I’m Living My Dream (And I Need the Day to Have a Couple More Hours in It)

Not really enough rest, but more than enough determination and inspiration from my summer travels—this is how I would describe the state I was in when I got back to my modest room in Rotterdam in early September to start my second year of enrollment at Codarts Circus Arts. The older students had warned us last year that the second year was the most strenuous of all—not only in a physical or psychological sense, but also time-wise. They were right. I used the fall vacation to perform at contemporary circus festivals in Finland and Belgium, where I also attended several workshops and gained some inspiration from the many high-quality shows and from meeting numerous personalities from the contemporary circus field.

Back to school. The amount of theoretical and practical assignments that we have to complete in our free time, which basically means over the weekends, is quite unbelievable. This means that at the moment, I’m not only working on my new solo show but also on theoretical assignments on the history of circus, anatomy, and the Laban movement analysis, I’m also learning to play an optional musical instrument, the bass guitar, and, starting in December, I will also be taking three exams that I was unable to complete at the end of my first year due to my injury. Our school schedule starts at 9 a.m. and ends at 5 or 6 p.m., but usually we stay much longer. And don’t get me started on all the smaller tasks we do for each lesson, like creating a movement sequence or writing an essay on that topic.

At the same time, I’m living my dream, and also, thanks to The Kellner Family Foundation: I’m studying at a circus school, I have access to the best of the best in the field, and I’m surrounded by inspirational, good people from around the world.