Maplewood Teen Juggler Earns Coveted Spot With Traveling Circus (VIDEO)

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Hey Maplewood teens... the next time your parents tell you not to clown around, just tell them about Andrew Kaefer.

The 14-year-old performer, an eighth-grader at Maplewood Middle School in New Jersey, recently earned a coveted spot as a juggler with Circus Smirkus, the country’s only "traditional" traveling youth circus. He will travel to Greensboro, Vermont, for three weeks of rehearsals at Smirkus headquarters in mid-June, then hit the road as part of a 67-show tour that touches down in 17 cities and towns in the Northeast over the course of seven weeks.

According to a news release, Kaefer, whose main discipline is juggling and ground manipulations, also focuses on acrobatics and unicycle, and has trained at The Circus Place and Trenton Circus Squad as well as previous Circus Smirkus camps.

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During his tour with the circus, Kaefer will also assist as one of the troupe’s “Smirkos,” helping with crucial tasks such as taking care of props, selling tickets and popcorn, and working cooperatively with the professional tent crew, light and sound technicians, equipment riggers, costumers, musicians and others who travel with the one-ring show.

For more information about Circus Smirkus click here.

Send local news tips, photos and press releases to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Photos/video courtesy of John Kaefer