Performers will amaze crowds with aerial acrobatics, juggling and more
Published in the July 20 – Aug. 2, 2016 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Robert Airoldi
Photo courtesy Flynn Creek Circus
Two aerial acrobats perform for the Flynn Creek Circus. The circus comes to Morgan Hill this month and San Juan Bautista next month.
Acrobats, knife throwers, jugglers and daring aerialists all gather under a traditional big top tent for an experience guaranteed to thrill audiences of all ages. After amazing crowds with their popular show last summer, the Mendocino-based Flynn Creek Circus is returning to Morgan Hill and will feature top performers from the international stage in a magical setting at the Outdoor Sports Center.
Circus owners Blaze Birge and David Jones are bringing some new acts to this year’s show. They include the Bogino Family, the world famous jugglers from Italy, as well as Terry Crane, an aerial stunt artist and founder of the highly acclaimed Acrobatic Conundrum. The Acrosanct acrobats promise to be an audience favorite with their high precision flips and over-the-big-top personalities. Outrageous characters, lots of laughs and even cotton candy are delivered with heartfelt sincerity from this cast of expert showmen, Birge said.
The four shows in Morgan Hill are being sponsored by the Morgan Hill Youth Sports Alliance, which operates the OSC.
“Morgan Hill was a highlight for the cast last year,” Birge said. “We had very warm audiences and it was the point on the tour where our cast began to ‘gel’ as a unit. It was also a place where many circus critics and performers came to see the show.”
The South Valley area may well become a “proving ground” for circus shows as it is near the San Francisco circus hub, but it’s still small-town enough to provide an authentic audience reaction, she said.
“We were very humbled by the friendly welcome we received from the Morgan Hill community and we are looking forward to returning this year with a more polished and completely different show,” she said.
The new show will be more comical and hold layers of humor for sophisticated audiences as well as children, she said. There is also a touch of storyline and character throughout the show that makes the acts more personal without bogging them down with dialogue or forced themes, she said.
Photo courtesy Flynn Creek Circus
“We have had resounding and conclusive feedback that the new show is delivering the same level of jaw dropping stunts in a funnier and more creative format,” Birge said.
One person who won’t perform this year but will work as the lighting technician is Morgan Hill’s own Kara Starkweather, who is taking a break from her aerial work to focus on her dance company. Starkweather graduated from Live Oak High School in 1996 and performed aerial acts last year.
In 2002, Birge and a partner founded Flynn Creek Circus, gathering talent from a variety of artistic genres. After several years, the partner left and about the same time, Birge and Jones, whom she met when he was her student and later became her husband, accepted their first outside contract with their double trapeze act.
Since then, Birge has become an experienced choreographer, teacher, director, designer, producer and aerialist. She now focuses on performing as part of the Daring Jones Duo with Jones, who separately trained with the same Romanian circus family.
After their initial training, they returned to Northern California. Rigging trapezes in majestic redwood trees on the remote Flynn Creek Pottery Ranch, they refined their talents.
They first combined their skills to form a dynamic double trapeze act in 2004. The isolation of their environment contributes to the originality of their choreography and lends a quality best described as “heart in throat,” Birge said. Combining speed, grace and power, they strive to entertain their audiences with disciplined artistic and athletic risk.
The Daring Jones Duo has been featured in both traditional and non-traditional circus all over the world.
The Flynn Creek Circus crew and performers are all anticipating coming to Morgan Hill and entertaining families and other residents with the artistry of the circus world. When it pulls into town, the crew will start setting up the big tent on the fields of the Outdoor Sports Center located on Condit Road east of U.S. 101. The first show is 7:30 p.m. Thursday July 21. Other shows are 7 p.m. Friday July 22, 4 and 7 p.m. Saturday July 23 and 1 and 4 p.m. Sunday July 24. Doors open one hour before each show and seating is general admission. The shows do not feature animal acts. Door ticket sales begin one hour prior to each show for $15/child or $22/senior and $30/adult. They are also available at www.flynncreekcircus.com. VIP seating is available for $50. Early purchase to guarantee a seat is recommended.
