COLLINGWOOD CIRCUS COMPANY EXPANDS

COMPANY OPERATES SCHOOL AND PROFESSIONAL ENTERTAINMENT OPERATIONS

Want to get in shape? Join the circus.

The Collingwood Circus Company and School recently opened a new facility at 95 Sandford Fleming Dr.

Since being founded in 2012, the company shared space with Head Over Heels, occupying 800 square feet.

"We just kept growing and now we're in a 5,000square-foot facility," said marketing and events coordinator Sarah Sherman.

She said the extra space allows them to run two classes at the same time, where members can work on aerial skills, hoops and hammocks, and staff can also operate the performance company and professional entertainment operations.

The performers and entertainers provide ambience for various events and include jugglers, acrobats and stilt walkers — some of whom will be performing at a celebration in downtown Collingwood on March 18.

"This space allows us to run all of that at the same time," Sherman said.

Between Barrie and Collingwood locations, they have upwards of 400 students, ranging from 18months to individuals in their 60s.

Sherman was looking for a new way to stay active when she joined in 2014.

"I hated going to the gym," she said. "That felt like work. Coming here, it's always fun."

Sherman said they have coaches who can teach skills to all abilities.

Julie Leslie is one of

those coaches. She started three years ago at the request of her daughter, who is the head coach.

"My daughter convinced me it was a good idea," Leslie said. "She was right."

Leslie said the training is "challenging" but has helped her build her core and her strength.

"It's just a really fun way to do fitness," she said. "I like to encourage other women who think that they can't do something like this and really use their bodies in a way they didn't think they would be able to."

Sherman said one of the biggest things about the company is the supportive community.

"We've created something really special," she said.