Nelson's circus kids need a new place to defy gravity and push their boundaries.
Discover Circus has been told it must vacate its current home in downtown Nelson by October 2025. It hopes to move into a new space in the summer so they can start a new year's programs in a new space next September.
The group's needs are very specific: a ceiling height of at least 22 feet, ideally 25 feet, and large open floor plan. The new landlord needs to be willing to have specialized rigging installed in the building.
"We use lots of specialized safety rigging for aerials," says executive director Jake Jacobs, who also goes by Jake The Lady. "It makes our position very unique and our search challenging."
They will also need an engineer to calculate weight loads and certify their rigging instalments.
When aerialists drop or swing through the air, they create a much higher force on the rigging, known as dynamic weight, which requires careful calculation for safety.
"There's lots of factors of how many of those points you can hang on any certain structure," says Jacobs, "and how strong it is, and where they rig through the ceiling, and how you tie them off, and what that's attached to, and where they are in the building, and how much snow is going to be on the top all of those things."
Since 2015, the group has taught aerial skills to over 400 students each year, from young children to adults. Hidden on a third floor downtown, the school’s location often comes as a surprise to new visitors.
"So many people are so blown away when they come here, they don't realize that we're here," says Jacobs.
In the Discover Circus annual showcases, most recently at the Capitol Theatre in May, the students perform on hoops, trapezes and aerial silks high above the stage.
The 11 instructors at Discover Circus run 44 classes per week. Many of the students experience the gym as a sanctuary.
"Every time I walk into this building, my worries and stress just like melt away," says 12-year-old Navah de Chezet.
Marlea Stachoski, 13, agrees: "All my stress and anxiety just disappears the moment I see all the silks and hoops and trapeze. It just makes you feel so free."
The students spoke proudly of their unusual skill set.
"Not many people do silks in the entire world," says 10-year-old Kyren Gagnon. "If you think about it, it's not like a common thing. So being able to do this and doing these tricks, I'm just really proud of this. ... Coming here is just like freedom. I'm so happy just being in the silk.""
They speak of overcoming fear of performing aerial moves that at first look risky and difficult.
"Most challenging is any kind of drop," says Navah. "When you do it at first, it's terrifying, especially side stars," which she described as an aerial side-flip. "But they're not so scary any more."
Esmae Hassel, 12, says she was scared when she started to come to Discover Circus.
"But as I've practiced drops more, I feel like it's gotten easier and it just feels really good when you do a drop or you complete a skill that you've been working on."
Jacobs thinks there is a good reason her students react this way.
"It's such a place for creative expression and for you to be whoever you want to be," she says. "It includes self-expression and movement, as well as taking risks and calculating those risks. Our students are forced to step outside of their comfort zone and do something kind of little bit scary while strengthening and engaging in performance elements."
