“font-family: Verdana;”>Seventeen-year-old Terrance “T-Roc” Robinson from North City has been flying through the air in Circus Flora for two years with the St. Louis Arches acrobatic troupe.
When St.
Louis’ one-ring circus opens its tent flaps June 2 through 26,
Robinson will be in a new kind of spotlight.
He has his
own show with his acrobatic-balancing partner Sidney “I-King”
Bateman. This season of Circus Flora, themed
“mso-bidi-font-style: normal;”>Vagabond Adventures,
the Floating Palace, a real circus venue that traveled up and down
the Mississippi River before the Civil War.
Fresh out
of high school this May, Robinson was accepted into an elite circus
school in Quebec, the French-speaking part of Canada. We asked
Robinson what anyone might ask a budding, young circus
performer.
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“font-family: Verdana;”>Do you have a ritual before you perform, something you say for good luck? “font-family: Verdana;”>
I don’t
have anything personally. But with the troupe, if it is a regular
show, we all hold hands in the circle and take deep breaths.
Sometimes we put the smallest guy in the middle and put one hand on
his head. He puts his hands on top of ours and holds on. When we
lift our hands, he flies up in the air. And we yell, “St. Louis
Arches.”
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“font-family: Verdana;”>Could you tell me the story about when Jessica Hentoff (founder of Circus Harmony) “discovered” you? “font-family: Verdana;”>
Well, I
had just started high school. I wasn’t in sports because I broke my
wrist playing football. Then I broke my pinky doing street
tumbling. By the time my pinky healed, all the sports seasons were
over with. The next day I got my pinky cast off, I was tumbling
with some other friends in front of Ritenour High School. Jessica
just happened to be passing by and saw me tumbling. She talked to
the security guard and told him to hand me her card. When I looked
on the card, I saw someone from middle school who had been telling
me to go to circus school since middle school. But I was too busy
playing football. I thought, “Well, I don’t have anything else to
do so might as well go.” I started taking classes and stuck with
it.
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“font-family: Verdana;”>You were recently accepted to the world-renowned circus school, Ecole de Cirque de Quebec, where only 15 other people around the world were accepted this year. Tell me about the audition. “mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;”>
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It was a
one-day audition but it was a whole day – 8 in the morning till 8
at night. The audition involved testing in flexibility, strength,
tumbling, juggling, dance, hand-to-hand (that’s where you do
handstands on top of another person). They also tested us on our
fear of heights. We stand on top of a balcony and there’s a net 15
feet under you. They call you, and you have to jump down and you
have to do it with no hesitation.
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“font-family: Verdana;”>Where will you live while you’re at circus school? “mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;”>
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I will
live in an apartment with two other roommates. They are actually
women. One is from Switzerland, and the other is from Paris. Both
of them I met at the audition. The apartment is three blocks away
from the school.
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“font-family: Verdana;”>So hopefully they’ll teach you French. “font-family: Verdana;”>
Hopefully,
I will learn it very fast.
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“font-family: Verdana;”>What’s the scariest thing you can imagine? “font-family: Verdana;”>
I’ve never
thought about that before.
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“font-family: Verdana;”>What is your life motto? “mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;”>
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My motto
since I was little was always “Hope for the best, but prepare for
the worst.”
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“font-family: Verdana;”>What’s your dream job?
At this
moment, to own a massage spa/clinic. After I’m done performing, I
want to go into physical therapy.
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“font-family: Verdana;”>From June 2 to 26, Circus Flora will be held in the Big Tent in Grand Center, in the parking lot adjacent to Powell Hall. For tickets, call 314-289-4040 or e-mail:
“mailto:office@circusflora.org”>
“text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;”>office@circusflora.org
T-Roc
started his circus studies at Circus Harmony. Circus camps start at
City Museum on July 5. For more information, visit
“http://www.circusharmony.org/”>
“text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;”>www.circusharmony.org
