Wednesday, May 24 was the first official rehearsal of Circus Flora for their 2017 summer show “Time Flies,” which runs from June 1-25. As the performers rehearsed, they were still in the process of setting up the big red-and-white tent in the heart of the Grand Center Arts District. The sound of hammers on metal echoed through the cavernous space, as some of the seats for future audiences were built in.
As they prepare for the show, The St. Louis Arches – the youth circus troupe that performs with Circus Flora each summer – were first in the ring. They rolled out and taped down practice mats, stretched and began to practice their tricks.
The kids ranged from elementary-school age to high school seniors. They first ran through an act in which they twirl umbrellas, toss them to each other through the air, and even balance them on their noses. Sidney “Iking” Bateman, a St. Louis Arches alum from North St. Louis, was acting as their coach. He balanced the umbrella on his nose carefully to demonstrate how it was done. Then, he hopped over the side of the ring to introduce himself.
He recently returned from touring the world with the French-Canadian circus Seven Fingers (known in French as Les Sept Doigts), to rejoin his hometown circus. “I’ve been all over,” he said. “I’ve been to Germany, France, Russia, Austria, Istanbul, Israel (that was with the Arches), Spain, South America…”
Now that he’s back in St. Louis, he’s not only a coach for the other performers, he’s also debuting his own brand-new Chinese pole act.
“It’s just a long metal pole, and I do acrobatic flips on the pole off the pole on the ground to the pole, things like that,” Bateman said. “It’s very different from anything I’ve ever performed, but I’m very excited to be performing it in St. Louis this summer.”
The new act is a way to keep things fresh.
“I’ve been performing hoop diving and diablo for 4 or 5 years now, so I wanted to do something different just to change it up,” Bateman said. “As an artist, you always want to challenge yourself to learn new things and do new things and be creative, and I really wanted to do something new for this year. This is my hometown, and I wouldn’t want to showcase my new act anywhere else.”
Circus Flora is full of history for Iking Bateman. He started with The Arches troupe when he was 11. He was so involved in circus by the time he graduated from Beaumont High School that he went to the competitive professional circus college National Circus School in Montreal, Canada.
“I studied hoop diving and acrobatic loop diablo. Those were my two majors,” he said.
Bateman considers being home training the new generation of Arches a special experience.
“This is more traditional circus, and I can say this is my family,” Bateman said. “Seven Fingers is my family as well, but you know, this is my hometown. This show performs in St. Louis, and this is home. The people here are the ones that first gave me the shot to perform in circus. Without Circus Flora, I wouldn’t have the opportunity to perform with Seven Fingers … this is where it all started. So it has a very deep place in my heart for sure.”
As Bateman spoke, The St. Louis Arches began stretching in the middle of the ring, to prepare for their next round of tricks. Bateman says there’s a lot to look forward to in this year’s show.
“It’s always a great pleasure – a privilege – to watch the Flying Wallendas [the circus’ world-famous high-wire act] perform,” Bateman said. “We have a guy that I went to school with, Kyle Driggs, he’s performing his juggling act this year. He’s a silver medalist at the Cirque Du Demain festival, which is a big circus festival. There are a lot of cool acts.”
Bateman said that The St. Louis Arches are always a fan favorite because they’re hometown kids – but also because they are amazing performers
“We have a lot of talented people in this group, and you most definitely do not want to miss it,” Bateman said.
The theme of this year’s show, “Time Flies,” is the idea of time travel – jumping, leaping and flipping backwards into the past and forwards into the future. This seems especially appropriate for Iking Bateman, who is returning for this show to the place his circus journey began, long ago.
“Circus Flora – circus in general – saved my life,” he said. “I was going down the wrong path, and Circus Harmony and Circus Flora played a huge role in steering me in the right direction. Circus Harmony was my family, a place for me to escape. I wasn’t having the best time at school, at home, in my neighborhood, and I could always count on these guys in this tent to be here for me.”
As Bateman coached The Arches through their act, the audience seats, band risers, and trapezes were assembled around them. And the future of the upcoming show began to take shape.
Circus Flora’s presentation of “Time Flies” will open June 1 and continue through June 25 at their tent adjacent to Powell Symphony Hall in Grand Center. Tickets are available through metrotix.com, Metrotix outlets or by phone at 314-534-1111. Tickets can also be purchased at the Fox Theatre box office. For more information, call Circus Flora at (314) 289-4044 or visit www.circusflora.org.
Sophie Hurwitz is a St. Louis American editorial intern from John Burroughs School.
