'Dancing in the air': Winnipeg circus troupe ready to fly high on world stage at gymnastics event

A Winnipeg aerial and acrobatics troupe is flying high and training hard to show off their skills on the world stage next month.

The Momentum Aerial and Acrobatic Troupe, led by former Olympian Monica Goermann, will be one of the performance groups representing CanadaattheWorld Gymnaestrada exhibition in Austria.

The international festival, held every four years, showcases more than 22,000 acrobats of all ages from across the globe.

"There's an opening ceremony, a closing ceremony. It's very much like the Olympics," Goermannsays, but "without the competetive aspects."

Momentum, which was founded in 2002, will be one of two Winnipeg groups going, along with Manitoba Fusion, which focuses on rhythmic gymnastics.

Momentum, meanwhile, blends dance, theatre and the circus arts in their work.

Goermann, who was also a five-time medallist at thePan American Games, calls the team's work "acrobatic storytelling" using dance bothon the ground and onapparatuses like silks and hoops.

"It is a new form of dance. Basically, it is dancing in the air," Goermann says.

'I call myself an acrobatic storyteller'

5 years ago

Duration 2:11

Dancers and acrobats from Winnipeg's Momentum Aerial and Acrobatic Troupe are preparing for an international festival.

Momentum troupe member Rohan Hall, 15, says it's a great way to keep fit, since his role as a "mid-base" involves lifting people, who are then lifting others into the air.

"Theyteach us how to do these big lifts and then we do them a bunch of times. They get slightly less scary every time you do them."

Lillian Borger, 17, has been going toGoermann's studio since she was a small child, and evolved as an athlete as the studio changed direction over the years, moving from traditional gymnastics to circus-inspired aerials and acrobatics.

"As we'vebecome more and more circusy, I guess that's just what I've started to love and be passionate about," Borger said.

She's also passionate about the sense of community the troupe provides.

"We see each other so much, so we definitely have that friendship that creates, no matter what. And then there's the trust that we require to function," Borger says.

"It's terrifying sometimes.If something goes wrong, we all feel it.Butwhen we do things really well, it's like a collective happiness, because we did it with each other."

I love it. It's my passion.- Maia Thomlinson

Goermann'sadultdaugher, Maia Thomlinson, who originally trainedas a gymnast, also sees strength in the collective nature of the troupe.

She grew up in the studio, watching the older girls practise aerials and acrobatics, then trying out the stunts herself, until she was old enough to join.

"Growing up, thisis the place where I came to play. Gymnastics was always intense for me. But with circusthere's a freedom of expression, with storytelling through dance and acrobatics," saidThomlinson.

"I love it. It's my passion."

The World Gymaestradatakes place in Dornbirn, Austria from July 7-13.