Published: June 12, 2009 10:00 am      

Kirk flips for chance at circus

PRINCETON — Tabitha Kirk knew at 9 years old that she wanted to run away with the circus.

It was on a family vacation when the girl who loves to perform and lives to dance saw her very first Cirque du Soleil show at Walt Disney World.

“I loved it the very first time I saw it, and I’ve wanted to be in Cirque du Soleil ever since,” Tabitha, wearing a set of pink ballet slippers painted on one cheek and her name in purple on the other, said excitedly Wednesday.

While many performers may dream of performing the incredible acts of flexibility and perfect timing, Tabitha will touch her dream in July. She’s been selected to attend the National Circus School summer program in Montreal, Canada, and the hard-working pre-teen couldn’t be happier.

“If I get to go to the summer program now, I might get to go to school there later on,” she said.

The rising sixth-grader at Graham Middle School said setting a goal of making a living under the biggest big top in the world would take lots of work and even more determination, but she’s used to training hard.

For the last few years, Tabitha has either danced or done gymnastics five to six days or nights a week. She studies every kind of dance available at Starz Performing Arts Academy in Bluefield, Va., and she’s been stretching her skills at Princeton Gymnastics for the last few years, even taking part on a team that captured top-three ranking in the National Junior Olympics competitions.

On any given day, Tabitha’s mom, Audrey, said her daughter puts in a full day of school, then travels either to the dance studio or gym for a workout that ranges from two to three hours.

This year, Tabitha decided to take a day off from training, and as her classes worked out, Tuesday afternoons should have been her time to relax. But, dancing is something she just can’t stop doing.

“She ended up dancing and flipping through the house all afternoon, driving her dad crazy,” Audrey Kirk said.

Meanwhile, Tabitha stood ready with her defense.

“I just love to dance. It’s hard like that not to,” she said. “Dad always says, ‘Don’t thump. Don’t jump.’ I’m not even allowed to do a forward roll.”

Next season, Tabitha’s planning to jump back into a full schedule of dance, where “lyrical, or hip-hop, or maybe tap,” is her favorite style.

In the meantime, she’s looking forward to running away with the circus.

“When we first get there, we get to see the new Cirque du Soleil, and we get to go back stage,” she said, nearly bouncing off the seat that barely contained her during the interview. “I actually get to go on campus.”

As part of the application process, which required the submission of photos, videos and a biography, Tabitha also had to choose a circus talent she hoped to pursue during the camp.

“I chose tissu,” she said, explaining the aerial acrobatic art, where performers use yards of special fabric suspended from the ceiling to showcase their strength, flexibility and artistry in the air high above their audience.

Though each movement is carefully planned, it often looks as though the performers are all wrapped up in their work.

“I like getting tangled up in things. I don’t know why,” she said.

Although Tabitha has big dreams, she’s excited about the small things the trip will bring.

“We get to ride on a train,” she said, referring to the trip from Washington, D.C., to Penn Station and on to Montreal.

And, when she gets back home, she’ll go back to dancing and flipping, just like always.

Clearly, Tabitha loves the art of performing, but she also enjoys taking people by surprise. A classically trained gymnast by the age of 11, she’s far more flexible than most of her classmates, and she laughed during a story in which she “grossed” them out.

“There was this class, maybe guidance, where we were allowed to show our talent. I said, ‘I can put my butt on my head,’” Tabitha said, referring to the trick that has earned her the nickname Butthead from her brother, Dexter.

After stretching her lower back, Tabitha can actually lie on her stomach and bend her legs and lower abdomen backward to touch the back of her head.

“When I did it in class, they were all like, ‘Ewww.’ Then, they said, ‘Do it again,’” she said.

Tabitha and Audrey Kirk will be in Montreal for the National Circus School July 12-18.

— Contact Tammie Toler at ttoler@ptonline.net.