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The final performance of the Cirque d’Art season is this weekend — June 13, 14, and 16, at Portsmouth West Elementary.

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RYAN SCOTT OTTNEY

PDT Staff Writer

This weekend at the Portsmouth West Elementary School, the Cirque d’Art performers will have their final shows of the season, which began in September.

“We have a variety of aerial equipment and we do a lot of dancing. It’s different from our Christmas show, because that’s more ballet now. And the end of the year is just everything we’ve been working on all year,” said performer Hayden Schmidt.

Schmidt and Amber Howard will perform on the triple trapeze, McKenzie Thompson will perform on the swinging rings, and Meaghan Redoutey is performing in the web. Girls also perform on custom pieces of aerial equipment, such as the carousel horses and the Car-et-Tay — named for two Cirque performers, Cara Welch and Taylor Sparks, who created the piece.

The girls dedicate more than five hours of Cirque practice each week.

“We have regular class two times a week. We have ballet and we have an option where we can do contortion and tumbling. We’re there almost every day, except for Sunday,” said Howard.

When the show ends, the girls will all continue their rigorous off-season training at Cirque Boot Camp. Not only does it help them keep in shape during the summer, it also gives them a chance to work with other Cirque students from ages 2 to 30. There were more than 350 students participating at Cirque d’Art throughout the year, and about 230 of them will participate in the finale this weekend.

“We have to spread that out over three days so everybody can have a turn to do something,” said Cirque coordinator Trisha Schmidt.

The final shows of this year, “Cirque Colors,” is 7 p.m. on June 13, 14, and 16 at Portsmouth West Elementary. Tickets for the show are available at the door, and cost $8 for adults and $6 for students.

Ryan Scott Ottney can be reached at 740-353-3101, ext. 235, or rottney@heartlandpublications.com.