Circus Arts: NECCA, Smirkus Circus Continue their Collaboration

Brattleboro Reformer

Circus Smirkus and the New England Center for Circus Arts have so much in common that they teamed up on the Austine Campus on Jan. 16 and 17 to host auditions for Circus Smirkus’ 2016 season.

According to a press release from Circus Smirkus, the reason it held auditions in Brattleboro was because of the “crumbling infrastructure” of its venue, Memorial Auditorium, in Burlington.

Elsie Smith, who founded NECCA with her sister, Serenity Smith Forchion, said this is the second year in a row that auditions have been held in Brattleboro. “We have a gym on the Austine Campus that is already decked out as a circus facility,” she said, so minimal setup is required. “Instead of having to prepare and do rigging, it only took us about three hours to get ready.”

Smith said Circus Smirkus and NECCA consider themselves “sister” organizations. “Cirus Smirkus has summer touring programs and overnight summer camps and we have day camps in the summer. While we don’t have a touring company, we train many of their participants during the year.”

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