Circus Harmony is St. Louis’ only social circus organization. We use the teaching and performing of circus arts to cultivate personal growth and motivate social change. Teaching children from different neighborhoods how to stand on each other’s shoulders may seem like a strange way to take this path, but it works!
Our signature program, Peace Through Pyramids, connects children from different countries, cultures, neighborhoods, and backgrounds to show them that their race, religion, and socio-economic background don’t matter, what matters is what YOU bring to the ring. Peace Through Pyramids uses circus arts to teach teamwork, tolerance, conflict resolution, and social inclusion!
Peace Though Pyramids is the subject of the award-winning movie Circus Kids by Alexandra Lipsitz (available here) and the critically acclaimed book Watch Out for Flying Children by Cynthia Levinson (available here).
Circus Harmony is St. Louis, Missouri’s only social circus organization as well as its only complete circus school. Social circus means we use the teaching and performing of circus arts to motivate social change. We are both an arts education and a youth development organization. By inspiring individuals and connecting communities with our circus education and entertainment programs, we have a positive impact on the St. Louis area and beyond.
In 2007, we began Peace Through Pyramids as a collaboration between Circus Harmony’s diverse youth circus troupe, the St. Louis Arches and the Galilee Circus, a Jewish/Arab youth circus from Israel! Together, they form the Galilee Arches! These ordinary young people have done extraordinary work showing the world what is possible when you focus on what you can do together instead of on what sets you apart. We went to Israel in 2007, 2012 and 2014. They came here in 2008, 2012 and 2016.
As part of Peace Through Pyramids, we were thrilled to have with us a Jewish youth circus intern, Yahel Retter, from the Galilee Circus with us from February 2015 through January 2016. He was one of the student teachers who helped us with this project.
When people watch our flying children from all neighborhoods and backgrounds working together, we hope they see what Rabbi Marc Rosenstein observed the first time we did shows in Israel: ” I think many who saw the shows felt the same tears in their eyes maybe out of the feeling one is seeing a vision of something that we all long for… the total obliteration of barriers, whether social, economic or gravitational.”
Circus Harmony promotes peace though pyramids, joy though juggling and harmony through handsprings.
Master Peace Through Pyramids brought together young people from Circus Harmony’s various programs throughout the St. Louis metropolitan area including students from Ames Elementary School, Grand Center Arts Academy, the College School and The Vine in Ferguson. Funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, this daringly diverse new group will be presented their first show in the circus ring at City Museum.
Peace Through Pyramids: Ferguson was started in 2015 after Circus Harmony returned from being stranded in Israel while working with a Jewish/Arab youth circus there during the conflict with Gaza. Just a few days after their return, violence broke out in Ferguson in protests over the killing of Michael Brown. Circus Harmony realized Peace Through Pyramids was needed at home, as well.
Currently funded by the Trio Foundation of St. Louis and the St. Louis Community Foundation, the Ferguson partnership now features advanced, intermediate and beginner troupes! The advanced students have joined Circus Harmony’s elite St. Louis Arches youth circus troupe.
Peace Through Pyramids: Puerto Rico was started in 2018 when Circus Harmony’s St. Louis Arches partnered with the National Circus School of Puerto Rico’s social circus program. With support from the Kranzberg and Staenberg Family Foundations, the two troupes created a Revolution for Harmony circus tour which brought the joy, hope and inspiration which is circus to hurricane-ravaged parts of Puerto Rico.
The tour was well-documented by an embedded reporter from the St. Louis American and featured in a story in the Huffington Post. This July, the Puerto Rican troupe will be coming to St. Louis for Revolution for Harmony Tour 2! Seed money for phase two of Peace Through Pyramids: Puerto Rico came from Yadier Molina’s Foundacion 4. Shows are already planned at City Museum, the MUNY, and the Jewish Community Center. Circus Harmony is currently looking for additional funders and venues and recently raised $5000 on GivesSTL Day for this tour.
