Ever wanted to be in a circus?

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Letitia Carson
3 years ago
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What skill does a tightrope have to perfect?
What kind of school do the circus courses run for half a year?
What happens when you think about the trapeze?

1 Ever wanted to be in a circus? Circus artists perform a whole range of complicated and exciting acts. Now you can learn lots of these amazing skills right here in your home town! To become a good circus performer, you need to be taught by experts. You need to learn the important basic skills before trying out more difficult moves. By coming along to the circus school you will soon learn how to fly through the air on a trapeze, perfect your balance on a tightrope or pedal a unicycle. Or you could keep your feet firmly on the ground and give your brain cells a workout by learning to juggle. Whether it is something you have always wanted to do, or just something you want to have a go at, we offer courses from the all-important beginner level right up to advanced level. We encourage you to choose one area to start with acrobatics, juggling or trapeze. The courses run for half a school term and they are taught in small groups, giving you the best chance to practise and improve your skills quickly. All our classes are taught in a safe and supportive environment using the latest safety equipment. Juggling Balancing Unicycling ACROBATICS This course will help you perfect your cartwheels, handstands and tumbling abilities but you do need to be flexible! You ll amaze yourself with what you can do with your body and how fantastic a well-controlled sequence of acrobatics can look. This course also includes group acrobatic balancing, where you work with others to produce human pyramids and towers. Whether you are on the top or the bottom, you really have to work together to get it right. Human pyramid Page 1

By coming along to the circus school you will soon learn how to fly through the air on a trapeze, perfect your balance on a tightrope or pedal a unicycle.

2 JUGGLING Once you have learnt how to throw and catch one or two balls, you will begin basic three-ball juggling. As you improve, you can learn to juggle all sorts of things including rings, hats and scarves, or anything you like really. Juggling is the most adaptable of the circus skills you will learn tricks that you can take home and perform for your friends and family. Juggling also increases mind and body co-ordination. STATIC TRAPEZE This is a trapeze that hangs down but does not swing. It is used to help you to learn how to move around the trapeze and practise set moves. In performance you need to make the moves look easy, even if they hurt to be able to smile through gritted teeth. You also need a lot of upper body strength. Once you have learnt the solo moves, you may want to work with a partner to develop a doubles routine. Static trapeze FLYING TRAPEZE After completing the static trapeze course, you may want to try the flying trapeze. This trapeze moves as you swing on it. This skill is usually the one which springs to mind when you think of the circus. It will give you a feeling of excitement that is hard to put into words you ll know once you ve tried it! To attempt this you need to be fit and in good health, as well as quite brave and confident in your abilities. Circus For Young People: Q1. Draw lines to match the following movements to the appropriate activity. Page 2

Juggling is the most adaptable of the circus skills you will learn tricks that you can take home and perform for your friends and family. Juggling also increases mind and body co-ordination.

Q2. Look at the second paragraph. Who should you be taught by if you want to become a good circus performer?... Q3. Why is it safer to learn circus skills at the circus school?

3 Q2. Look at the second paragraph. Who should you be taught by if you want to become a good circus performer?... Q3. Why is it safer to learn circus skills at the circus school? Tick two. It s in your home town. You use the latest safety equipment. You learn to fly through the air. You keep your feet on the ground. You learn in a supportive environment. Page 3

Why is it safer to learn circus skills at the circus school? Tick two.

4 Q4. Find and copy one skill you might improve on the acrobatics course.... Q5. Which two skills do you have to do as part of a group? Tick two. human pyramid cartwheel tower handstand juggling Q6. What is one advantage of learning to juggle, according to the text?... Q7. (a) What do you need to learn before beginning three-ball juggling?... (b) What must you learn before beginning the flying trapeze?... Page 4

human pyramid cartwheel tower handstand juggling Q6.

5 Q8. Match the following people to the course that would interest them the most. Q9. Look at the Static Trapeze section. What do the words smile through gritted teeth mean? Tick one. The performer is always happy. The performer has upper body strength. The performer pretends that it is easy. The performer has strong teeth. Page 5

What do the words smile through gritted teeth mean? Tick one.

6 Q10. Look again at the article about the circus school. What are three benefits of learning circus skills? Tick three. team building you can do dangerous things keeping your brain active you can go to the circus making costumes physical fitness (2 marks) Q11. Tick to show if the following are true or false. The first one has been done for you. T F You must be an expert to start classes. It s best to start with lots of courses. You can work on a trapeze with a friend. You can only juggle with balls. Courses run for half a school term. (2 marks) Page 6

Q11. Tick to show if the following are true or false. The first one has been done for you. T F You must be an expert to start classes.

7 Q12. Why have pictures been used in Ever wanted to be in a circus? Give two reasons (2 marks) Q13. What is the purpose of this text? Tick one. to make people visit the circus to encourage people to join circus skills classes to explain how to juggle to encourage you to practise your skills Page 7

Reading answer booklet Flying High

En YEAR 7 English test LEVELS 3 4 Reading answer booklet Flying High First name Last name School 2007 Remember Your teacher will tell you how long you have for this test, including reading time. You should

Ever wanted to be in a circus?

What skill does a tightrope have to perfect?

What kind of school do the circus courses run for half a year?

What happens when you think about the trapeze?