Members of Florida State University’s Flying High Circus have been hard at work preparing for their upcoming Halloween shows. The show features typical circus acts but with a Halloween twist.
Established in 1947, the circus is one of the oldest college circuses and has been a long-standing part of the Tallahassee community. Despite the circus’ rich history, the Halloween show is newer as mentioned on their website.
“A newer tradition under the Big Top, the circus puts on a Halloween show each October. All students and the community are invited to attend this fun and spooky hey friendly family production of zombies breaking into dance and skeletons flying through the air.”
Senior Addison Nance has been part of the the circus for three years and says they have been rehearsing three times a week. She also says she is looking forward to performing in front of the crowd with her team.
“I’m most excited to perform a fun and upbeat dance with an incredible team for an eager audience,” Nance said.
Psychology student and fellow dancer Katherine Kelly says the best part about the circus is the bonds it provides and that it has not been challenging to balance academics with the extracurricular.
“My favorite part is the community. The people in the circus are so kind and welcoming, and practices are always fun to attend,” Kelly said. “It’s been pretty easy for me since my practices are only a few times a week, and it’s nice that I have something to commit to.”
Kelly says people can look forward to a night of excitement at the upcoming shows.
“They can expect to see some pretty awesome acts with some really cool costumes, lighting and an overall great performance,” she said.
Along with dancers the circus typically features various acts such as flying trapeze, jump rope, clowning, high wire, tightrope and more. All acts are performed by FSU students and no experience is necessary to join.
Accounting major Lauren Lazar has been in the circus for three years and participates in the flying trapeze, cloud swing, teeterboard and jump rope acts. This is her first time performing in the Halloween show and she says the most challenging part is learning some new tricks in a short time.
“Well I found out last minute that I was going to be in the Halloween shows, so I had to learn a few new tricks in a short period of time,” Lazar said. “We train over summer for Halloween shows but we don’t know if they are actually going to put our act in the show until weeks before. So the whole show is put together pretty fast.”
She says the circus pushes its students to step outside what they are typically used to.
“The thing I love most about the circus is it really shows you how much you are capable of. If it wasn’t for the coaches picking our acts, I would never have believed I was capable enough to even try the acts I am on now. It pushes you out of your comfort zone,” Lazar added.
The first show is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at the FSU Jack Haskin Circus Complex. There will also be performances on Oct. 20, 27 and 28 — all at 7p.m. Tickets are free to FSU students with their students I.D and vary for the public depending on section choice and age.