Used to be that if you wanted to join the circus, you had to run away as a child and spend years as an apprentice and odd-jobber—romantic, maybe, but someone had to shovel out the animal stalls. But today you can attend Georgetown’s School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts (SANCA), founded in 2004 by Jo Montgomery and Chuck Johnson. It still may take years to master acrobatics, aerial arts, juggling, or unicycling, among other skills on their curriculum, but at least there’s no elephant dung involved. A guiding force and inspiration for performing groups like Circus Contraption and the Aerialistas, the school serves kids and adults alike. In this weekend’s fund-raising open house, dubbed a SANCA-thon, you can sign up to pledge support for a participant who agrees to complete a certain stunt—like a walk-a-thon, only with, for example, somersaults.

Sat., Oct. 6, 2-7 p.m.; Sun., Oct. 7, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., 2007