"In the winter we've been limited to other people's studios here and there," Madoff said. "We really needed more space to grow and more pads to make sure we practiced safely."

The new space, used most recently to house construction supplies, will feature two-inch thick pads throughout the entire space to cushion inevitable falls. Madoff and other will also work to install rigging for aerial equipment such as hoops and trapezes, training equipment and a small climbing wall for cross-training.

He said a fully functioning practice space with high ceilings has the potential to feed the growth of the local circus community.

"The circus arts have grown enormously here, but I've noticed that we're hitting a wall because we can't practice as often as we really need to. What everybody wants is to grow, to train and to get better," he said. "Because it's really just fun. It's all we want to do with our free time."

The movement, which has its roots on the West Coast, started locally about four years ago. It has grown slowly to include about 20 die-hard acrobats who are committed to AcroYoga and another 50 or 60 people who attend AcroYoga events semi-regularly. A separate community of aerial performers is about the same size.