A Taste of Circus Life: Trapeze and Hula Hoop Lessons

For me, every writing project is an exciting challenge. It makes me realise how little I actually know about the world. It’s similar to an actor thoroughly researching a character’s life in order for their performance to be believable. When it comes to creative writing, I believe you sometimes have to get your hands a little dirty, if you are going to write convincingly, because let’s face it, we’re creating characters who are experiencing things that we haven’t necessarily experienced ourselves.

The Awesome Side of Research

Research might sound pretty boring, right? It may conjure up an image of someone with their nose to the books, or computer screen, slight frown creasing their forehead as they try to make sense of the bombardment of information they are supposed to screen, dissect, reword, rephrase, verify, and somehow mould into their own manuscript in a much more interesting way. Let me show you the awesome side of research.

Wolfe Bowart’s Letters End

As part of my research for my historical fiction novel, When the Glitter Fades, I thought it was important to get the vibe of live entertainment and interview some performers along the way. I booked tickets to see Wolfe Bowart’s performance of Letters End which was pure magic. The biggest bonus was going backstage to interview Wolfe and Karen to get an insight into the behind-the-scenes preparation that goes into touring and performing. What a treat that was.

Loritz Circus

I then went to see Loritz Circus, a small travelling circus that sets up its own marquee and travels in an entourage of trucks. This gave me some idea of what life on the road would have been like for the Broadways. They had a number of acts which included Kenyan acrobats and the ten-year-old hula hoop sensation Americus, who appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show.

Adrenaline Circus

Adrenaline Circus, a much grander production, at QPAC (Queensland Performing Arts Centre) was next on the list. I sat nervously, in a pool of perspiration, as I watched the acts in complete amazement and awe.

A Trapeze Lesson with Trix Circus

Watching all those amazing circus acts somehow inspired me to book a trapeze lesson with Trix Circus. Then it suddenly occurred to me that I’m no spring chicken anymore and what the hell did I think I was doing? Ok, the truth was I chickened out and convinced my son to do it instead. Yes, I know, I’m very sneaky! So, I filmed my son, Christian who graciously flew through the air with the greatest of ease. I, on the other hand, would have been screaming and flapping my hands like a mad chicken, and I do, after all, like to keep a professional appearance.

Hula Hoop Lessons with Puzzle Dust Circus

I must admit, I was jealous watching Christian flying through the air. Back in the day when I was his age and fit, I would have definitely given it a go. I was quite the dare devil in my younger days, believe it or not. Now, I’m a boring writer who spends most of the time sitting in front of a computer.

So, I did the next best thing to get a taste of circus life—I booked a hula hoop lesson with Puzzle Dust Circus. I used to swivel like a pro as a girl. I rushed out to buy a hula hoop so I could get a little practice beforehand—I didn’t want to look like a complete fool on my first lesson. When I got home, I found out that I couldn’t swivel for more than 2 seconds. It’s not like I was going to try the hoop out at the shop and make a complete idiot of myself. It’s bad enough having customers watching but capturing it on the security camera was a risk I didn’t want to take. These things could end up on You Tube! I had to face the fact that I’d lost my swivel.

But I couldn’t back out. I turned up for my lesson feeling a little nervous.

The secret is in the hula hoop!

I hadn’t lost my swivel after all. I was using the wrong hula hoop! Josie Jupiter, the owner of Puzzle Dust Circus had me hooping away with ease straight away!

There’s more to hula hooping than simply swivelling!

Josie started up with a warm-up which consisted of yoga stretches and progressed to waist hooping in both directions. It didn’t take me long to discover the right side of my brain was dominant. Hooping to the left proved a challenge.

I was feeling like a smarty pants when Josie told us to start taking steps whilst swivelling. Another challenge. I love challenges, even though I usually end up looking idiotic. Next, it was time for the arms to get a workout. Well, let me tell you, as a newbie, those hoops kept flying straight out of my arms. I had hoop missiles flying in all directions!

The Dangerous Side to Hula Hooping

Josie taught us a graceful way to pick up a hoop from the floor by using your feet. When I tried it, I almost knocked myself out when the hoop hit me in the head. Very glamourous—not!

There was a good side to all this research dedication—apparently, I burned around 600 to 800 calories in one hour. I wondered if that included chasing the hoop around the room when it got away on me.

Okay, so, I’ll never really know what it’s like to be a circus performer, but I had fun researching and getting a tiny taste of circus life.