Circus Smirkus is a non-profit, award-winning, international youth circus founded in 1987 by

Rob Mermin Rob Mermin is the founder of the award-winning international touring youth circus Circus Smirkus. Biography Rob Mermin ran off to join the circus in 1969. He clowned with various European circuses including England's Circus Hoffman, Sweden's Cir ...

. Based in

Greensboro Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

, the mission of Circus Smirkus is to promote the skills, culture and traditions of the traveling

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...

and to inspire youth to engage in the

circus arts Circus skills are a group of disciplines that have been performed as entertainment in circus, sideshow, busking, or variety, vaudeville, or music hall shows. Most circus skills are still being performed today. Many are also practiced by non-perfo ...

History

From 1990 to 2010, the circus has had more than 4,000 youths aged 10–18 in its summer camps. This annual camp was located at Sterling College in

Craftsbury, Vermont Craftsbury is a town in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,343 at the 2020 census. The town includes the unincorporated villages of Craftsbury, Craftsbury Common, Mill Village, and East Craftsbury. History The state ...

through 2009. The camp relocated onto the campus of Lyndon Institute in

Lyndon, Vermont Lyndon is a town in Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,491. Lyndon is the home of Lyndon State College. The town contains one incorporated village, Lyndonville, and four unincorporated villages ...

in 2010. As of 2015, the camp moved to the Smirkus HQ, Greensboro, VT. A new campus was built 2014-2015.

Big Top Tour

Smirkus' performers and coaches have come from Canada, China, Colombia, United Kingdom,

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, France,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, Germany, Hungary,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, Israel, Italy,

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

, Latvia,

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistr ...

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, New Zealand, Russia, Sweden,

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, Zambia, ten Native American nations and 20 US states. At the International Children's Festival at

Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts (originally known as the Wolf Trap Farm Park for the Performing Arts and simply known as Wolf Trap) is a performing arts center located on of national park land in unincorporated Fairfax Count ...

in September 2000, Circus Smirkus was introduced as "the United Nations of the youth circus world."

Summer camp

Circus Smirkus has a summer camp that trains children in areas such as aerials, clowning/performance, acrobatics and juggling. Participants may also choose to train in other skills such as

human pyramid A human pyramid is an acrobatic formation of three or more people in which two or more people support a tier of higher people, who in turn may support other, higher tiers of people. People above the bottom tier may kneel or stand on the shoulders ...

s, unicycling and stilt walking. The circus opened its Summer 2015 season at new, permanent facilities—a 135-year-old farmhouse on in Greensboro, Vermont. The camp sessions offered throughout the season vary from one night overnight camps, one and two-week camps, and advanced camps, including Road Show, Intermediate Skills Intensive, Advanced Individual Acts, and Advanced Ensemble. Smirkus Camp also offers an all ages camp for Friends and Family at the end of the summer season.

Awards and honors

* 1992: Vermont Arts Council's Award of Excellence * 1994:

Dove Foundation The Dove Foundation is an American non-profit organization based in Portland, Oregon, that issues film reviews, ratings and endorsements of movies that it considers suitable for family audiences, and that bases said reviews on Christian values. De ...

Award for Family Values * 1994: Named "one of America's best circuses" by Family Fun Magazine * 1997: The Bessie Award from Burlington City Arts * 1998: People's Choice Award at "Circus Youth of Today" Festival in Sweden * 2000: Dubbed "the United Nations of the youth circus world" by Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts * 2004: Smirkus founder Rob Mermin awarded the Lund Family Center's "It Takes a Village" Award * 2004: Smirkus founder Rob Mermin awarded Vermont Arts Council's Citation of Merit "for distinguished service to the arts in Vermont" * 2008: Smirkus founder Rob Mermin awarded the Vermont Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts

Collaborations

Notable alumni

Jade Kindar-Martin Jade Kindar-Martin (born February 16, 1974) is a highwire walker and circus performer. Kindar-Martin started performing on the wire at the age of 14 with Circus Smirkus, a youth circus based in Vermont, USA. Following his graduation from Champ ...

, highwire walker. Holds Guinness World Record for double skywalk across the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. * Taylor Wright-Sanson, unicyclist,

equilibrist Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope ...

. 2008 Winner of Canada's national unicycle competition, the Ottawa Unicycle Invasion. *Molly Saudek, tightwire dancer. Silver Medalist at the 1998 Festival Mondial Du Cirque De Demain in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. *Jacob and Nathaniel Sharpe,

diabolo The diabolo ( ; commonly misspelled ''diablo'') is a juggling or circus prop consisting of an axle () and two cups (hourglass/egg timer shaped) or discs derived from the Chinese yo-yo. This object is spun using a string attached to two hand ...

ists. Performed at 2007 Festival Mondial Du Cirque De Demain in

. *John Stork. Finalist on ''

Who Wants to Be a Superhero? ''Who Wants to Be a Superhero?'' was a superhero genre reality TV series broadcast on the Sci Fi Channel produced by Nash Entertainment and POW! Entertainment. The show was created by Stan Lee and Nash Entertainment. A junior version of the show ...

'' *Dan Brown. Stunt performer for '' Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'', '' Letters from Iwo Jima'', and others. *Ariana Wunderle, tightwire walker. 2022 Guinnes World Record fo
farthest distance walked on a wire in high heels

Footnotes

External links

Circus Smirkus websiteWatch Circus Smirkus on YouTubeCircus Dreams - a documentary featuring Circus Smirkus
{{Authority control Circuses Vermont culture Circus schools Greensboro, Vermont Education in Orleans County, Vermont