Homer Alaska - Arts -

Langham and McEnaney wowed Homer last Mother's Day and sold out a performance at the Homer Theatre.

"It was completely busting out of the seams," said HCOA director Hope Finkelstein.

This year, HCOA has added a second show and moved the circus to Alice's. Alice's manager Rita Turner has worked with Langham and McEnaney and rigged circus apparatus to take advantage of the Pioneer Avenue bar's two-story interior space. One act features aerial silk, "a big long strip of fabric you can tie yourself up in, do falls," McEnaney said.

Langham also does an act with the Roue Cyr, a new circus device invented in 2003 by Daniel Cyr that's a big tall ring like a hoop you spin inside. Music is by the couple and Tyler Langham. Other acts include juggling and dancing.

"Last year they took the town by storm. Everybody loved them," Finkelstein said. "It's all about laughter, humor and lightness."

Langham came to the circus arts through his Homer family, the Langham Family Circus, and met McEnaney at Dell' Arte School of Physical Theatre in California. McEnaney was raised in the Toronto, Ontario, area, and went to McGill University in Montreal. The couple married last October.

They've taught circus art and dance in Homer, and now live in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, one of the centers of circus arts. Each summer they try to return to Homer to visit family, but also to teach circus workshops.

"We were really welcomed with open arms in Homer," McEnaney said. "That's something we want to continue to do and build on. We invested a lot of time and energy in this community, and are excited about keeping this going."

Sunday's show is part of a larger circus performance Langham and McEnaney are developing through a Canadian arts grant. The couple has some circus acts lined up in Canada this summer and works in the winter by teaching.

Langham and McEnaney are examples of Homer's community of artists who live beyond the area, Finkelstein said. Whether Homer young people who have grown up to make their way in the larger world, or visitors who have summer homes here or visit frequently, Homer's art community stretches geographic borders.

"The community of Homer extends beyond the geography," Finkelstein said. "The community of Homer is really worldwide. It's not just the residents of Homer, but the people who love Homer, who used to live in Homer or visit here on a regular basis."

With their second Mother's Day circus, McEnaney said she and Langham hope to continue the tradition and keep coming back.

"It's genuinely a community that's supportive of the arts. It's a fun place for us to come and it's beautiful," she said.

Tickets are available at HCOA and at the Homer Bookstore. For more information on the Diminticato Family Circus, visit www.continentaldrifttheatre.com.

Michael Armstrong can be reached at michael.armstrong@homernews.com.