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Of Circuses And Culture: Spending Time Upside Down With Theo Spencer

photo by Arianna Price When you look at the paths life has to offer it is often intriguing. When you contemplate life and choice upside down and dangling from circus fabrics it is down right unique. Theodore Spencer showcased both acrobatics and alternative paths to living and studying in a foreign country when he visited VUHS on January 30th.

photo provided VUHS alumni Theo Spencer shares his passion for circus acrobatics with VUHS student David Johnson.

photo provided Sharing with the students his experiences in college that took him to study abroad, Theo Spencer shares the benefits and challenges of living in a foreign country and speaking a foreign language.

Tuesday February 7, 2012

By Cookie Steponaitis

    When Theo Spencer dropped in at VUHS the other day, he literally unrolled his whole presentation, so to speak. He began his presentation to students suspended about forty feet above the gym floor on a piece of fabric. As he spoke, he rolled, twisted and defied gravity with the ease of his new found profession of circus arts student, circus acrobat and performer. While those on the ground gasped, held their breath and simply stood in awe, the message they received was more than instruction in acrobatics above the ground, but about choices and paths to be taken in life.

     Theodore Spencer is a 2006 graduate of VUHS and the son of Tom and Carol Spencer of West Ferrisburgh. Theo, like many students who take courses and look for a career direction while in high school, followed the more traditional path to college.  After graduating from VUHS, he attended Tulane University with a planned major in economics and political science. In his senior year, Theo switched from economics to linguistics and graduated cum laude with departmental honors in 2010.   As a part of his college experience, Theo had enrolled in a study abroad program in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he became immersed in the culture, language, and as fate would have it, a course in acrobatics and tumbling.  This eventually led to his current three year enrollment in a second undergraduate degree program at the University of San Marcos, in Buenos Aires, with a major in Circus Arts.  Entrance into the program was highly competitive.  More than 200 people applied for the program.  About 60 auditioned.  In the end, 21 were admitted, among them, Theo Spencer, the only American, and one of only 2 foreigners.

     Sitting on the floor of the VUHS gym with students spanning grades 9-12 and a wide array of interests, Theo shared, “ Vermont is an incredibly beautiful place and without a doubt an incredible place to call home. But in order to truly appreciate it and celebrate it, first you have to leave home. I can not stress enough the experience of studying abroad and becoming immersed in the culture you are experiencing. Six months simply is not enough. A year is just about when you are getting the hang of it.” Speaking in English and then in Spanish to a group of Spanish III students, Theo expressed not only the adventure of learning a language and meeting the people, but the way in which another language allows you to think and process experiences differently due to the forms and translations of the language.

    Under Theo’s direction some VUHS students even took to the air and climbed, suspended and twirled on the fabric. For some it was about stepping outside their comfort zones, for others a curiosity to try something unique and new, while others simply wanted to see what they were capable of. By the end of the forty-five minute workshops, there was a level of awe, respect and genuine eye-opening for the young man who hung so easily and climbed so quickly up a fabric and all the while shared experiences of another language, culture and a world of possibilities waiting for those who are willing to step outside the norm and into other cultures.

     “Acrobatic training is as common in South America as yoga classes are here in the USA,” remarked Theo Spencer. “In fact, I had to come back to Vermont to learn that there is actually a school for circus arts in Brattleboro, and they are doing some astonishing things there.” While sharing his skills with the students, Spencer also remarked on changes in the traditional format of circus performing worldwide. “Circus really is going away from the big tent approach,” Spencer told the students. “In addition, they are not using animals anymore or traditional clowns. In Argentina, we perform in more theater settings, at corporate venues and for parties than to circus crowds.” While Theo is following his second college path and is extremely grateful for the study abroad program at Tulane that opened these doorways for him.  He is fully committed to his new found passion and for now, Theo Spencer will be taking on life with his feet firmly off the ground, in the air and suspended by his skill, imagination and his chosen path of exploring another culture, language and embracing opportunities that only a few years ago he had never dreamed of. For the students of VUHS it truly was an experience and as Vermonter Robert Frost stated and would agree, “I took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”

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