The audience held its breath as the lyra performance began. The graceful mid-air movements were captivating and beautiful, a perfect finale to the night’s showcase of student talent. As the music faded and the performer’s feet touched the ground once again, the crowd erupted into cheers, and Arcata’s Got Talent Season 4 was over.
Six Rivers Charter High School senior, Phoenix Trinity, has been bringing her incredible set of circus skills to Arcata High School’s stage for the past three years, appearing in performances from Arcata’s Got Talent in the fall to the Arcata Arts Institute’s musicals each spring.
As Six Rivers Charter High School senior Phoenix Trinity’s time in high school draws to a close, her life as a performer is only just beginning.
Next fall, Trinity will begin a new chapter of her training at the San Diego Circus Center, where she has been accepted into their highly selective ProTrack Program. It’s a rigorous two-year course, and Trinity was one of only six accepted applicants for 2025.
“The goal is to shape us into performers that can work in the circus world as a professional career and eventually get accepted by some kind of touring circus,” Trinity said.
She hopes to one day perform with Cirque Du Soleil, but is open to other opportunities.
Trinity first visited the San Diego Circus Center when she was twelve years old for a festival.
“I realized that I never felt as comfortable and at home in a circus space as I have there, and I was like ‘yeah, this is definitely it for me,’” Trinity said.
Trinity got her first taste of the circus world when she was nine years old and began learning aerial silks in Blue Lake. She became enthralled with the world of circus performing and began to work on a plethora of skills including lyra, hand balancing, partner acrobatics, tumbling, unicycling, and stilt walking.
She brought these unique talents to her performances with the Arcata Arts Institute, adding new depth and intrigue to these shows.
Arcata Arts Institute’s production of Alice by Heart in 2024 featured Trinity in several aerial solos and duets. Her silks, lyra, and window performances took place behind a scrim, giving them an almost ghostly feel as they beautifully mirrored the storyline and emotions of the show. This was a unique and jaw-dropping addition to the show that greatly amplified its impact.
Trinity has pulled off many other amazing feats during her time with the Arcata Arts Institute, from belting out a song from a backbend in Alice by Heart to performing self-choreographed lyra solos in Arcata’s Got Talent seasons three and four. She was most recently on stage as Hermes in AAI’s production of Hadestown (Teen Edition) where she used her singing, dancing, and acting skills (along with a few signature acrobatic flairs) to bring the charismatic narrator to life.
Beyond her local experience, Trinity has spent the past four summers in Vermont as part of a program called Circus Smirkus. There, she participated in intensive training and honed her skills. Her coaches encouraged her to pursue bigger things, and that is exactly what she’s doing. Their encouragement helped her to know that she was on the right path, no matter what anybody else said.
“Sometimes I worried about being judged for [choosing] definitely not a stereotypical path,” Trinity said. “But I just knew that I do have a talent, and I want to use it to make people happy in my own way.”
Trinity has found so much joy in pursuing her own unique path and encourages others to do the same.
“I think that sometimes it’s okay to follow your dreams rather than just stick to what everyone else is doing.”
