BRATTLEBORO — It's been just over a year since the New England Center for Circus Arts opened the doors to its custom-built trapezium in Brattleboro, a facility outfitted with an in-ground trampoline and an indoor flying trapeze inside a massive room where people of all ages are often upside down or flying through the air.
With growing enrollment alongside an international roster of expert coaches, the circus school has re-developed its programming structures. The current fall session offers more classes for adults and youth who want a noncompetitive but aspirational atmosphere, according to a news release.
Most notably, NECCA has updated the youth programs, clarifying age groups and progressions with more to offer younger circus enthusiasts starting at age 18 months. There is now a broader range of skill levels and age groupings.
For example, NECCA is now offering teen- and young adult-specific classes so students can set their own pace and learn with their peers. Several NECCA coaches have expertise in working with students with unique learning styles, including autism.
Incoming adult students now have more opportunities to train, benefiting from NECCA coaches' experience with physical preparation, posture analysis, and injury prevention.
NECCA offers many skill levels, so it is easy for students to enter at their own pace and set their own goals. Circus arts include many activities, and NECCA offers classes with trapeze, trampoline, German wheel (a giant rolling hamster wheel-like apparatus), juggling, handstands, low wire, pole, and aerial fabric, plus options for gentle stretching and muscle building.
Students from their 20s to their 70s (and even 80s) are regularly a part of classes sharing stories of physical transformation. All classes include warmup and conditioning as well as skills-specific training.