Far East Meets Midwest - Circus Show Presented by Circus Day Foundation

by Jenny Zhang, Scanews Reporter

	On the evenings of February 7th and 8th, Circus Day Foundation sponsored two circus shows titled "Far East Meets Midwest." Before a supportive crowd of more than 100 at the City Museum, children and adults from different cultures performed Japanese Taiko drums, Chinese hoop diving, unicycles, mini-trampoline, etc. After the show on the 8th, audiences also attended a reception with the performers, tasting delicious foods from China Star and participating in a silent auction that aimed at benefiting the Circus Day Foundation.

	According to Jessica Hentoff, the Foundation's artistic and executive director, this program was dedicated to the memories of Ngoot Lee and David Brown. Lee was a Chinese American artist who came from Canton and died recently of cancer at the age of seventy. Despite the pressure that racial prejudices exerted upon his life, Lee maintained his positive and cheerful outlook. He made friends with people of all nationalities and backgrounds. David Brown was one of the seven people on board the space shuttle Columbia. He had also been a tumbler, juggler, unicyclist and stilt walker when he was young. He had traveled with young people across the country, using circus to bring a message of brotherhood and joy. Hentoff meaningfully stated that our earth seen from the space had no boundaries, and the purpose of the Circus Day Foundation was to use Circus arts to break barriers and connect communities. 

	"Far East Meets Midwest" was a program to bring together Asian and Midwestern arts and artists. The program started with the performance of Taiko drums, an indigenous part of the Japanese culture dating back more than 1,400 years. During this year's Chinese Spring Festival, which was around February 1st, performers from the Foundation were invited to join local Chinese community to celebrate the coming of the Year of Sheep. On the nights of the 7th and 8th, Lion Dancers and Waist Drummers from the St. Louis Chinese Modern School also participated in the Circus Show. Their presentation combined elements of dance, music, martial art, and traditional Chinese costuming and choreography, creating a wonderful festival atmosphere. 

	The most acclaimed performers of the two evening shows were St. Louis Arches, members of the sensational youth circus troupe established in 1989. Ten youth aged six to twenty-three years old presented Chinese hoop diving, Diablo, unicycles, and mini-trampoline. During the performance, people worked toward a common goal, that was, to challenge the limits of bodies, to demonstrate the most beautiful aspects of human beings, and, in the end, to receive thunderous applause. Circus was a crossing barriers kind of language.

	Donald Hughes, assistant coach with the Arches, also presented his various skills, such as juggling, mini-trampoline, and rolla bolla. His daughter Shaina, a young member of the St. Louis Arches, performed gracefully "Lyra" with another Arch Elliana. Both girls managed to pose beautiful ballet gestures within a small trampoline hung in the air. 

	Other performance included Team Respect from Amanat's Karate Center and top spinning by Hiroshi Tada. Gail Noblot, 39, assistant coach of Team Respect, had been practicing for nine years. She was happy that she had the opportunity of teaching children and adults not only about self-defense but also about team-working spirit. Hiroshi Tada, affiliate professor of mechanical engineering at Washington University, manipulated a plain, primitive toy top with a rope using some elements of juggling and yo-yo. He demonstrated the art of Koma-Mawashi (Top Spinning) with scientific accuracy and received huge applause.        	   

	The Circus Day Foundation is a local non-profit organization whose mission is to teach the art of life through circus education. After the "Far East Meets Midwest" program on February 8th, there was a silent auction to benefit future activities sponsored by the Foundation. Besides enjoying delicious Chinese foods from China Star, audiences also had the opportunity to talk with performers and interact with other audiences. 

	When I approached a young audience of the circus show, an eight-year-old boy, asking which program he liked best, he replied, "The unicyclists, of course!" He said he wanted to be the one who sat in the front of the unicycle.