September 2, 2008

Send in the Clowns

Florida Circus Art School Classes

Has the state of the economy got you down?

Maybe you should run away and join the circus.

For real: The Florida Circus Art School just launched adult classes.

Taught by Eugene Baranok, a veteran of the celebrated Moscow State School of Circus, the sessions bring back your monkey-bar-swinging youth while toning your very adult ass.

Learn to swing from the trapeze, walk a tightwire, spin in a German wheel, and climb the silks (a la Cirque du Soleil). Our favorite: acrobatics. Hooked to a harness, you can emulate a 14-year-old Chinese gymnast, performing walkovers, handsprings, and full-on flips (with a little help from a waist-lifting pulley).

The school, housed in a warehouse, will happily host parties. Or take a group class (with no more than five people) for just fifteen bucks.

No clowning around.

Florida Circus Art School, 15381 Northeast 21st Avenue, North Miami Beach (305-944-4606 or floridacircusartschool.com).