A Touch of Cirque du Soleil at Children's Circus in San Pancho Sophie Hares - Thomson Reuters Foundation
go to original April 5, 2017

A girl trains at Circo de los Niños circus school (Children’s Circus School) in San Francisco, Nayarit, Mexico – Photo: Anne Menke/ REUTERS

With their gravity-defying trampoline flips, graceful acrobatics, juggling and tightrope walking, the children in San Francisco’s circus school, in San Francisco, Nayarit, are bringing a touch of Cirque du Soleil magic to this bohemian Pacific beach town.

In jewel-colored leotards with feather head-dresses and intricate make-up, they romp through seamless routines in an exuberant take on Shakespeare’s "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" with pumping music and hula-hoops, under the direction of Cirque co-founder Gilles Ste-Croix.

Wearing an ethereal illuminated dress and carried on a litter as fairy queen Titania, Juliana Palomares Rodríguez - like many of the 150 children in the Circo de los Niños school - has set her heart on joining the world-famous Cirque du Soleil.

“I love it,” said Palomares, 15, from the town of around 3,000 residents, known locally as San Pancho. “It’s really exciting to be in the show - the circus school has taught me how to present myself and work in a team.”

Her dream now is go to circus school in Montreal, Canada, where Cirque du Soleil has its headquarters.

Read the rest at El Universal.

Read related: Circus of the Children Annual Fundraising Show in San Pancho

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