My husband and I think CircEsteem has been the best thing for our son. He has the biggest grin on his face on Saturday mornings and just can’t wait to get there!” Julie H- Parent of Saturday Circus Student
Besides learning circus skills, the Chicago Youth Circus is a great opportunity that most people don’t get to have. I love the traveling and the shows. Seeing how circus changes people’s lives is amazing! Ali Haymes – CircusTeen
CircEsteem has made me a better person. I’ve learned from my circus team to put trust in others and to earn other people’s trust. I’ve learned by conquering my fear of the trapeze, that even if you don’t like something at first, you should always give it another try. I’ve learned through juggling, my most [...]
I’ve been in CircEsteem for seven years. CircEsteem has helped me in so many ways. In school I used to get straight “B’s,” which wasn’t bad, but I knew I could do better. CircEsteem’s HomeWork & CircusWork program has helped me get my grades up to straight “A’s.” It wasn’t easy. Now that I’m in [...]
Whenever I think of all the positive experiences that I had in my life, CircEsteem seems to always be in the picture. CircEsteem played an important part in getting me where I pictured myself in life. In 2002, when I joined CircEsteem as the “grumpy girl who refused to do anything,” I would have never [...]
The fact that the teachers care and help you no matter what happens in life is very valuable. I knew the circus had an impact on me wen I always started acting funny around my friends and they really started to laugh and have fun. I realized that I was a clown and belonged in [...]
I love working with CircEsteem. It is one of the few places that successfully mixes diverse groups of kids. Kids here have to work together as a team no matter what their background. Few, if any, other settings place kids from such economically diverse origins on equal footing: whether that footing be the tightrope, the [...]
I love seeing what CircEsteem did for my son’s self confidence. He was always getting in trouble for clowning in school, and here was a context where it was encouraged and developed. Those skills still serve him all these years later: he can speak publicly with poise and ease; he can rally a group of [...]
CircEsteem has been great for our kids. In a short time they’ve learned to juggle, walk on stilts, glide across a tight rope, and spin in the gym wheel. But more importantly they’ve found a warm friendly environment where they are encouraged to try new things and to be goofy without worrying about what other [...]