St. Louis’ Circus Harmony and the National Circus School of Puerto Rico are joining forces for Peace Through Pyramids: Puerto Rico. Last year, the two organizations made history by bringing the joy and hope of circus to the most devastated parts of Puerto Rico. This year, they are bringing this same spirit of cooperation and inspiration to St. Louis.

Circus Harmony has been using circus arts to bring hope and motivate social change since 2001. Through the Peace Through Pyramids program, they have worked toward building bridges between communities in the St. Louis area and around the world by uniting children through circus arts. After successful Peace Through Pyramids collaborations in Ferguson and Israel, Circus Harmony turned to Escuela Nacional de Circo de Puerto Rico (ENC). The two troupes of young people created a show and brought some much-needed joy and entertainment to communities who had been impacted by recent hurricanes. This exchange will reunite members of Circus Harmony with children from ENC’s Social Circus, the Revolution Circus, in their second Revolution for Harmony tour. 

“Circus Harmony is one of the foremost practitioners of social circus, a growing intervention tool used to foster personal and social development in at-risk youth,” said Jessica Hentoff, artistic and executive director of Circus Harmony. “Our original Peace Through Pyramids partnership with the Galilee Circus in Israel and between children in different neighborhoods in St. Louis have helped children reach new heights physically, mentally, emotionally and socially. We believe building pyramids with people is a great way to build bridges between communities. Circus Harmony is excited to continue a partnership with the young people in Puerto Rico and bring the effervescent energy of Puerto Rican culture here to St. Louis. At some of the shows, the young people from Puerto Rico will also talk about what is happening in their country two years after the devastating hurricanes.”

The shows feature amazing feats of circus skill that exhibit the incredible trust and responsibility students develop in both social circus programs. Performance dates are still being added but the current schedule includes: 

Wednesday, July 3: Youth and Family Center- 12:00 noon

Friday, July 5: City Museum- 4:00 pm

Saturday, July 6: Ferguson Farmers’ Market- 10:00 am

Saturday, July 6: Eckert’s Belleville Farm- 1:00 pm

Sunday, July 7: City Museum- 3:00 pm

Sunday, July 7: Arthouse St. Louis- 6:00 pm

Monday, July 8: City Museum- 4:00 pm

Tuesday, July 9: Jewish Community Center- 10:30 am

Wednesday, July 10: The MUNY- 7:00 pm

Thursday, July 11: O’Fallon YMCA- 11:00 am

Friday, July 12: Cardinals Ballpark, TBA

Saturday, July 13: Incredible Pizza St. Louis- 5:30 pm

Sunday, July 14: Hispanic Leaders Group @ Forest Park Community College: 2:00 pm

This inspirational Peace through Pyramids partnership was generously supported by Mary Strauss and Suzi Latorre, with funding from the Arts & Education Council of St. Louis, Regional Arts Commission, and Yadier Molina’s Fundación 4. Circus Harmony is sponsoring this program in partnership with the Missouri Humanities Council and with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Lodging is being provided by The Last Hotel STL, a new hotel in Downtown St. Louis near Circus Harmony’s City Museum home.