An Edmonton aerial artist is taking her talents across Canada as one of 25 performers accepted to the National School for Circus in Montreal. It's a dream come true for 18-year-old Taija Graham and her coaches at Cirquetastic. And as Jaclyn Kucey explains, it's a sign of success for the growing circus industry in Alberta.Taija Graham, 18, has been training in dance since she was a kid.
“I love doing trapeze and silks, and I’ve got a new appreciation for doing hand-to-hand I love doing the acro part of it around festivals around Edmonton,” Graham said.Click to share quote on Twitter: "I love the training of it, I love the hard work, it's amazing."All that hard work is paying off. After a grueling multi-day day audition process, Graham is one of 25 performers to be accepted into the National School of Circus in Montreal.
“My parents didn’t quite want me to go to circus because it wasn’t as mainstream. You couldn’t think of it as a career as you can today,” Gosselin said.“Having Taija being able to go out east gives opportunity for other kids to dream big and want to maybe pursue the same career she has, and be like, ‘Hey, maybe I could do this, I just need to train a little harder,” Gosselin said.It will be one of Graham’s last performances in Edmonton before leaving for circus school.