In July, Campus Will Be a Circus!

NEW PALTZ — Campus Auxiliary Services at SUNY New Paltz is sponsoring the Van Lodostov Family Circus Day Camp, a community program for children of all ages, July 16-27.

Under the leadership of Ted Lawrence, “troupers” will learn unicycling, juggling, acrobatics, clowning, trapeze, mini-tramp, stilt walking, Spanish web, tight wire, and much more. The camp will culminate in a Circus Show by the troupers of the camp in SUNY New Paltz’ Elting Gym at 11 a.m., July 28.

Lawrence is a veteran of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Baily Circus and has performed around the world. After graduating from the University of Vermont in 1985 with a B.S. in Secondary Education, he went on to finishing school at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Clown College in 1986. Starting with a meager background in performance, but strong skills in juggling, unicycling, and acrobatics, Lawrence became a slapstick specialist and was awarded a contract with The Greatest Show on Earth. Lawrence left the circus in 1988 and started teaching high school Chemistry full-time, even during the summers.

Since then he has taught Algebra, Physics, and AP Chemistry, as well as circus arts and clowning workshops. In 1994 he held the prestigious position of skills instructor on the faculty of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College, and the summer of 1995 and 1996 he was the head coach for Vermont’s Circus Smirkus. His current full-time occupation is performing science shows as a lovable absent-minded professor teaching chemistry and physics to elementary and middle schoolers in a program called Slapstick Science.

For more information about the Circus Camp please call The Office of Conference Services, SUNY New Paltz at 257-3033.