Sisters Miaja and Lia Lemieux chase each other — but never catch one another — in the “Wheel of Steel” spinning 25 feet above the ground.

Think of spinning hamster wheels that are connected and the entire contraption spinning as well. Or perhaps a ride at the State Fair likely to leave one’s stomach queasy.

This contraption is not at the Fair Midway, but under the Circus Juventas big top in St. Paul. And the Eagan sisters’ act high above the crowd is a highlight of the circus’ latest show opening Friday.

“You have to learn how to deal with the fear,” 19-year-old Miaja said. “I’ve learned how to say, ‘OK, this is scary, but I can do it.’ It helps because we have coaches and we have people who are there.”

The local youth circus’ show is dubbed “Steam: Grab Your Goggles and Fly!” Circus Juventas is the only youth circus in North America that does the “Wheel of Steel,” though it hasn’t been used in a show for 5 years. The show is the Lemieux sisters’ debut in the wheel.

WHAT IS STEAMPUNK?

The show is from the genre “steampunk,” a mixture of sci-fi and industrial-age technology that focuses on steam-powered machinery rather than advanced technology. Circus Juventas calls their show “retro-futuristic.”

Along with the “Wheel of Steel,” there will be swinging platforms meant to depict airships and a wall trampoline acting as a boiler room. It sets off with a big Broadway-style opening set at a train station in 1890s Paris with characters that then jet off into their time-traveling adventures.

The images are reminiscent of H.G. Wells’ “The War of the Worlds” and Jules Verne’s “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.” Artistic Director Betty Butler was heavily influenced by these “godfathers of sci-fi” when she envisioned the show, her husband Dan Butler said.

“The books were amazing and we thought it would really be fun to do something and push the envelope,” said Dan Butler, who co-founded Circus Juventas with his wife.

‘PUSHING THE ENVELOPE’

The show takes 71 students who have spent an average of 20 to 25 hours a week since May on the ceiling, floor and everywhere in between under Circus Juventas’ bigtop at 1270 Montreal Ave.

Circus Juventas’ shows are drawn from a full script, Dan adds. Every motion and movement is choreographed, unlike typical circuses where performers get on stage, do a trick and get off.

Of course, standing 25 feet in the air on an apparatus such as the “Wheel of Steel” can be terrifying. But that’s the point, Dan Butler said.

“It’s really about giving youth an opportunity to be exceptional, to do something that’s uniquely different and to push the envelope inside themselves … Because all of us have greatness in us,” he said.

BUILDING CONFIDENCE

Miaja has been with Circus Juventas since she was 3 and calls the big top her home.

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Here’s the pitch: Minnesota Opera brings arias to CHS Field This is the recent graduate from Eagan High School’s last show in Circus Juventas. She says being part of the circus family has helped build her confidence. She is excited the performance is with her 16 year-old sister Lia.

Circus Juventas is more than acrobatics and tricks; it’s a youth development organization, Dan Butler said.

“It gives kids a sense of belonging and self-esteem, a community that doesn’t judge, that accepts everybody,” he added.

Miaja has found that at Circus Juventas.

“I like how powerful that it feels. While I’m in a routine, I’ll like to look out at the audience because it’s fun to look at them to see their reactions and they’re just stunned,” Miaja says. “And it’s really empowering. It’s really cool.”

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