December 16, 2010 (CHICAGO) – Children hanging upside down and pins flying through the air are pretty common sights at the non-profit afterschool program CircEsteem. ABC7 spends an afternoon with CircEsteem as it prepares for its 10th Annual Winter Circus.
CircEsteem’s Executive Director speaks to Jerome McDonald on Chicago Public Radio’s Worldview. Listen to the interview here.
Chicago Parent Magazine takes a look at what it is like to run away with CircEsteem for the day.
Chicago Sun Times article talks about CircEsteem’s impact on young people.
Watch CircEsteem on WGN’s Midday Fix.
Shakespeare is going to the circus! On May 21 and 22, CircEsteem and the Chicago Youth Circus will present A Springtide Circus, a theatrical production that combines the Bard and the Big Top! The audience will be wowed by elaborate juggling choreography, hilarious clown performances, daring tightrope and trapeze acts, and spellbinding feats of strength and skill on the gym wheel.
CircEsteem’s mission is to unite youth from diverse backgrounds and help them build self-esteem through circus arts – we promote confidence and cooperation among its students. CircEsteem teaches more than 300 students each year, 70 percent of whom participate through scholarships. Students come from all over Chicago and the suburbs and as far away as Sudan and Ghana. Many children in the program have gone from earning Cs and Ds to earning As and Bs. Graduates have received more than $300,000 in college scholarships.
CircEsteem, located in Uptown, provides a fun, safe and healthy environment for children and teens. Payment is on a sliding scale basis, making it affordable for every child in Chicago to learn circus skills. Click here to listen to Erica Demarest’s audio report from the Medill School of Journalism.