Inside the Elite Cheer Building off 144th and Center, a new kind of school is taking circus to new heights. Students like Dawn Hawley have really taken to the classes, upping their skills.
"It's freeing. It's like dancing, but there's so much more opportunity for movement," Hawley says.
"Wether its an ariel balancing, we have contortionists, everyone can just get in a group and you know practice and show off for each other and work on choreography together.", Zac Jahn says.
Jahn is one of the few men in the school. He's a hand balancer, teetering on 3 inch blocks above the ground.
Flight motion is a school, started by Creighton alum and veteran performer Laurel Feller. After performing in musical tours with her hula hooping and ariel acts, Feller has grown a following resembling a national trend of circus acts ditching animals and picking up cirque acts.
"Theres a lot fields that people are involved in like gymnasts, cheer- where it's very difficult to create a profession out of that, but with the growing circus industry the need for performers is very large," Feller said.
An injury kept her from performing for a while, so she starting sharing the love for sky high showmanship with others. She says after that, the teaching bug bit her.
Flight Motion offers private training, but Feller says her focus is on group classes. She wants to create a community, thinking outside of the three ring circus to inspire others.
"It shows the audience what we can do with our bodies. If we're dedicated and can work hard, and are disciplined to a specific art form," Hawley said.
