THE POINT brings the circus to the South Bronx through one-of-a-kind Cirque du Monde social circus workshops and live circus performances.
I. Social Circus
A central feature of its Youth Art Programs, THE POINT is proud to host New York City's only Cirque du Monde workshops. The social outreach program of internationally acclaimed Cirque du Soleil®
, Cirque du Monde uses circus as an alternative education tool to engage youth in communities around the world. The mission of Cirque du Monde NYC is to empower youth through the basic concepts of social circus including trust, self-confidence, focus, perserverance and teamwork. THE POINT offers weekly social circus workshops in a fun and supportive atmosphere
to young people in grades 3 and higher. Workshops feature aerobic games, stretching, conditioning and circus skills such as trapeze, physical comedy and juggling.
Drop-In Class & No Beef Thursdays
Each Thursday evening, Cirque du Monde offers a free drop-in class for middle grades and teen students in conjunction with No Beef Thursdays. THE POINT currently partners with the Hunts Point Alliance for Childrenand Heather Mills to offer this weekly event, in which the agency provides free vegetarian meals to young people and their families at its community kitchen. The Cirque workshops complete this evening devoted to healthy, active lifestyles.
II. Circus Events Cirque du Soleil Through its partnership with the internationally acclaimed circus, THE POINT sells tickets to Cirque du Soleil shows. One hundred percent of ticket sales benefit Cirque du Monde social circus classes at THE POINT! Please visit THE POINT's website for benefit announcements or contact Teresa Kochis at (718) 542 - 4139 or tskochis30@gmail.com.
Young Audience Series THE POINT"s Live From the Edge Theater offers circus performances with visiting companies to public schools, youth organizations and general audiences.
III. Hire a Circus Coach, Support The Bronx! Have your very own Circus Workshop and support social circus in the South Bronx! THE POINT's professional circus intructors will design a workshop especially for you. Perfect for your corporate team building, birthday parties and other group events. A portion of the proceeds benefit circus classes at THE POINT!Contact Deven Sisler at (718) 542 - 4139 or cirquethepoint@gmail.com with questions and inquiries, or to book a workshop.
THE POINT's Circus Instructors
Jill Maglio (Cirque du Monde Coach Coordinator) has been a member of the Cirque teaching team since 2010. Jill is an Occupational Therapist, whose published thesis was on Circus & Occupational Therapy (Dec. 2008), and circus performer who comes to THE POINT with a fresh perspective and passion for social circus from down under. She has worked with a variety of programs internationally with responsibilities varying from program development, program facilitation/co-facilitation and evaluation. These include: M’loptapang Center for Street Children, Circus Oz Disability Project, Epic Arts Cambodia, Holistic Circus Therapies, Westside Circus - JUMP JET program and R.E.A.C.H (which she created from the ground up).
Andy Sapora started street performing in Baltimore when he was 14. He helped Jon Luongo make the Plum Loco circus at Oberlin College. He studied at Lecoq and at the Belgian National Circus School. Then he moved to L.A. where he became a member of Movie Farm, an award winning film-making collective headed by Morgan Nichols. He performed as a Flying Karamazov Brother for two years, and then co-created Prisoners of Love with Elena Day, formerly of Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba. Andy recently originally created the character Chauncey for Elena Zucker’s My Funny Valentine at the Access Theater. Andy performs as a hospital clown with the Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit. He also teaches juggling and clown in the Bronx with the outreach programs of Big Apple Circus.
Keith Nelson is a variety artist—physcial comedian, juggler, and sideshow entertainer—and circus skill instructor. Keith learned to juggle and eat fire at Hampshire College in 1989. Since then he has added circus skills, sideshow feats, and clowning to his list of skills. In 1995 he co-founded Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, a national touring variety arts troupe. Keith has an act for every stage, from the carnival sideshow to the Broadway stage, from the college campus to the kindergarten classroom. Keith has worked with people of all ages and ability levels in learning basic juggling and circus skills. Experience includes private clients, theater workshops, cruise ship recreation programs, After-school programs (NYCHA) and festival settings. In 2003, he helped develop Bindlestiff Family Cirkus' Cavalcade of Youth, a program which matches young people interested in circus and variety arts with professional mentors who coach them on skill and presentation, presenting a public performance two times per year.
Victor Vauban Junior, actor, dancer and circus performer is originally from Brazil, and settled in New York City in 2003. He began his professional training in circus performing and Capoeira as a teenager at the Escola Nacional de Circo (Rio de Janeiro 1988), and has pursued the performing arts as a career since. He has performed with a number of international circus companies such as: UniverSoul Circus, Gran Circus Norte-American, Beto Carrero Show, and Gran Bartholo Circus. Victor is an eternal admirer of the Afro-Brazilian culture and is always willing to share his passion for arts with his students, friends and community.
Circus
