"You do circus? That's so weird!" - Talented Tuesdays

Meet Bianca Zieger – a 3rd year Health Studies student pursuing an Honors Bachelor of Health Science, who used to train for circus school.

What is your talent?

My talent is that I trained at a circus school for Cirque du Soleil. I did Ariel silks, Triple trapeze, skipping as well as acrobatics

How long were you doing that for?

6 years.

What made you decide to stop?

When it became time to start applying for University our coach had a sit down with each of us and asked whether we wanted to apply to the national circus school, that is in Montreal, where you can do a degree in circus arts, or if you wanted to apply through the Ontario University system. We had to choose because the national circus school’s applications are pretty lengthy – you have to make videos, they have to come out to scout you – and I decided that I wanted to pursue medicine instead. It was a more reliable career, and it’s a lot safer.

Was there anything in particular about health that drew you into it?

The thing that I like the most about health and health care is the constant challenge it provided you with. I also had a lot of opportunities to get involved with clinical skills and stuff like that at Western and I knew I could supplement my learning. There’s also the aspect of helping people!

You mentioned medicine, is that the end goal?

I have an observership currently at the emergency department at UH and Vic, and so my end goal is to be in an emerge position or a pediatrician.

What was your biggest accomplishment or achievement in your circus days?

We were given a lot of autonomy to create our own routines and tricks. My biggest accomplishment was creating a trick that I was asked to teach to advance aerial classes, and recreational classes. It became a trick that the school taught and is still taught today.

What was the trick called?

I have to think… I think it was called Freefall! You go to the top of the silk and you hang upside down by your knee – you wrap the silk around, through your knee and around your waist – and then you hold the silk in your hand. If you let go, you just slide down, and when you close your hand, you stop!

That almost sounds like Bungie Jumping!

It kind of was!

Do you miss it?

Yes. I definitely miss the people– my teammates, my partner – and I also miss the workout because we trained 5 days a week for 3 hours at night. Oh and I miss the performances… they were such a big adrenaline rush.

If you had one piece of advice to tell everybody – what would it be?

People always ask me if it was a waste, 6 years, 5 nights a week, but absolutely not. Its something that sets me apart from everybody else. Even though it wasn’t something that I pursued in the end, its such a huge part of forming my identity, and getting me out of my shell. So many people would always be like “you do circus? That’s so weird!” but if you’re passionate about it, and you are good at your talent you should follow it. But in the end, if you choose not to pursue it, that’s okay.

Know anybody with a talent in Health Studies? We want to hear it! Fill out a form!

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