Circus Cascadia had a circus area set up on an area of blacktop that at first seemed to be well-managed chaos, with kids trying out everything from hula hoops to stilts. Before I knew it, my occasionally shy son had signed himself up to be a pole-balancer in the circus performance, well-attended and applauded as little kids spun plates, unicycled blindfolded and -- seriously -- hula-hooped while on stilts. All I had to do was sit in the shade, drink water from my steel cup, and enjoy the music from the nearby main stage.

Paul, Ditzy and Uncle Bill,Thanks for the great workshop, wonderful entertainment and making the Street Fair fun and happy.
Cheers, Christa Kids at Heart Toys

 
It is with great pleasure that I write this letter of recommendation for Paul Battram. I am the Site Manager/Program Coordinator of the SUN Community School program at Faubion PK-8 in Portland, OR and have had the pleasure of working with Paul since the winter of 2007. He began teaching his circus workshop in our after school program through our partnership with the Tears of Joy Theater. His classes created a dedicated following that help bolster the profile of our after school program by providing a unique, high quality performance arts niche that claimed the attention of the entire school community.


Paul’s teaching style engages even the most distracted of students. His sense of humor and vibrant personality capture the attention of students and provides a refreshing escape from the typical classroom. Most importantly, he incorporates his personality into his teaching style by creating an environment where students feel encouraged to challenge their comfort zones and understand that making mistakes is part of the creative process. Students are stimulated by Paul’s energy and inspired to highlight their own personalities in their theatrical works. Not only is he effective in handling large groups of students, but Paul clearly shows a commitment to supporting individual learning styles within the larger group. Over the years that Paul taught in our after school program, shy students blossomed into confident performers and natural “stars” learned how to work within a team. He formatted his classes to allow for work in pairs, small groups, and in-class performances which provided a comfortable transition for all students to the stage during final end-of-term showcases.


Paul’s classes were the highlight of our Family Nights and the energy behind their performances transformed the evenings into dynamic, must-see events that bolstered parent involvement in our program and our school as a whole. Parents adored Paul as well. When his theater and outreach program faced budget cuts and had to end programming early, parents stepped up without hesitation to see how they could keep his class running through their own donations. Our community school program as a whole benefited immensely from Paul’s involvement, and I am eager to hear how he continues to impact the lives of students in art-based programs throughout his new endeavors

Sincerely,
Ashley Coltin

Site Manager/Program Coordinator
Faubion SUN Community School

What a fantastic job you and your crew did at Gulch-O-Rama!!!  Without exception the feedback from kids, their parents and teenagers were enthusiastically positive. Meara.Gulch-o-rama 2010

Thanks for bringing your good vibes to the Mountain Stomp Festival. When I asked my son what his favorite part of the festival was he said "the circus."Todd Mountain Stomp

Paul,
Our kids and moms just loved the workshops that you led and I want to thank you for giving us your time and talent.  You both have such a gift of being so positive and encouraging with the children.  We really are so glad that this worked out.  Hope we can have you back sometime too!
Hillsboro homeschoolers

Hi Paul,
I just wanted to thank you for the great job you did in Adam's class with the puppet show, I think it was a great performance - of course it helped to have a stellar Anansi... I was so proud of him, and I'm sure he was proud of himself, too! A lot of people came up to me and said how surprised they were to see this side of him. I can't believe you're doing three different shows with 3 different classes one after the other; I bet you'll be exhausted afterwards.
Thank you for your incredible work again,
Aniko