High above the ground, young performers in Circus Juventas’s ‘Excalibur’ discover inner and outer strength

Jared Kaufman, Pioneer Press
·4 min read
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Ezekiel Prancis-Ricci remembers the first Circus Juventas show he ever saw.

It was 2011. He was a couple of weeks away from starting first grade, sitting with his family under the circus school’s Big Top in Highland Park as the lights rose for “Grimm—Happily Ever After.”

“I remember, when I saw ‘Grimm,’ I turned to my mom and was like, ‘I wish real life were like this,” he said. “And here I am.”

Now, after more than a decade of circus classes, Prancis-Ricci, 18, is leading the cast of this year’s Circus Juventas summer show, “Excalibur,” in the role of King Arthur.

“Excalibur,” which retells the legend of Camelot, the Knights of the Round Table, and other Arthurian characters, runs for 16 performances from Friday, July 28, through Sunday, August 13. Tickets run from $25 to $50 and are available online at circusjuventas.org/summer-show-2023/ or by phone at 651-309-8106.

This year’s summer show, which highlights Circus Juventas’s top-level students, is one of the most complex the school has ever produced, artistic director and co-founder Betty Butler said. In one particularly ambitious scene, one performer is slated to shoot a flaming arrow — with her toes — while contorted such that her legs are behind her back and her feet are over her head.

In the weeks leading up to opening night, cast, coaches and crew have been rehearsing for nearly six hours every day.

“The intensity starts going up week by week by week, and now we’re at a level 12 right now because we have one week left to really finalize it,” Butler said. “There’s pressure, but it’s an exciting pressure.”

With so many moving parts, rehearsals have a buzzy, chaotic, invigorating energy.

On one end of the Big Top on a recent afternoon, Prancis-Ricci and other performers were falling backward out of windows — fake windows over large trampolines, naturally, which bounce them right back up the wall. Several yards away, a younger group of dancers were running through their choreography.

Meanwhile, on the main floor, coaches were spotting a group of aerialists rehearsing Spanish web, an act that requires performers to climb up a thick rope, wrap themselves in various patterns, and tumble downward in sync. It’s mesmerizing.

One of the performers on Spanish web is Phoebe Haas, 17, a senior at the St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists. Haas, who specializes in aerial acts like trapeze and silks, began taking classes at Circus Juventas in third grade. This is her first summer show.

Circus Juventas works to prioritize safety above all else, which is especially important in aerial acts like Spanish web.

For Haas, who described herself as a quiet person for whom opening up to others can be difficult, this aspect of circus performance has helped her build up confidence outside the Big Top, too.

“I fall from however high up — and then I’m OK,” she said. “It’s very much making you know that, even if you do crazy things, you’ll be OK. … (Circus has) helped me get out of my comfort zone and do things that would normally be kind of scary.”

Circus has helped Prancis-Ricci discover new things about himself, too. He was also quite reserved as a child, he said — until he started circus clowning. People who knew him outside of circus were surprised to see his onstage knack for physical comedy and audience interaction, he said.

Last month, he performed alongside Circus Juventas professional program students at the Al Ringling Theatre at Circus World in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Prancis-Ricci, who recently graduated from SPCPA, plans to join the pro program full-time soon.

At the high-profile venue, Prancis-Ricci and fellow Circus Juventas performer Vincent Geruntho’s clowning skills were both particularly impressive, said Circus Juventas co-founder and executive director Dan Butler.

“They were every bit as good as any Cirque du Soleil clown I’ve ever seen,” Dan Butler said. “I was so proud.”

Olivia Monson-Haefel, 20, will perform alongside Prancis-Ricci in “Excalibur” as Guinevere. For her, the circus is a family affair: Her siblings Oliver, 18, and Simon, 16, are also in this year’s show, and their older brother is a Circus Juventas alumnus.

She specializes in contortion and handstand acts, and is currently enrolled in Circus Juventas’s professional program with the hopes of pursuing a career in circus performance.

“It’s my favorite thing in the world,” Olivia Monson-Haefel said. “You’re physically able to see yourself progress and get stronger. It feels so good.”

If you go:

What: Circus Juventas’ summer show, “Excalibur”
Description: With dragons, knights and magic — and impressive circus acts — the show follows the legend of King Arthur and the characters of Camelot.
When: 16 total performances, including matinee and evening shows, from Friday, July 28, through Sunday, August 13
Where: Circus Juventas Big Top, 1270 Montreal Ave., St. Paul
Tickets: $25-$50; circusjuventas.org/summer-show-2023/ or by phone at 651-309-8106

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