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Circus Juventas

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Template:Short description Template:Good article Template:Use mdy dates Template:Coord Template:Infobox organization Circus Juventas (formerly Circus of the Star) is a youth performing arts circus school located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, serving youth throughout the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The organization was founded in 1994 by Dan and Betty Butler, and offers circus arts training to young people ranging from 3 to 21 years old.

Emulating the style of Cirque du Soleil, Circus Juventas's first show was at Saint Paul's Highland Fest in 1995. From there, the school's enrollment quickly expanded and the organization initiated a campaign to fund a $2.1 million permanent big top facility, which opened in 2001 on Saint Paul parkland in the Highland Park neighborhood. That year, it began to produce annual summer performances showcasing the work of its most advanced students, each with a distinct theme. Yearly themed December holiday shows were added starting in 2020 after that year's summer show was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

These shows have proven popular with local audiences and have been well received critically, with reviewers praising the professionalism and fearlessness exhibited in the productions, while noting students' occasional missteps during performances. Circus Juventas students have performed and competed both around the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area and abroad. As of 2014, Juventas was the largest youth performing arts circus in North America. The school had tentative plans to add a second facility elsewhere in the region.

HistoryEdit

The founders of Circus Juventas, Dan and Betty Butler, met as teenagers at the Sailor Circus of Sarasota during the mid-1970s.<ref name="wapo">Template:Cite news</ref> Dan was a catcher on the flying trapeze, and Betty was an aerialist on the cloud swing.<ref name="donor">Template:Cite news</ref> They began dating at age sixteen,<ref name=donor /> went on to perform at Florida State University's Flying High Circus,<ref name=wapo /> and married in 1980.<ref name=facetime>Template:Cite news</ref> Dan became a successful real estate broker in Atlanta, but faced bankruptcy and chemical dependency.<ref name=donor /> The couple came to reside in Minnesota because Dan Butler was receiving alcohol and drug abuse rehabilitation at Hazelden.<ref name=wapo /> The Butlers attended Sailor Circus reunions together and after one, in April 1994, Betty Butler wondered, "Wouldn't it be great if we could do something in Template:Nowrap?"<ref name=UBT>Template:Cite news</ref>

File:Hillcrest Recreation Center 2013.jpg
Hillcrest Recreation Center, the original home of Circus Juventas (then Circus of the Star)

The Butlers founded Circus Juventas as a nonprofit corporation in October 1994,Template:Sfn<ref name=fund-raiser>Template:Cite news</ref> citing a desire to give back to the community as one of the reasons for its creation.<ref name=wapo /> It was originally known as Circus of the Star, so called for Minnesota's nickname, The North Star State.<ref name=donor /> The newly opened Hillcrest Recreation Center in Saint Paul provided the couple with inspiration for the circus program, and they asked the city if they could hold classes there.<ref name="center">Template:Cite news</ref> The Saint Paul Parks and Recreation Department approved the program, and assumed liability for approximately fifty children who enrolled the first year.<ref name="center" /> About thirty of those students stayed with the program and performed in their first show<ref name="center" /> at the 1995 Highland Fest, an annual family-oriented neighborhood festival.<ref name="history">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After this performance, interest in the program increased.<ref name=history /> By 1996, 30 more students were enrolled, and by 1997, an additional 25 had joined the program.<ref name=center /> The circus was still based out of the Hillcrest Recreation Center's gym, and had to work around the schedule of the other regular activities in the facility.<ref name=center /> In 1997, the waitlist for the program was around 200 students.<ref name=center />

