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Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Celebrating special needs at the circus
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Big Apple Circus
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Date: October 06, 2011 11:50AM
Celebrating special needs at the circus
Wednesday, Oct. 5 by Crystal Owens
http://www.loudountimes.com/index.php/news/article/celebrating_special_needs_at_the_circus898/
The circus, with its colorfully vibrant costumes, performances and music, naturally lends itself as a vehicle to stimulate the senses.
But for children with hearing or sight impairments, that experience may never happen.
Since 1983, the producers of New York’s Big Apple Circus, have worked to bring those children into the act.
Hundreds of special needs children from schools throughout the region, including Loudoun and Fairfax counties, received a chance Sept. 28 to experience the circus through touch and sound. The event was part of Big Apple’s “Circus of the Senses” program, which is in its 11th consecutive year at Dulles.
The event, for some children, may be the only chance they get to experience the circus, according to several parents and educators attending the performance.
“A lot of these kids, their parents don’t take them anywhere so this is the only opportunity they get to see something like this,” said Melanie Erler, of Reston, who attended the show with her 7-year-old daughter Raechel, who is vision impaired. “I think the parents are afraid of taking special needs kids out. The fact that everyone here has some special needs, it’s amazing.”
Raechel, who doesn’t have central vision, was able to experience the trapeze performance – her favorite – since the show took place above her. What she couldn’t see was described to her with a play-by-play piped in through headphones and narrated by Big Apple Circus founder Paul Binder and Bill Boots, supervisor of Big Apple Circus Clown Care at Johns Hopkins Medical Center.
Following the performance, children with vision impairments were able to get down in the ring for a “touch session” where they felt the performer’s costumes, jewelry and hair, and the animals that sometimes accompany the acts.
For the hearing impaired children, American Sign Language interpreters were available.
Binder said through the years the announcers have perfected their play-by-play for the children with vision impairments by learning to anticipate the performances.
“If you say ‘Wow’ when the trick is done, they’re behind it so you sort of have to anticipate so the kids are there with it,” Binder said.
To prepare the children for the show, teachers made lesson plans based on the circus that introduced their students to the various colors, lights and sounds they might encounter, said Christine Miner, a speech and language pathologist at Frances Hazel Reid Elementary School in Leesburg.
Miner said teachers familiarize the students with the circus and coach them on what to expect by reading stories and using props.
“The kids really enjoy it,” she said.
For the performers, knowing that there were children in the audience that were experiencing the circus for the first time gave special meaning to the act.
“While performing, you can’t see any difference from any other night, but knowing these kids are in the audience is special,” said Melanie Chy, a hand balancer and third generation circus performer.
Most of the acts are nonverbal and naturally lend themselves to being able to be understood by hearing impaired children, said performer Scott Nelson, who along with Muriel Brugman, performed a magic trick that drew lots of applause from the children.
However, Nelson said, special performances like the one on Sept. 28 definitely take on more importance for the crew.
“You get a sense that it’s something really different for them. That it’s something very special … that gives you a good feeling,” he said.
The Big Apple Circus is open at Dulles Town Center until Oct. 10.
Times-Mirror Staff Photo/Beverly Denny Paul Jang, 6, of Freedom Hill Elementary School in Vienna, touches Big Apple Circus hand balancer Andrey Mantchev’s lapel and dog Daisy while his teacher Erica Spaulding explains what he is feeling. Jang has been completely blind from about age 2. The Big Apple Circus hosted Circus of the Senses for children with visual and hearing impairments Sept. 28 at Dulles Town Center. After the performance, a group of children with visual impairments had a ‘touch session’ to feel the costumes and animals of the circus.
Attachments:
Wednesday, Oct. 5 by Crystal Owens
http://www.loudountimes.com/index.php/news/article/celebrating_special_needs_at_the_circus898/
The circus, with its colorfully vibrant costumes, performances and music, naturally lends itself as a vehicle to stimulate the senses.
But for children with hearing or sight impairments, that experience may never happen.
Since 1983, the producers of New York’s Big Apple Circus, have worked to bring those children into the act.
Hundreds of special needs children from schools throughout the region, including Loudoun and Fairfax counties, received a chance Sept. 28 to experience the circus through touch and sound. The event was part of Big Apple’s “Circus of the Senses” program, which is in its 11th consecutive year at Dulles.
The event, for some children, may be the only chance they get to experience the circus, according to several parents and educators attending the performance.
“A lot of these kids, their parents don’t take them anywhere so this is the only opportunity they get to see something like this,” said Melanie Erler, of Reston, who attended the show with her 7-year-old daughter Raechel, who is vision impaired. “I think the parents are afraid of taking special needs kids out. The fact that everyone here has some special needs, it’s amazing.”
Raechel, who doesn’t have central vision, was able to experience the trapeze performance – her favorite – since the show took place above her. What she couldn’t see was described to her with a play-by-play piped in through headphones and narrated by Big Apple Circus founder Paul Binder and Bill Boots, supervisor of Big Apple Circus Clown Care at Johns Hopkins Medical Center.
Following the performance, children with vision impairments were able to get down in the ring for a “touch session” where they felt the performer’s costumes, jewelry and hair, and the animals that sometimes accompany the acts.
For the hearing impaired children, American Sign Language interpreters were available.
Binder said through the years the announcers have perfected their play-by-play for the children with vision impairments by learning to anticipate the performances.
“If you say ‘Wow’ when the trick is done, they’re behind it so you sort of have to anticipate so the kids are there with it,” Binder said.
To prepare the children for the show, teachers made lesson plans based on the circus that introduced their students to the various colors, lights and sounds they might encounter, said Christine Miner, a speech and language pathologist at Frances Hazel Reid Elementary School in Leesburg.
Miner said teachers familiarize the students with the circus and coach them on what to expect by reading stories and using props.
“The kids really enjoy it,” she said.
For the performers, knowing that there were children in the audience that were experiencing the circus for the first time gave special meaning to the act.
“While performing, you can’t see any difference from any other night, but knowing these kids are in the audience is special,” said Melanie Chy, a hand balancer and third generation circus performer.
Most of the acts are nonverbal and naturally lend themselves to being able to be understood by hearing impaired children, said performer Scott Nelson, who along with Muriel Brugman, performed a magic trick that drew lots of applause from the children.
However, Nelson said, special performances like the one on Sept. 28 definitely take on more importance for the crew.
“You get a sense that it’s something really different for them. That it’s something very special … that gives you a good feeling,” he said.
The Big Apple Circus is open at Dulles Town Center until Oct. 10.
Times-Mirror Staff Photo/Beverly Denny Paul Jang, 6, of Freedom Hill Elementary School in Vienna, touches Big Apple Circus hand balancer Andrey Mantchev’s lapel and dog Daisy while his teacher Erica Spaulding explains what he is feeling. Jang has been completely blind from about age 2. The Big Apple Circus hosted Circus of the Senses for children with visual and hearing impairments Sept. 28 at Dulles Town Center. After the performance, a group of children with visual impairments had a ‘touch session’ to feel the costumes and animals of the circus.
Attachments: