About Stratus

Stratus Circus, formerly named The Amazing Circus 1-ders, a troupe of youth ages 5-8, was formed in March of 2008. All of the performers are students at SANCA and have been chosen for the troupe based on their natural talent, internal motivation, tenacity, and precociousness. Stratus Circus members train for many hours each week to hone their skills and learn how to be young performers. They perform in all circus disciplines, including tumbling, acrobatics, rolling globe, and object manipulation, as well as in aerial arts such as trapeze, aerial ladder, lyra, and fabric. Stratus Circus performs in all SANCA school-wide shows, including SANCA’s Annual Showcase Spectacular and “Up, With A Twist!”. You may have also seen them perform elsewhere in the greater Seattle area at events like Georgetown Carnival, Seattle’s Moisture Festival, Big Day of Play, and JumpstART.

Stratus members train and perform year round. They have rehearsals Wednesdays from 4:30pm-6:30pm, and Saturdays from 10am-12pm. Occasionally, there are extra rehearsals outside of those times as well.

Future goals for Stratus Circus include performing in awesome venues, learning new daring feats that make their parents nervous, and figuring out how to make business cards out of glitter.

Who can audition and how do you apply?
Students should ask their coach and/or the front office. Families will be put in touch with the Youth Company Manager for the next steps.

When will the auditions be held?
The next trial day for Stratus will be in Spring 2026.

What do you need for the evaluation?
Candidates must be 5-8 years old, must have had at least six months of experience in SANCA classes (or in a related discipline like gymnastics or dance). Candidates should come to the evaluation with a good attitude, team mentality, and basic knowledge of general circus skills.

What to expect in an evaluation?
Interested applicants will take a class with the existing Stratus group. Throughout the class, the coaches will observe the candidates as they show their skills and interact with the other students and coaches. After the evaluation class, Stratus coaches will invite some of the candidates to join. Those who do not get invited will have the opportunity to try again in the next year (provided they are still age eligible for Stratus).

Things Coaches Consider During Evaluations:
We expect Stratus candidates to have taken SANCA classes for at least one year, and/or have at least one year of experience in a related discipline such as gymnastics or dance.

Successful Stratus candidates are eager to learn new skills, to work hard on technique and conditioning, and to take risks in a safe environment.

Successful Stratus candidates will be able to maintain their motivation and stamina for two-hour class periods, twice per week.

Stratus Circus is a performance troupe, so we are looking for children who are interested in performing, even if they do not have previous performance experience.

A child who can take direction from coaches and incorporate feedback will do well in Stratus.
Stratus Circus is a troupe where the children work with each other and with the coaches to learn new skills and create small and large group acts. Children who enjoy working with and supporting others in a team environment will do well in the group.

A child considering evaluating for Stratus Circus should have the body awareness and experience to do some of the following skills: cartwheel, handstand step down, forward roll, climbs on fabric, knee hang on trapeze, tuck jump, straddle jump, and seat drop on trampoline, toss and catch single juggling ball (in one hand and hand to hand), single foot balance on tightwire, hands and knees balance on rolling globe.