ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Wednesday, June 5, 1996                TAG: 9606050039
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: C-1  EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER 

THIS CLASS HAS LOTS OF CLOWNS ...

... AND ACROBATS ... lots of animals, and even a ringmaster. And a roomful of proud parents enjoying the show.

The circus came to Morningside Elementary School on Tuesday - a dream come true for the school's kindergartners: They got to be in it.

The circus came to Morningside Elementary School on Tuesday.

The dreams of the school's kindergartners were fulfilled: They got to be in a circus.

There were acrobats, clowns, dogs, elephants, lions, seals, strong men and trapeze artists. And they were all children - 5-and 6-year-olds dressed up in colorful costumes to create circus animals and characters.

Kindergartner Drew Brown reads and speaks so well in class that he got to be the ringmaster in what the children dubbed the "One-Ring Circus" at the Roanoke school. He wore a black top hat and topcoat and had a black mustache painted on his face.

Drew ran the show, orchestrating the acts as the audience of parents applauded, snapped photographs and made home videos.

Matthew Mutz, the lion tamer, used a whip to choreograph the lions' performance. Bryant Noel, wearing a paper cap with huge lion's ears, rolled over like a well-trained animal. "It was fun," he said.

Sadie Bryant kept her puppy show moving along smoothly, with the dogs doing their tricks on cue. Candice Bowles' nose was painted black, and she wore spotted, dropping paper puppy ears.

The circus was meant to be fun and educational for the children.

Principal Virginia Stuart said the circus was the culmination of the kindergartners' study of animals.

"We've been talking about animals and careers in class," said Kim Haldeman, a kindergarten teacher. "This gave them the chance to see what it's like to be a trainer and be in the circus."

The teachers, parents and pupils made most of the costumes, including the clown uniforms. The children's faces were painted to make them look like real clowns.

The kindergartners had to make a few adjustments for their circus. There was no tightrope or high wire for the aerial performers. Instead, they used a balance beam raised a few inches above the floor.

The children created the illusion of elephants by walking on their hands and knees with large, paper ears.

The parents seemed to enjoy the circus even more than the children. The clowns got the parents to clap and stomp their feet - with some laughter.

The children had planned the circus for the entire year, but they just began rehearsing during the past two weeks, Haldeman said. "Everyone has been excited since we started preparing for it."

LENGTH: Medium:   62 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  PHILIP HOLMAN/Staff. 1. Kindergartners Saron Medley 
          (left) and Stephie Reynolds hand out programs before Tuesday's 
          "One-Ring Circus" at Morningside Elementary School. 2. Charlene 
          Frost (right in photo below) negotiates the "tightrope" during the 
          event, which featured more than 60 kindergartners dressed as an 
          assortment of circus performers - and animals. The circus was the 
          culmination of the children's studies of animals. color.