With the school's growing popularity, the Butlers saw the need for a larger space so they developed plans to build a 1,500-seat facility.<ref name=hitches>Template:Cite news</ref> In an article published in the St. Paul Pioneer Press in 1997, the estimated cost of the project was quoted at $700,000, with a groundbreaking planned for April 1998.<ref name=hitches /> The Butlers initiated their capital campaign on February 18, 1998, with the goal of raising $1.1 million for their new building.<ref name="new home">Template:Cite news</ref> By August 1999, they had raised $1 million of their expanded $1.6 million goal for the circus expansion, with plans to break ground on the new facility that November.<ref name=donor /> Part of the funding came from Saint Paul's Sales Tax Revitalization (STAR) program, through which surplus funds were distributed by councilmembers to worthy organizations.<ref name=slush>Template:Cite news</ref> A total of $627,183 was disbursed for the circus through the program, split between three STAR components: $450,000 as part of Neighborhood STAR which sought to fund local initiatives, $122,183 as part of Cultural STAR which funded arts and culture programs, and $55,000 from 3rd Ward City Councilmember Pat Harris's discretionary Neighborhood Investment Initiative budget.<ref name=slush /> Another $60,000 came from an anonymous recently retired Saint Paul businessperson.<ref name=donor />

File:Circus Juventas ext.jpg
The permanent big top, exterior

The $1.6 million were raised in full by the end of April 2000, just in time to ensure the circus received its STAR funding which would have been nullified if the Butlers had not made their fundraising goal by May 5 of that year.<ref name="juggles its way">Template:Cite news</ref> The Butlers had found the space for the school through coincidence; after driving along Montreal Avenue in Saint Paul one night, they turned into a parking lot, noticed an area beneath some trees, and realized it was an ideal location for their school's expanded facility.<ref name=UBT /> On August 25, 2000, ground was broken on the new structure.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The big top took about a year to complete, during which time the school also changed its name to Circus Juventas, named for Juventas, an ancient Roman goddess of youth and rejuvenation.<ref name=UBT /> Ultimately, the project totaled $2.1 million<ref name=UBT /> and by 2006, the school was $700,000 in debt.<ref name=balancing>Template:Cite news</ref> It was working with various city agencies to resolve the shortfall and faced "no looming threat."<ref name=balancing /> The school relies heavily on parent volunteers to help with various operational aspects, from rigging to administrative work to set construction and decoration,<ref name=contagion>Template:Cite news</ref> and concessions sales.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Betty Butler estimated that 90 percent of work on the school's shows is done by parent volunteers.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The circus operates with the equivalent of 40 full-time employees.<ref name=villager>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2010, the circus school enrolled students from ages 6 to 21, with an additional enrollment of about 150 toddlers and other younger participantsTemplate:Sfn as young as three years old.Template:Sfn By 2013, the enrollment had reached over 800 and the school's annual operating budget exceeded $2 million.Template:Sfn Circus Juventas has also held circus arts fitness classes for adults, taught by the school's regular instructors.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The school is a member of the Outdoor Amusement Business Association and the Fédération Mondiale du Cirque.<ref name="expanding spectacle">Template:Cite news</ref> A listing on the latter organization's website notes that as of 2014, Juventas is the largest performing arts circus school for youth in the United States;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> other sources indicate that it is the largest in all of North America.<ref name=villager /><ref name="knight oz">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

FacilitiesEdit

Circus Juventas's big top is located in the Highland Park neighborhood of Saint Paul, Minnesota.<ref name="minnpost">Template:Cite news</ref> It stands Template:Convert tall and encompasses Template:Convert of floor space<ref name=peek>Template:Cite news</ref> built on concrete slab.Template:Sfn The structure is supported by an aluminum frame and covered with flame-resistant vinyl-coated cloth.<ref name=donor /> The building's Template:Convert lobby space was designed by Locus Architecture, Ltd., of Minneapolis.Template:Sfn The firm connected texteline fabric (often used for awnings) to the system of catwalks and supports to help "the lobby act...as an immersion tank, rather than a threshold, to introduce spectators to the illusion of the world of circus."Template:Sfn Although Locus was still installing the fabric within hours of the circus's gala opening,Template:Sfn the company won one of the 10 honor awards distributed in 2002 by the Minnesota branch of the American Institute of Architects for their design.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The circus school's original bleachers could seat 1,200 audience members.<ref name=peek />

