PINE MOUNTAIN, Ga. (WRBL) — Guests of all ages gathered on bleachers underneath the coverage of a bright green big-top at Callaway Resort & Gardens’ Robin Lake Beach. Some wore swimsuits, others shorts or sundresses. The smell of popcorn wafted through the air as they waited for the night’s show to begin.
The Gardens’ visitors were there to see the 6:30 p.m. performance by Cirquemania, called “Around the World.”
“We like to bring a package and be fresh ... like now is 'Around the World,' so you got the imagination of the people then what is to go to Egypt or what is to go to Japan and combine that with even the costumes, the music, the lighting and all that,” said Maritza Atayde, 54, co-owner of Cirquemania with her husband Ivan Stoinev.
She wanted guests to experience her troupe’s skills, connected with a theme centered around global travel. Last year's package included a Broadway theme.
Atayde is a fourth-generation circus performer, originally from Mexico City. Her family’s circus, el Circo Atayde Hermanos, is one of the oldest circuses in Mexico, established in 1888.
She and her husband started Cirquemania in 2013 after retiring from their own circus performance careers. While other company focus on recruiting talent from established circus families, Atayde explained her goal is to build a different type of circus.
“For us, it’s a satisfaction that most of these kids, these young people, they’re not coming from circus and they get into it and they see it as an art,” said Atayde.
Among Cirquemania’s members are former gymnasts and those who picked up circus skills as recently as 2020 during the pandemic
Colin Geraghty, 20, started juggling as a “quarantine hobby” but his interest quickly grew. Today, he juggles, unicycles and performs comedy skits with Cirquemania.
“So many of us have different skillsets … but that energy of working as hard as we can really feeds off each other to help motivate us to keep going and keep practicing as much as we can, even when we’re tired,” said Nick Balk, 24, who has been performing with Cirquemania since he was 18.
Balk began practicing Rola Bola, also known as “balance boarding,” In his driveway as a child, though his family has no circus background. The act, thought to have been created by a Frenchman in the 1800s, involves perching on a board a top a tube while also performing various stunts, like juggling.
Growing up, Balk said his parents, both teachers, were highly supportive of his interest in both circus and gymnastics.
Trapeze and arial performers Sylvia Raquel and Teagan Whitaker, both 21, also have gymnastics backgrounds.
“When I went to college, I kind of realized I wanted to do something that would take from the skills that I learned in gymnastics and Cirquemania, Ivan and Maritza, found me and started showing me the circus arts,” explained Raquel, who also likes to express her artistic side with sparkly makeup for each show.
This is her second year performing with Cirquemania, but she plans to continue on the path as a full-time career after college.
Whitaker explained many hours of conditioning each week go into maintaining her strength and flexibility for trapeze performances. For the “Around the World” show, Whitaker and her fellow trapeze artist would be performing their “Romeo and Juliet”-themed piece in ballroom heels, something she said was unique for the show.
The 45-minute performance included segments attempting to take readers from the Middle East to Japan, Egypt, France, Spain, Mexico and more. It also included a performance of Frozen’s “Let It Go” in Norway. There was a stunt-filled tribute to the United States as a grand finale.
Ellie Sewell of Coosada, Alabama attended the performance with her two granddaughters. Sewell was pleased with the spirit of entertainment in the performance.
“I couldn’t wait to get them over here to see the circus and it was fantastic,” said Sewell. She added she was pleased with the spirit of entertainment in the performance.
Cirquemania’s “Around the World” shows at Callaway Resorts and Gardens occur at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday through Saturday. There is also a 3 p.m. show on Saturday and Sunday. The company will perform their last show at Callaway Gardens for the summer on Sunday, July 23.
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