2019-2020 Circus Arts

We post new material every week, be sure to check it out below!

This week find a video of kicking progressions with Mr. Adam, and one with Ms. Jarrell and her daughter working on partner acrobatics 101


Welcome to the ISL Circus arts Page!!

We miss you all a lot and hope that you visit often, and enjoy the videos we make for you and the ones we share.

Keep moving, keep dancing, keep challenging yourself to figure out something new with your body, and spend time outside!

We hope you will join us in the rhythm games, the warm-ups, the challenges, and the fun activities.

This page is dedicated to the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders.

Kindergarteners and 1st Graders, you might enjoy some of the activities here as well, and also check out your very own Circus arts Enrichment page, which shows up when you click Circus arts above.

We hope MIddle School students are checking in here as well, and also into their ISL BeauCoup google classroom. We plan to post some of our completed projects on the Middle School page. Right now we are working on the BIG JUGGLE.

We would love to have feedback from you, a photo, a drawing, a video clip, anything that shows you doing Circus arts would cheer us all up greatly :))

Charlie Chaplin said: A day without laughter is a day wasted, so don't be afraid to be a little goofy, laughter is medicine for all of us!

With Love and Light, and Circus inspired Thoughts,

Ms. Meret

Ms. Jarrell, Mr. Adam, and Mr. Olivier,

Ms. Justine, Ms. Angelika,

Ms. Grace, and Ms. Monique.


Kicking progressions with Mr. Adam, as taught in the Middle School google meet as well. Feel free to email him with questions and comments. Be Safe and Enjoy!


Remember:

"We start where we are,

We use what we have,

We do what we can."

Arthur Ashe

Ms. Jarrell and her daughter felt inspired watching Mr. Adam and Ms. Coco's partner acrobatics 101 video (see below) and decided to make their own version :))

Check it out!

Maybe you too have an adult who can be your partner?

Make sure you go over the agreements of Safety and Respect together. And have FUN!

Basic Partner Acrobatics 101 with Mr. Adam and Ms. Coco:

  • The Plank AKA the Board, the raw spaghetti, the frozen fish stick.

  • How to bone-stack your body, AKA alignment

Two good life skills when working with a partner:

  • Trust takes time and practice.

  • Ask for what you need, don't blame the other person when something doesn't work.

An Up-date from Ms. Jarrell Hamilton:

ENDORPHINS: The "feel-good" chemicals.

What are endorphins?

Endorphins (in simple terms) are natural chemicals in our bodies that fight off stress and pain.

It's the "feel good" hormone in our body that makes us happy, excited, giggly and uplifted.

Ways to activate the "feel good" chemicals:

~ Listen to music

~ Sunlight

~ DANCE and lots of "natural movement;" Stay tuned to the lesson on natural movement ; )

Below are two awesome DANCE Warm-Ups from Ms. Jarrell that are sure to get a lot of endorphins released.

Join us as we move our bodies in the dance warm-up exercises, Part 1 and Part 2.

Challenge yourself to do the warm-up at sunrise and sunset (2x a day)

Enjoy!

From Ms. Jarrell comes the Corona Virus Dance Challenge:

Do you accept it?

If so, send us a video of you and your family doing this...

Enjoy!

Obstacle Course in your yard Challenge.docx

Create an Obstacle Course in your Yard with Mr. Adam and Ms. Angelika. Draw a MAP and a Legend (KEY) for your obstacle course. Pass it on to someone else and see if they can read your map. Be SAFE and have FUN :))

***WZUP 3rd GRADE!!! Do U accept the challenge?

Send us a video of you creating 3-5 different rhythms.

3rd Grade Video:

CALL and RESPONSE Rhythm Exercise
  • Ancient African Tradition
  • Communal experience rooted in "drum talk"; Drummers drum and the dancers respond
  • Exercise activates listening skills + motor skills + collaboration + creativity
Next week we will cover the term RHYTHM and how rhythm translates to every aspect of our Circus Arts disciplines!

We can't wait to comment on your videos! : )


Jarrell Hamilton

***WZUP 4th and 5th GRADE!!! Do U accept the challenge?

Send us a video of you dancing the stepping/stomp phrase in the video, both at a slow tempo and fast tempo! YOU GOT THIS!!

4th and 5th Grade Video:

STOMP Dance + STEPPING Exercise
  • STOMP Dance derives from Native American tribal dance
  • STEPPING is a derivative of the Welly Tribe "GUMBOOT" dance + Military drills
  • Both dances were used for social, religious and ceremonial purposes
  • Activates improvisational skills + rhythm comprehension + motor skills + this is a major one "ENDORPHINE"
Next week we will cover the term ENDORPHINE and the health benefits of activating our endorphins through the arts, especially Circus Arts!

Warm-up time with Mr. Adam: Do your basic stretches 5 days a week and we promise you will feel great and improve your flexibility and strength tremendously! Even 3 days a week will keep you limber and in a good mood :))


To do the full warm-up click here:

Juggling and Balancing with Ms. Justine: Ms. Justine shows you how to juggle and balance something that you can find in any house! Practice makes perfect, right, perseverance!

The challenge is juggling things that are safe to juggle and that you can find around your house. Here's what Mr. Olivier came up with :

Here are some more very important skills to practice, demonstrated by Mr. Amazing from Westchester Circus Arts.

For CLOWNING, there are the 7 Stages of Laughter, please practice this every day, we will have a test next time we see each other. For coordination there is Kneesy, Earsy, Nosey, and Crazy Arms. Practice first and then teach it to a grown-up :)

And then there is Steve Bags page with Special tricks with object manipulation around the House:

There are some funny things to try, just don't spend too much time on the tooth brush twirling.

He has great additional resources on this page for working with hoops and poi's.

For your enjoyment here are 3 clips from our fabulous Middle School BeauCoup Circus troupe from spring 2019.

We went on a "Journey Afar to Malabar" for our Fabulous Fortnight to discover why "juggling" in Spanish is translated as hacer malabarismos or hacer juegos malabares. We found that it is about the people of the region of Malabar in South India - and it is a long and interesting story!

Our Fabulous Fortnight in spring 2018 was about taking Comedy and Clowning Seriously.

"A day without laughter is a day wasted" and we were determined not to waste a minute.

Here you can see " The SuperSizer" and "The Train Wreck".