Bringing the Circus to State College, PA
Dmitry Myers began his gymnastics career at the Nittany Gymnastics Academy when he was three years old. Myers’s athletic and artist abilities evolved at a very young age, giving him a good foundation in gymnastics, dance, and other artistic activities. When Myers was 13 years old, his grandmother took him to the circus and from that moment, he knew performing in the circus was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
Myers is a circus, dance, gymnastics, and acrobat professional, who recently returned to his roots in State College, PA. He coaches at the Nittany Gymnastics Academy, and when he’s not coaching, he is practicing aerobatics, dancing, and gymnastics in his backyard. He stated that he always has audience living with his parents at home. Myers’s motto is, “Do what you can, where you are, with what you have.”
Myers mentioned that he sped through high school, completing all of his needed coursework within two years, so he could focus his next two years on gymnastics and dance. He stated that he graduated the State College High School with enough gym credits to give each student in the school two extra gym required classes. Myers left the State College, PA area when he was 19 to attend the famous circus school, Circus Warehouse, located in New York City. Myers instantly got into the Circus Warehouse school after auditioning; he got in within a week when it usually takes about a month. He finished the three-year program within a year, and then was told by his instructors that he should try flying trapeze. Flying trapeze is defined as when a performer jumps from a platform with a trapeze, gliding through the air doing various stunt work. Myers still remembers the first time he attempted this skill and instantly fell in love with it even though he was extremely nervous at the time. The flying trapeze, along with various other types of performances Myers has mastered, gives him a sense of freedom, vulnerability, and humility. He has traveled all over the United States with various circus companies and believes that he was “thrown into the wolf pack” where he was forced to learn by doing, rather than studying.
Myers is one of three people in the world to be able to perform the quad, a unique and very challenging flying trapeze performance that Myers prides himself on accomplishing. When performing it, Myers curls his body into a ball while flipping four times in a row through the air, closes his eyes and waits for a certain point of pressure in his head to open his body to catch the bar and continue on with his performance.
Myers owns a large aerial swing, which allows him to practice his skills daily and for multiple hours at a time in his own backyard. In addition, he owns his own circus tent and various other circus materials that he practices with, as well. Myers stated that his goal is to bring the circus to State College, PA because this is something that has never been done before. He will be hosting two shows this summer, one in June and another in July where he will be selling tickets to showcase his talents. More information about Myer’s shows can be found on this site: http://happyvalley.com/events/central-pa-theatre-dance-fest
When Myers stated, “there is never a dull moment in my life,” he was not kidding. Although Myers has a passion for the circus life, he also contains many other passions that he pursues and has various life experiences that have shaped him as a person. Myers was adopted from a poor village in Russia at a very young age and was brought to the United States where he grew up in State College, PA. He is grateful for his athletic abilities and jokingly said, “If I was my parents biological son, I would not be doing circus. I would be tripping over my own two feet.” He mentioned that he enjoys this along with his artistic abilities because it allows him to stand out and he always has an audience when he needs one. Myers said that he does not take a single day for granted because he feels so blessed to have ended up with such a strong and supportive family unit. “My eyeball could fall out and they’d be like yeah, yeah your eyeball fell out, go do a great show! Good Job! You know, they don’t care what I look like, they don’t care if I don’t have arms, they just want me to be happy,” stated Myers.
Myers has a passion for collecting antiques, which includes his own an intensive researching, and he has created his own lingerie line for men. He keeps himself busy with these things along with enjoying time with his family and friends.
At the end of the day, Myers stated that happiness is his ultimate goal for success and that he believes at his point in his life, he has achieved that.