Clown and circus school comes to Regina

A group of students, young and old, will show off their new circus tricks during a performance Friday afternoon in Regina.

It's part of a workshop at the Creative City Centre led and created by Cirque du Soleil clown, Mooky Cornish, and her partner Sara Cwojdzinsk.

Over the past four days, students were taught a wide range of circus tricks such as juggling, acrobatics, cartwheels and handstands. They also learned how to transfer those acrobatic skills into slapsticks, like falling without hurting themselves and throwing fake punches.

Students were also shown how to focus and convey their emotions to a crowd.

"It is about honing it in," Cornish said. "Because kids are already naturally clowns." 

She said the participants ranged in age from five years old to 40, and this added to the learning process.

"Adults can see kids doing [clowning] quite naturally. And also the kids can watch the adults doing it who are better at listening to instructions," she explained.

New to Regina

Cornish and Cwojdzinsk have taught circus and clowning workshops all over the world but when they moved to Regina, they were disappointed by the lack of clown schools. That's when they decided to start one of their own.

Back in June, Cornish performed her debut show in Regina at the Artesian Theatre. The show was called The Glories of Gloria Revue. 

The workshop's circus performance will take place at the Creative City Centre at 4 p.m. CST Friday afternoon.