UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — When Assistant Professor Jen Agans was an elementary school student in New Hampshire, one day she received a different type of assignment: to learn how to juggle. Circus was a unique aspect to her school’s physical education program, and she later toured in a tent show as her skills progressed. Now, she no longer performs, but Agans’ circus background and experience has shaped her research efforts within the Penn State Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management. This passion has also connected her with mentees and colleagues from across the globe.
“Circus is where my academic trajectory began,” Agans said.
Agans first started performing in middle school as a member of the Flying Gravity Circus, a youth circus program based in her school at that time. Agans and her peers put together shows and showcased skills from unicycling and acrobatics to juggling and tightwire walking. And what was once originally a homework assignment, juggling became a skill she would regularly showcase in front of audiences.
As a high school student, Agans became a member of Circus Smirkus, a tent show that traveled across New England in the summer. She also began mentoring and coaching youth at the Silver Lining Circus Camp, which she did for more than 10 years.
“I found it really fun,” Agans said about performing and coaching circus arts. “I liked how it had the challenging physical activity aspect but also the performing arts aspect. It was this cool, team-oriented activity.”
At Penn State, Agans conducts research about positive youth development in recreation, including circus. One of her studies, published in the Journal of Youth Development, found that feelings of connection to others in the program predicted positive developmental outcomes among youth circus program participants. This study, she said, highlights the value of the social connections that are formed in youth programs focused on circus arts.
She also recently conducted research about barriers that college students face to healthy leisure activities and how leisure habits can contribute to long-term health.
“Recreation is an important part of well-being,” Agans said. “If we have recreation that’s not accessible, that means some people are missing out on that vital aspect of life. Recreation really is a human right. We should all be able to participate in activities that are enjoyable to us.”
Recently, her passion for circus and research in recreation connected her with a mentee and collaborator from around the world.
Bara Adolfová, who is from Czechia, was familiar with how circus programs ran in Europe but was interested in learning more about the practice in North America. She had experience as a project coordinator at a circus school, where she studied circus arts and how they can contribute to personal development for children and people with disabilities. Receiving a Fulbright Scholarship, she reached out to Agans and began working with her at Penn State.
“Bara was working in Prague and observing things in her circus program and heard about what was happening in programs in the United States,” Agans said. “She was looking for a mentor and found me.”
With Agans’ mentorship, Adolfová led research recently published in the journal Leisure/Loisir about youth voice — or how young people feel heard — within circus. Observing and interviewing youth and staff from five United States youth circus programs, she found that the welcoming and accepting approach of the circus community are factors that create feelings of belonging for youth participants.
Adolfová said this research shows circus can be an activity that educational or after-school programs can use to promote physical health and inclusion among youth.
“We call ourselves circademics, or people that love researching circus,” Adolfová said. “Dr. Agans and I had a similar understanding of what circus is.”
Like Agans, Adolfová can juggle. Her strength, however, is funambulism, or wire walking while holding a balancing pole. They have not had the chance to perform together, but each have contributed to the growing research and academia surrounding circus.
“Circus is a fun world to introduce people to,” Agans said. “I really like that it has opportunities for everyone. Circus is a space that is intrinsically diverse and requires people with different attitudes, abilities and perspectives on the world. It’s a place that shows the diversity of things that can be possible.”
Today, in addition to her research on circus and other forms of active recreation, Agans continues her involvement in circus by serving as chair of the board of directors at the American Youth Circus Organization and American Circus Educators Association, a nonprofit promoting youth participation in circus arts and supporting circus educators.
"There is no one-size-fits-all recreation activity,” Agans said. “Circus inspired me to ask questions around how different recreational activities can meet the needs of diverse groups of people.”