Germantown: Circus Arts Hosting 'Spill'

On February 17th The Philadelphia School of Circus Arts in association with the Philadelphia Fringe Festival will be hosting Spill, an acrobatic performance that incorporates music, dancers and a full script. The performance’s director Sarah Mitteldorf, who is also a student of the school, put together the performance rather recently. “I first bought my entrance into the Fringe Festival, then as the deadlines kept coming I kept working to meet them. I believe that the script was completed around July or August,” Mitteldorf said.

Mitteldorf has been a student of The Philadelphia School of Circus Arts since the fall of 2008. “This place is incredibly nurturing and amazingly supportive. I simply love the people. They make it possible to fall in love with doing aerials. Even if it’s your first time, there is always someone willing to help you out,” she said.

The school, located on 5900A Greene St. in Germantown started in owner Shana Kennedy’s backyard in 2004. Since then the school has become one of the area’s only circus schools, with an average of 350 students per week. The students themselves are spread all over the area according to managing director Robin Marcotte, “We have students from the main line, some come from as far away as New York City. There’s only between five and nine circus schools in the country, so a lot of people come from far away.” Marcotte has been with The Philadelphia School of Circus Arts since February, when owner Shana Kennedy left to tour with Cirque du Soleil. The school features acrobatics such as aerial performance, juggling, group choreography and tightwire, along with an array of youth classes.

By Sarah Fry and Chris Banks

Team 17: Historical Society of Pennsylvania