Bleacher collapseEdit

File:CJ bleacher collapse.jpg
The bleachers shortly after the collapse

On August 16, 2009, at the closing performance of the show Yulong, a set of bleachers with a carrying capacity of 450 people and holding 420 at the time collapsed, sending seven people to the hospital.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=fellpp>Template:Cite news</ref> In the ensuing investigation, it came to light that Juventas had not had the bleachers inspected each time they were set up, as required by their lease with the city.<ref name=mpr_fined>Template:Cite news</ref> They had been issued a permit in 2006 for the bleachers, and had not had them inspected since.<ref name=fellpp /> The school was fined $500 and shut down until the legal and safety issues could be fully investigated.<ref name=mpr_fined /> It reopened about a month later<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and installed new bleachers with molded plastic seats the next March.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

FutureEdit

In early 2014, the Butlers announced plans to expand their big top facility by an additional Template:Convert.<ref name="expanding spectacle" /> The additional space would house a dance and theater studio, a costume shop, offices, and a Template:Convert gym.<ref name="expanding spectacle" /> Naming rights for the new structure would provide a component of the $4 million the school hoped to raise for the $2 million expansion, a $1 million addition to the circus's endowment, and eventual repairs to the building's exterior, estimated at $1 million.<ref name="expanding spectacle" /> Betty Butler stated that the project stemmed from the desire to create "a true professional program, a separate program" for students looking to study and perform circus arts post-Juventas, even though she and her husband originally shied away from pre-professional training as a core aspect of their circus school.<ref name="expanding spectacle" />

According to Saint Paul's Parks and Recreation Department, the cliffside space which the expansion would occupy was deemed unsuitable for building a structure of the expansion's proposed size.<ref name=fighting>Template:Cite news</ref> In response, the Butlers were considering building a new facility of up to Template:Convert in the western suburbs of Minneapolis–Saint Paul.<ref name=fighting /> Construction of a new building would likely cost $10 million, require a capital campaign to fund,<ref name=fighting /> and probably not begin for five to 10 years.<ref name=staying>Template:Cite news</ref> In the meantime, the school is performing a small expansion to its Highland Park space, on which the Circus has a lease for at least 17 more years, as of 2014.<ref name=staying />

PerformancesEdit

The school typically puts on three shows each year: a spring performance featuring less advanced students studying circus arts at beginning and intermediate levels, a late-summer show to display the talents of more advanced students, and a December holiday show.<ref name=knightarts>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> While the earliest shows were focused primarily on technique and the individual acts, by 1997 or 1998 the school began to emphasize the artistic side of performances, including integrating those acts into Cirque du Soleil-style narratives.Template:Sfn Holiday shows were introduced beginning in 2020 after the planned summer show that year was cancelled on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref name="covid">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="bliz" >Template:Cite news</ref> The school also hosts an annual gala in late autumn that includes portions of the year's earlier summer performance.<ref name=facetime /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Circus Juventas does not utilize animal acts in its shows.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Big top summer showsEdit

Big top holiday showsEdit

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Other engagementsEdit

In addition to shows at their Saint Paul big top, Juventas students have performed across the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metro area and at domestic and international shows and competitions. Performers have appeared at local events including the Saint Paul Winter Carnival,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Minneapolis mayor R. T. Rybak's 2002 inauguration at the Minneapolis City Hall,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts as part of the Flint Hills International Children's Festival.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Students have presented their work at a variety of local public, retail, and theater spaces.Template:Efn Students have also participated non-Juventas shows, including a 2004 Minnesota Fringe Festival production,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the 2005 world premiere of Tin Forest with the Minnesota Orchestra at Orchestra Hall,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the Children's Theatre Company's 2008 stage adaptation of Madeline and the Gypsies,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the 2012 adaptation of Jack Prelutsky's The Dragons Are Singing Tonight at The Southern Theater.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2010, a cohort of Juventas students traveled to perform in Chattanooga, Tennessee, at the RiverRocks Festival.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Outside the United States, performers have traveled to compete, including at the International Circus Festival in Latina, Italy,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and at the Circus Ring of Friendship Festival in Norrköping, Sweden, in which the troupe's triple trapeze team garnered the gold medal.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In April 2015, a Circus Juventas spinning cube team performed at the Circus Waldoni Festival in Darmstadt, Germany, where they tied for first place. Students from the school will perform at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C., in June and July 2017.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

