SAINT PAUL, Minn. — There's beauty under the big top, and KARE 11 Sunriser Guy Brown headed out to see what goes into getting a circus show in to the air, in this edition of Guy's Games.
Incredible aerial artistry along with adrenaline pumping stunt work is sprinkled into "Confetti," the latest show from St. Paul's Circus Juventas.
Guy started out his morning strapped into a gigantic wheel, the "German Wheel." A German Wheel is made up of two metal circles held together with hand holds and bars for your feet. A person stands in the wheel and can roll it and do tricks while standing inside. It looks a little bit like a human-sized hamster wheel.
While the more "serious" gymnasts can get right to business in the wheel, Guy wanted to take it down a notch or two and start off easy.
"Yeah, this isn't something you figure out on the fly," Guy laughed.
Circus Juventas is located in St. Paul, and has trained performers in circus acts since the early 1990s. They started with just 30 kids, but the school has continued to grow in the almost 100 years they've been operating.
"We've become the largest youth performing arts circus school in North America," said co-founder Daniel Butler.
Some of the youth performers have spent the majority of their life in the circus.
"I think it's coming up on 13 years. I started in kindergarten," said performer Finn Zwank. "It has truly been the experience of a lifetime."
After his success in the wheel, Guy wanted to try at least one more performance before he left.
The high wire was calling his name.
"Just from a much lower distance," Guy said as he grabbed the hands of his spotters and headed out on the wire.
Unlike the Circus Juventas professionals, Guy didn't make it the length of the cable, but he did make use of the floor pad.
"Hey, at least I landed on my feet!"
Confetti is the latest offering from Circus Juventas, and the show runs from July 29th through August 14.
Tickets are on sale now, and you can find more information about prices and show dates here.
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