“Hurry, hurry, hurry! Step right up folks and hear the tale of the daring young girl on the flying trapeze.”

These may be the words that ring in the ears of Jasmine Hayes, an 11-year-old island girl who is an aspiring trapeze artist.

Jasmine practices several hours a week on a trapeze that hangs from a wooden beam in the living room of her family’s Clinton home.

When asked if she would like to run away and join the circus, her reply was atypical.

“Well, I kind of have the circus at home,” Jasmine said.

Jasmine is the daughter of Gabi Schoening and Larry Dobson, local stiltwalkers who entertain at festivals and events under the name of “Tall Characters Unlimited.” Schoening and Dobson also teach circus arts to children at their South End home.

Jasmine, a fifth-grader at the Waldorf School, is also an experienced stiltwalker who recently had her first professional gig working at the Seattle Aquarium with her parents.

Who needs to run away if the circus is conveniently located in your own backyard?

Surrounded by an idyll of forested Whidbey acres with a trapeze in the house and a trampoline just steps from the back door, Jasmine’s dream of becoming a circus entertainer is literally within reach. She even has an exotic homemade metal swing, created by Dobson, that looks like a carnival ride and holds five people in an aerial swirl.

“I do want to join the circus,” said Jasmine. “But I would want to have my own gigs, too.”

It is entirely possible that Jasmine could make a good living as a circus artist, but the competition is tough and she’ll have to endure years of intense training to make a career of it.

Even so, “running away and joining the circus” is no longer the dream of youngsters who didn’t want to finish their homework.

Circus shows are big business, and not just in Las Vegas. The circus has come of age and is no longer the terrain of the gypsy-style set traveling from gig to gig in funky caravans.

There are numerous circuses that maintain the traditional mix of animal and human performers, including the famous Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the Moscow State Circus and the Big Apple Circus.

But with a new performing arts movement that developed in the 1970s known as “Cirque Nouveau” or “new circus,” companies from everywhere in the world were creating circus shows that combined traditional circus acts without animals, and added modern entertainment and production values.

The Pickle Family Circus, founded in San Francisco, Calif. in 1975, and Cirque du Soleil, founded in Quebec, Canada in 1984, are two popular examples of the new circus style. Cirque du Soleil has become so popular it now has a total of 16 different shows running simultaneously in 37 cities all over the world.

When Jasmine is ready for an audition she’ll be able to choose from a variety of acrobatic and gymnastic acts such as tightrope walking, trapeze acts, aerial fabric acts or perhaps become a contortionist doing super-human moves while suspended in mid-air.

The shows of the new circuses will often feature spectacular floor routines, top-notch musical accompaniment and storylines that tie all of the acts together in a unifying theme. In short, these shows have all the spectacle of the old-time circus combined with the high-tech special effects and super-developed talent of the new circus masters.

Jasmine happens to be lucky enough to have parents who are involved in the circus arts, so the road to becoming a performer may be smooth sailing for her. But it takes years of intense training to make it to the big top, so that means there is much to learn for this young trapeze performer.

“I’m looking forward to a new teacher and going to the next level,” said Jasmine. “It’s fun and exciting and I think I will always be doing it.”

You’ll be able to catch Jasmine performing with her parents at the Wharf Festival in Coupeville on June 24.

Dobson and Schoening offer circus arts classes for children over the age of 4. Kids can learn everything from stiltwalking, trapeze and juggling to face painting, balloon art and more. Single-day classes are still available on June 10 and June 16. Circus camp will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 25-29. Call 579-1763 or e-mail gabi@whidbey.com for more information.

Patricia Duff can be reached at 221-5300 or pduff@southwhidbey.com.