senior Amelia Seibel isn't studying you can find her getting ready to practice at her circus school, Kinetic Arts Center in Oakland.
"I've been doing circus since I was really little," Seibel said.
She spends over 15 hours a week doing everything from juggling and acrobatics to silks. She says there is nothing like it.
"I learned that its OK to try things that are scary and even if it's a little dangerous," Seibel said. "As long as you do it in a safe environment you learn a lot and expand your comfort zone."
She works to perfect her balance and other skills along with teammates like Sadie Beil.
"Being apart of circus doesn't feel like a dying breed because I am here all the time and it seems like a bigger community when you are a part of it," Beil said.
The troupe is currently prepping for their upcoming show called Beware: A Monstrous Circus. Already they have been a hit under the big top.
Amelia and six of her classmates auditioned and were accepted into the only tented traveling youth circus in the country -- Circus Smirkus. There she will travel and perform around New England for ten weeks.
Kinetic Arts Center owner Victoria Angello says the magic has been happening in this warehouse since 2009.
"It's rewarding, the fact that I can hire all these artists and keep them and help them stay in their craft," Angello said.
With just a few weeks until her last performance, Seibel is savoring every jump.
"I been doing it so long it's hard to imagine my life without it," Seibel said.
