<\/p>\n
A handful of girls, in full costume and stage makeup, took over the Secret Garden at the Rochester Hotel on Wednesday night to practice for the show they are putting on this weekend.<\/p>\n
The kids were rehearsing their parts in Durango Aerial Arts & Acrobatics<\/a>\u2019 \u201cCircus in Wonderland,\u201d a performance that will be held Saturday night at Animas City Theatre<\/a>.<\/p>\n Founded by Elle Carpenter-Hockett in 2015, the school began as Durango Aerial Arts but was changed to Durango Aerial Arts & Acrobatics with the addition of classes in ground circus acrobatics. Now, students, who range in age from about 8 to adult, take classes in aerial silk, trapeze, hoop and acrobatics.<\/p>\n Carpenter-Hockett has been involved in the performing arts since she was about 8. She\u2019s performed with the High Flyers Family Circus in Indiana and trained with Circus Smirkus coaches Zina and Vladimir Augustov. She\u2019s also worked as a performer, musician, director, choreographer and teacher.<\/p>\n She said the classes have been gaining popularity.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been really booming lately. I think (in this day and age) aerial arts and circus are popular,\u201d she said. \u201cI just think it takes a little while to get going in a new town, and it takes a little while to get dedicated students. Last year, I expressed to my dedicated students that I wanted to start a performing company, and I think that made them even more dedicated, and that\u2019s just been building from there.\u201d<\/p>\n And for the girls at rehearsal, it\u2019s tough work, but also a lot of fun.<\/p>\n Naomi Hurst and her sister, Haley, whose parents are Lauren Lucky and Michael Hurst, started taking classes a little more than two years ago. Naomi started going first, and Haley followed soon after.<\/p>\n \u201cActually, it started as a summer intensive, and (Naomi) didn\u2019t want to go,\u201d Lauren Lucky said. \u201cAfter that one class, she loved it, that was it.\u201d<\/p>\n Lucky said the classes are helping the girls gain strength and confidence being on stage. They\u2019re also learning the importance of teamwork, which was evident during rehearsal. Much of the acrobatics the girls were doing required everyone\u2019s concentration and a level of trust.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the most nerve-wracking thing is probably on the apparatuses, like the trapeze and the hoop, are a little scary, other than that, it\u2019s just fun,\u201d Haley Hurst said. \u201cI never really thought about it \u2013 you don\u2019t think about it too much and then you\u2019re fine.\u201d<\/p>\n Lauryn Christensen, whose parents are Ann and Walker Christensen, is playing the Cheshire Cat in Saturday\u2019s \u201cAlice in Wonderland\u201d-themed show. She said what she likes best about taking classes at Durango Aerial Arts & Acrobatics is also what she finds the most difficult.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the best part is gaining strength and flexibility,\u201d she said, then added, laughing, \u201cThe most challenging part is probably strength and flexibility.\u201d<\/p>\n Carpenter-Hockett said that along with teaching students the finer points of the circus arts, there are bigger lessons she wants to impart.<\/p>\n \u201cI grew up in community theater, and I was working with adults. I think growing up working with multiple age ranges creates a whole new level of socialization,\u201d she said. \u201cI think when kids work with grown-ups, they get even more socialized into the real world. I\u2019m training my kids to be professionals.<\/p>\n \u201cFor example, if somebody doesn\u2019t show up, then their part might get cut or somebody else might get that part,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s lessons that really in life are the same thing: If you don\u2019t show up for work, you\u2019ll get fired. I think that this kind of production, while it is a piece of art, everyone involved can kind of use it in their life.\u201d<\/p>\n Chloe Harris, 11, said she\u2019s a little nervous about performing, but you wouldn\u2019t know it watching her twist and bend and pull herself up onto her classmates\u2019 shoulders.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really fun performing and hanging out with the whole group,\u201d said Chloe, whose parents are Stephanie and Craig Harris. \u201cI like acrobatics and the apparatuses like the silks.\u201d<\/p>\n The classes are fun for Chloe, but the overall benefits are far-reaching.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is important because it creates body awareness, it gets kids moving \u2013 I think kids really need to move their bodies,\u201d Stephanie Harris said. \u201cIt\u2019s fun, but mostly, the strength and conditioning and the coordination and the body awareness they get out of it, they\u2019re building something that is going to last a lifetime.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is her dream,\u201d she said. \u201cShe says it all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n katie@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n What: Durango Aerial Arts & Acrobatics students to perform this weekend<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":59498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[13,28,910],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-59497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-headlines","tag-theatre"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59497\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59497"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=59497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}If you go<\/h4>\n
\n \u201cCircus in Wonderland,\u201d presented by Durango Aerial Arts & Acrobatics.
\n When:<\/strong>
\n 6 p.m. (silent auction fundraiser for new equipment), 7 p.m. (show) Saturday.
\n Where:<\/strong>
\n Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Drive.
\n Tickets:<\/strong>
\n $25, available at
\n https:\/\/ticketf.ly\/2rsCdgM<\/a>
\n .
\n More information:<\/strong>
\n Visit
\n www.daaacircus.com<\/a>
\n or
\n www.animascitytheatre.com<\/a>
\n .<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"