Circus Dreams: The Making of a Circus Artist

by Kathleen Cushman, Montana Miller, Michael Carroll (Photographer)

Text and photographs follow eighteen-year-old Montana Miller's move to France to study with the circus in hopes of becoming a trapeze artist.

Genres: Nonfiction

96 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1990

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this in the library. It is a quick, interesting read with beautiful photographs. I was interested in learning more about Montana but I guess she is no longer preforming...probably from age. I don't know the life span of a circus artist career but it doesn't seem all that long. Either way, a good read. I would be interested in reading more like this book.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book doing yet another search in the catalog for circus. The writing is aimed at a young audience - I'd say 4th grade and up? This is the true story of a young woman accepted into the Ecole Nationale du Cirque in France. With a background in gymnastics, dance, and cheerleading, Montana dreams of becoming a trapeze artist. She is accepted into the school's second year program and must take classes in acting, clowning, juggling, and trampoline, among other classes like bicycle acrobatics and horseback acrobatics.

For a circophile like me, I loved the details about her struggles to get various tricks and to adapt to some of the different aspects of life in the school. This is essentially what I felt was missing from The Ordinary Acrobat: A Journey into the Wondrous World of the Circus, Past and Present. It's fun to note that certain circus apparatuses that are common today are not explored in the book (like aerial silks, which was not "invented" until 1996 or so).

However, I'm not sure if the intended audience of children will be as fascinated by such a story as I was - the black and white illustrations look a little dated (and I felt they could have shown more "circus tricks" than people hanging out at the school) and color certainly would have made some of these images pop.

[Tessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but a little simplistic. I wanted more details on the circus and fewer on her angst. On the whole, though, very enjoyable.