Hanging from her wrist about 10 feet in the air, senior Charli Fomin was unsure if her arm was capable of holding up the rest of her weight, but she knew falling was not an option.
“I’ve just accepted my fate when I do these things,” said Fomin. “The way I see it is that it’s survival at this point … you can’t let go, or you fall. So you don’t.”
Fomin takes circus arts and silks classes at The Actors Gymnasium in Evanston. Both classes consist of stretching practice and specified skill lessons. Participants learn one ground skill and one aerial skill per week.
A skill Fomin particularly enjoyed learning in class was fast spinning, during which performers climb a rope with a loop on the top, thread their arm through the loop and do tricks while rotating midair. Fomin trains for skills like fast spinning by stretching, doing cardio and climbing ropes.
“It actually feels like you’re disconnecting from your arm,” said Fomin. “But the reason I love circus [arts] is because it’s like flying. It’s this weird feeling of doing something that’s not normal.”
Aerial skills utilize apparatuses such as the Spanish web, which is a vertical rope, or the lyra, which is a hanging hoop. Ground skills are commonly taught step-by-step, so students practice using mats before transitioning to the carpeted floor.
“It’s my main source of physical activity,” said Fomin. “We’re climbing ropes every day. I unrealistically now believe that if I had to run through a jungle or something, I’d survive.”
According to Danielle Gennaoui, instructor at The Actors Gymnasium, Fomin’s skills as a circus artist have developed since she started taking classes consistently in 2020.
“Her strength has improved immensely, her flexibility and her dedication to the classroom,” said Gennaoui. “She really wants to learn and improve.”
Fomin has taken on a leadership role in some of her classes, demonstrating and talking through skills on the lyra for other students, Gennaoui said.
“Especially at her age, helping people older than her with such a beautiful maturity was really lovely to watch,” Gennaoui said.
Fomin began attending The Actors Gymnasium when she was around 7 years old for a summer camp, where participants performed “The Jungle Book” using skills taught over the session.
Following that session, Fomin stopped taking lessons until she was in eighth grade and trying to stay busy during the COVID-19 pandemic. She has attended regularly since.
Circus arts have taught Fomin how to be confident in her ability despite the risks.
“I’ve always chased this feeling of flying,” said Fomin. “It’s purely instinct at a certain point. It’s a mix of total fear of yourself, but also security in the way you’re tied up or what you’re holding.”