MusicEdit

File:PeterOstroushko.jpg
Ostroushko playing mandolin in 2014

Much of the accompaniment for the big top summer shows came from Peter Ostroushko, a local mandolin player.<ref name=PJtC /> Ostroushko, known for his work on the radio show A Prairie Home Companion,<ref name="grimm pipress">Template:Cite news</ref> became involved in the youth circus after his daughter saw a show and decided to join.<ref name=PJtC /> In 2005, the Butlers discovered Ostroushko's affinity for the mandolin and fiddle, and asked if he would play a Celtic song at the premiere of their upcoming summer big top show, Dyrnwych.<ref name=PJtC /> He happily agreed, having expressed a lifelong dream of joining a circus, and played the track, "See It There/Con Cassidy's", not only at DyrnwychTemplate:'s opening but also at each of its subsequent 18 performances.<ref name=PJtC /> The following year, he composed original music for the 2006 Juventas show, Pazzanni, and expanded his band to five members, including himself on mandolin, fiddle, and mandocello, Marc Anderson on percussion, Dan Chouinard on piano, accordion, and keyboard, Dirk Freymuth on electric and acoustic guitars, and Joel Sayles on electric and acoustic bass guitars.<ref name=PJtC /> Ostroushko again provided a score for Atlanticus and RavensManor,<ref name=PJtC /> continued in 2010 with Sawdust,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> then Grimm,<ref name="grimm pipress" /> and finally Showdown.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Tracks from the first four shows for which he played, from Dyrnwych to RavensManor, are anthologized on the album Peter Joins the Circus, published by Borderland Productions in 2008.<ref name=PJtC />

ReceptionEdit

Jando Dominique, reporting for Spectacle: An Online Journal of Circus Arts, summarized audience and critical reception for Circus Juventas's shows by describing them as "always sold out and enthusiastically reviewed by the press."<ref name="expanding spectacle" /> Renee Valois cited the age of the performers and the proximity between them and the audience when she asked in a St. Paul Pioneer Press review of Oz comparing the circus school with Cirque du Soleil, "Dare I say Circus Juventas is more exciting than the troupe that inspired it?"<ref name=ozwonder>Template:Cite news</ref> Writing for Minnesota Monthly, Amanda Bankston commended the technical skill and professionalism of the performers in 2012's Showdown: "There is nothing child-like about the talent in this show. The budding stars fearlessly swing, flip, and soar through the air like pros."<ref name=youngfearless /> In Spectacle, Dominique noted that Juventas's productions consistently have "a polish and style not often seen in youth circuses, or most professional ones, for that matter."<ref name="expanding spectacle" />

Susannah Schouweiler of Knight Arts wrote, "at two hours and 45 minutes, plus a 20-minute intermission, [GrimmTemplate:'s] run time is an awfully long haul for the smallest circus-goers."<ref name=knightarts /> Critics have also commented on the occasional misstep in a performance; Rohan Preston noted in his review of Grimm that "there are moments – just a few stand out – when you realize that these are students, after all, in a celebrated after-school program. You want them to succeed, even if they do not always."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Similarly, writing for BroadwayWorld, Elaina Lenertz stated, "Sometimes their silks routines are a bit out of sync and sometimes the show features dance routines from younger kids who are still mastering stunts. Despite this, the performance is very impressive."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

NotesEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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CitedEdit

External linksEdit

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