Joining the Circus (Without Running Away)

Once upon a time, joining the circus was just a dream for most youngsters. Today, circus arts programs let children and teens have a taste of the Big Top without leaving home.

Among them is Danielle Foreman, one of four Piedmont students who are appearing this month in The Circus Differential: A Clockwork World of Gears, Steam Power & Awe-Inspiring Circus.

The show stars members of the Circus Spire Youth Troupe from Oakland's Kinetic Arts Center.

Danielle, 15, is an aerialist (trapeze artist for the uninitiated), juggler and clown who trains up to 20 hours a week – while managing her juvenile diabetes and studying for her freshman year classes.

Several times a day Danielle has to test her blood, and compensate for variants in levels with juice, sugar tabs, insulin or exercise. And many, many times a day she does "beats," hanging from a one-inch bar, six feet off the ground, by the backs of her knees while doing upside-down sit ups.

“Testing is something I have to do to stay on top of the diabetes. Beats are something I have to do to be strong so I can perform harder tricks,” Danielle said in an interview two years ago.

“That is just the way things are. Sometimes I don’t want to come down off the trapeze to test, but everyone at circus yells at me if I forget, so that’s the way it is.”

Diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at age 5, Danielle at first had to have insulin injections to help manage her condition. For mot of the past 10 years, though, she's used an insulin pump, a device manufactured by the Animas Corporation that allows her to adjust insulin lvels quickly. She even wears the pump while performing.

The Circus Differential opens tonight and runs through March 25, with performances on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Kinetic Arts Center, 785 Seventh St., Oakland. Advance tickets start at $10 for youth and $15 for adults. See the event listing for details of performance times, parking and reservations.