Coney Island- Sideshow school

Coney  Island  SideShow  School   By:  Gloria  Vargas     Walking  through  the  redevelopment  areas  around  Surf  Avenue  at  Coney  Island,  a  block  away  from  the   subway  station,  you  find  a  colorful  if  weathered  building  covered  in  hand-­‐painted  banners  inviting  your   inner  curious  child  to  enter  and  check  out  the  snake  charmers,  the  fire  eaters,  the  human  curiosities  that   inhabit  the  Sideshow  by  the  Seashore.  And  tucked  to  the  side,  a  banner  tells  you  of  the  Sideshow  School   running  during  the  fall  and  spring  that  promises  to  teach  all  the  skills  you  would  need  if  you  decide  to   run  away  with  the  circus.  Adam  Rinn,  38  years  old,  has  been  teaching  at  the  school  for  five  years  after   having  attended  it  himself.  The  only  school  of  its  kind  in  the  world,  Coney  Island’s  Sideshow  School    is   now  supported  by  the  non-­‐profit  organization  Coney  Island  USA  with  funds  from  the  city,  Mr.  Rinn   hopes  it  will  be  there  for  the  next  fifty  years  as  a  reminder  of  what  Coney  Island  used  to  be  keeping  alive   the  ancient  tradition  of  circus  performers.     The  dangerous  acts  taught  here  are  no  joke,  what  you  see  is  what  you  get.  The  sword  swallower  is  really   gliding  swords  down  his  throat,  the  fire  will  really  burn  you  and  the  nails  are  really  going  into  the  skull.   Mr.  Rain  teaches  the  sideshow  performances  to  lawyers,  doctors,  college  professors,  bartenders  and   performers  of  all  disciplines.  Many  don’t  go  on  to  perform,  but  they  all  leave  with  many  conquered   fears.  Graduation  ceremonies  are  not  traditional  affairs  either.  The  students  lay  on  a  bed  of  nails  while   Mr.  Rinn  smashes  a  cinder  block  on  top  of  them  with  the  remaining  chunks  of  block  being  inscribed  and   given  out  as  a  diploma.                          

                      Where  you can major in Fire Eating, Snake Charming, The Human Blockhead, Sword Swallowing, Magic or Burlesque  

                         

                                                 

Besides being the dean and resident teacher at the Sideshow School and teaching how to hammer nails into his students’ faces, Adam Rinn also teaches Health to first and second graders at an elementary school in Queens. “It is a little bit ironic”, he says.