Name:
Tobias Weynberg
Age:
16
Favourite discipline (if applicable):
Equilibristics… and in terms of aerial disciplines, trapeze
Years active at Greentop:
2016-2020
In what capacity I am involved with Greentop (eg. student, volunteer, trustee, office staff, aerial tutor etc):
Student and volunteer tutor
Where I am/what I am doing now:
I’m currently home educated, and looking forward to taking up a place at Circomedia in Bristol in September.
Favourite joke:
What do you do if you see a spaceman? Park in it, maaaan…!
Story:
Greentop has had a really positive impact on my life. My background is in athletics… I did gymnastics for 10 years, parkour and so on, but there wasn’t really a performance element to my training. My gym coach recommended I try circus skills, and since joining Greentop I’ve become much more confident, and honed my performance skills a lot. After only 3 months here I did my first show alongside Emily (a much more experienced performer). I’m really proud that we managed to put something together so quickly. One thing circus has taught me is that when things go wrong, you have to make it look like part of the act – so that’s exactly what I did during a trapeze performance, when I was supposed to slide from a front balance into an ankle hang… I missed one foot, spun off onto the mat, and quickly remounted the equipment as if that was exactly what was supposed to happen! My biggest achievement was learning a drop (tombé) on the swinging trapeze, going from standing up to catching the bar with my hands while the trapeze is in motion – that’s a pretty nerve-wracking move.
At the moment, I’ve started gym coaching, and am working towards my second coaching qualification. Due to the pandemic, students have had to adapt to e-learning, but I’ve risen to the challenge. At Greentop, I’ve been volunteering, assisting Georgie with teaching the Saturday Youth Circus aerial sessions. I instruct silks and trapeze. You do tend to get kicked a lot when you’re spotting the kids, but it’s worth it to help them achieve and see their enjoyment of the classes! I’m looking forward to heading off to Circomedia, where I can further my circus training, with a view to performing and coaching at a higher level in future.