FM Interviews

Headline:She Misses Flying

Home: Many places, and Dunster House

Age:23

Concentration: Folklore and Mythology

Where she's from: That's hard one, because I was travelling around with a circus for the four years before I got here. I was raised in Massachusetts, but I came here form San Francisco.

The main difference between circus performers and Harvard students: At Harvard you're in costume all the time. In the circus you can take off your costume once the act is over. Dorm rooms are bigger than trailers, too.

What she misses most about the circus: I just miss flying, being an aerialist. Now I dive, and I do platform diving, but I'm a trapeze artist. I miss making an audience happy every day.

Something interesting that has happened to her recently: Funny you should ask. I got hit by a pick-up truck on my way to the weight room last week and broke my leg.

The worst thing about it: Definitely that I can't dive. Actually I feel pretty lucky because I can still do handstands and it's actually good, because they told me to keep the leg elevated.

How she readjusted to schoolwork after being in the circus for four years: While I'm writing papers I take handstand breaks--spend a minute or two standing on my hands. It makes the blood circulate to my head.

Why she never passed the QRR: Circus math is different. In a trapeze troupe of five people, the catcher makes the most [money] because he's biggest, and then it goes in order of who does the most flips.