Hoop Dreams: Eva Lou Rhinelander
Eva Lou Rhinelander is a Level 9 Rhythmic Gymnast whose balancing techniques and prop manipulation skills (ribbon, ball, hoop, clubs) have earned her numerous awards. Eva got her start in 2013, and is the current World Record Holder for Longest Time Nose Hooping…more on that later. You may remember her flexible feats from last year’s A Night at the Circus, and we’re thrilled to announce Eva will be back with us on June 16, 2023. You can learn more about Eva Lou here, follow her on instagram, and more about the circus here.
atac: Hey Eva. What’s up? Who are you?
Eva Rhinelander: I am a circus artist, and will be performing handstands and contortion at this year's A Night at the Circus!
atac: We are stoked, thanks for returning! For those just getting to know you, where are you from, and how’d this all start?
ER: I am from Melrose and began my performing arts career when I first performed in my elementary school talent show. I later auditioned for a traveling youth circus called Circus Smirkus because an audience member suggested to me that I might be a good fit, and I have been training and performing for the circus ever since!
atac: What are some memorable, inspirational shows you’ve taken notes from?
ER: There are too many shows that I love and would love to see again, some favorites being: Dear San Francisco at Club Fugazi, Alegria by Cirque du Soleil, and the 2022 Circus Smirkus Big Top Tour. These shows are all special because they’ve had friends or coaches in them. I love watching people I know perform—it feels special knowing how difficult tricks are. I always go home with a sore throat after cheering so loud!
atac: What's something every novice contortionist should know?
ER: For any contortionists reading this: Make sure to always cool down after performing. It's obvious to warm up, but easy to forget to cool down!
atac: What about the time commitment—what’s your training like?
ER: Training-wise, I train about 25 hours a week. This number will certainly increase when I attend college, but that is the most I can squeeze into my schedule while also being a senior and balancing school. I spend most of my time training contortion and handstands—and am even more excited to be pursuing it as a career. I am going to be attending Ecole National de Cirque in Montreal, a three year program where I will develop and refine my skills in the specialty of my choice.
atac: I’m curious how all this education and training pans out over a lifetime. Do you have future plans to teach, coach, etc? What’s a career in the performing arts look like?
ER: Attending a circus college and having designated time is great for mastering skills, which can be surprisingly difficult. Academics—or simply working—can be particularly exhausting due to the athleticism required for circus performers. The coaches at the college are masters of their discipline, and the students are all uber talented; I am going to be surrounded by them when we all begin to work professionally. The school is also across the street from Cirque du Soleil headquarters, so there is a lot of opportunity for exposure and networking.
In terms of maintaining performance, it is very important to take care of the body. Many seasoned circus artists retire around 45-50, but some even can perform longer! Right now, I don't feel much pressure to have "another" plan with what I would like to pursue because I still have time. One day I may decide to pursue more education, but feel lucky in that I don’t have to consider some lackluster major that I don't have a real passion for. I am very passionate about contortion/circus and advancing my skills, so spending time making a "backup" plan isn't really on my radar.
atac: What makes a great coach great?
ER: The best coaches that I have worked with have been those that had longevity in their career and were also very skilled performers. It's very important that coaches aren't teaching something that they haven't done themselves. I would not feel comfortable teaching anyone other than beginners right now because I simply don't have the experience or body awareness that an adult with decades and decades of training and performing would have. It is important, though, that if I ever get to an extremely advanced level, that I pass on that knowledge. Without retired professionals to pass down skills and technique, the circus would die out. It isn't something you can read in a book and understand - it requires strength training, spotting, an outside perspective, and a coach to tell you everything that is wrong.
atac: Your industry is famous for coining the phrase, “The show must go on!” Wondering if you’ve got any personal examples?
ER: The roughest show I have performed at has been when the Big Top Tent flooded two hours before a performance. All of the performers had to race to pack up and elevate the ring to the best of their ability because otherwise all of our mats would be ruined. We had to remake the show in a matter of 40 minutes because the rigging was all wet and unsafe for the aerialists, and there was minimal sound and music because all of the tech got wet. In the end, even though the tent was a complete mess and there was no ring, we still performed a great show!
atac: You get to do a fair bit of traveling; any thoughts on road life?
ER: I think my favorite aspect of touring with a show, other than performing, is going from town to town and visiting their local coffee shops. Usually there isn't much free time to explore the different places because there is a lot of setup and teardown that is involved when moving a tented show, so when we do have a chance, it's nice to unwind in the atmosphere of a small cafe.
atac: Your world record for “longest time hula hooping on one’s nose,” this is something we need to know more about.
ER: The world record is something that happened out of a pure fascination. I was at a festival with my mom when I saw someone in a crowd hula hooping on their nose—as a ten year old I obviously thought that was the coolest thing a person could ever do. So when I got home and my parents were at work I spent hours upon hours practicing this trick. I even had a huge bruise on my nose! Then I began to record each try because I wanted to see if I was improving and also to show my mom :) She thought I was going for an exceptionally long time and decided to look up the world record - which turned out I had demolished. I think the previous record was around 40 seconds, possibly a minute, but I had gone for twelve minutes! I submitted my video, and secured the title as World Record Holder for Longest Time Hula Hooping on Nose.
atac: Eva, thanks so much. You are an awesome performer, and we can’t wait to see you again on June 9!
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Grab your tickets for A Night at the Circus on June 16 today and catch Eva, along with many other talented performers, musicians, DJs, and more. It’s going to be awesome.
