Circus classes for flexibility, fitness and fun!

Gone are the days when the circus was all about elephants and exotic animals. In fact, you can attend circus classes in many major Asian cities, with no intention of ever running away to join the circus! There is a wide variety of classes on offer at circus schools. They provide many opportunities to increase your strength, fitness, balance and flexibility…and have plenty of fun along the way!

These are some of the classes you’ll find on offer at your local circus school:

Silks

Aerial silks are the long lines of fabric that you may have seen hanging from the ceiling, if you’ve ever been to a circus performance. In an aerial silks class you will learn techniques for gracefully climbing the fabric and locking yourself into it, in different positions. As you progress, you can also learn drops, rolls and dives.

Don’t worry, you won’t be climbing all the way to the top the first time you try it! Usually the technique of wrapping the foot and getting it in the ideal position takes a little bit of practice to master. 

Aerial hoop

Another apparatus suspended from the ceiling, the aerial hoop, is used to perform acrobatics high up in the air. You’ll go through a warm up and various conditioning exercises to help you improve your strength and flexibility while looking graceful at the same time!

As a beginner you will learn techniques for entering through and exiting from the hoop before you progress to a level where you put your skills into practice in the air. Like many circus classes, aerial hoop is a great full body workout.

Trapeze

Some circus schools may offer both the swinging and static trapeze, and other may offer only one or the other. The trapeze is an apparatus consisting of a bar and two ropes that hang from the ceiling. With the swinging trapeze, the performer swings from one platform to another. With the static trapeze the bar and ropes mostly stay in position.

Trapeze can be performed solo or as a partner or group routine. As with the other aerial workouts, sufficient ground work preparation needs to be done before you’re ready to be elevated.

Gymnastics and conditioning classes

Calisthenics or body weight exercises form the basis for all of the disciplines above. So for a large portion of the class, you’re likely to find yourself on the floor getting your body prepared, and working on strength and flexibility exercises.

Most circus schools will offer classes that are purely conditioning based, to help prepare the body for the physical demands of the aerial apparatus. Exercises will likely include push-ups, plank holds and balances alongside handstands and progressive stretching techniques. Some circus schools will have entire classes dedicated to hand balancing and others might offer pole dancing, or aerial yoga.

There’s plenty of fun to be had at circus school, as well as an undeniably intense workout that will help you sculpt a toned and lean physique.