Meet the Coach: Adam James Clute on Aerial Straps, Coaching & Finding Circus

Adam James Clute has been training in circus for nine years and performing professionally for four to five years, with experience ranging from nightclub performances to multiple cruise ship contracts. At Roustabout School of Circus & Performing Arts, Adam primarily teaches aerial straps, along with calisthenics, bodyweight training, conditioning, and flexibility.

We sat down with Adam to talk about how he found circus, why he fell in love with aerial straps, his approach to coaching, and what he'd tell someone who's nervous about walking into their first circus class.

How did you first get into circus arts?

I first got into it when I was 26 years old. I was unhappy with where I was in life, so I decided to create a list of things that I enjoyed doing, and it all came together to performing in the circus.

I started at a local facility in the town I was living in, and I started from there. After three months of doing that, I did my first audition for Marvel, and that's when I fell in love with aerial straps.

The rest is history.

How did you get into coaching aerial straps?

I wasn't expecting to coach at first. I was actually asked to start coaching aerial straps by the gym I was training at because I was the only one that really did it, and they wanted to bring straps into the curriculum.

So I was just like, "Sure, why not?"

It was also giving me the opportunity to train as much as I wanted to and work on my own stuff, and I just kept going. It was more of an incentive at first, but after a while, it became a big passion in my circus career.

What do you teach at Roustabout, and what can students expect from your classes?

What I teach mainly at Roustabout is aerial straps. Students can expect an understanding of the fundamentals in aerial straps, as well as building overall strength, mobility, and understanding of aerial arts.

I think aerial straps is the best way to get into the conditioning aspect, as well as working your artistry, your dynamic understanding of transitions, and all that good stuff.

What's one of your proudest moments as a coach?

One of my proudest moments recently was with a student of mine. I've been working with them for about four or five months now, and I came into the studio and they were training and creating an art piece for themselves.

When I got in there, I could really see that they were taking in a lot of the aspects that I've been teaching them, with multiple wrap theories in the air and how to transition between our foundational aspects.

Seeing them develop their own creation through these understandings was really cool because I actually saw something I'd never seen before, and it made me really proud.

I even told them that night, "I'm super proud of you. I can't believe that you're starting to create your own things in straps."

Is seeing that creativity develop one of the benefits of coaching?

I think that, for me, it's a huge benefit.

You have your different tiers of students. You have the people that come in once in a blue moon to just kind of do it for fun or to get conditioning. Then you have your next tier of beginners that are doing straps and understanding it, or doing it to understand other apparatuses, or, again, for conditioning.

But then you have that third tier where people are really passionate about it, and they really want to understand a lot about the apparatus.

Which is really cool because, for me, straps has so many things that are still yet to be explored. Even to this day, I'll be going through social media or I'll be in the gym and see something I haven't seen before.

It's still being explored, and that is a huge benefit for me.

It brings me joy.

What's your approach when a student feels stuck, frustrated, or scared of a skill?

If they're scared, my approach would be to try and create a safe environment, whether it's bringing in more mats or regressing it and bringing them down to a lower level. There are always ways to approach a skill.

If they're stuck on something, or if they're not understanding a certain skill, I try to break it down into different parts. Here's a little part of this skill, this part, this part, and then bring it together as a whole.

How can you train those little parts at your level? Even those little parts could have a regression and build up from there.

Once we have all these components, we start building up to it. I also try to bring in different keywords, different analogies, or different approaches to the thought process of how you can understand the skill itself.

If you could instantly master any circus skill you don't already specialize in, what would it be?

It would probably be hand balancing, unless contemporary dance is a part of circus. Those would be the two.

Hand balancing is a labor of love. You really have to be dedicated to it, and it's such a long road to get to a one-arm handstand. Even a two-arm handstand is a long road for beginners.

But being able to manipulate yourself inverted while being balanced on one arm, and then on some sort of pole or bar or another apparatus, it's so difficult.

Out of all the things I've tried, I think that's the hardest thing. So I would do that.

What advice would you give someone who's nervous about taking their first circus class?

Do it.

What are you scared of?

The circus community is one of the most open, welcoming communities I've ever been a part of. I've been a part of a lot of sports communities, I've been a part of a lot of hospitality communities, and I've never been more welcomed or comfortable than in the circus community.

If you're afraid of embarrassing yourself, we all have embarrassed ourselves. Even our professionals still embarrass ourselves to this day. I fell yesterday trying something new, and it happens.

And if you're afraid that you're not strong enough, well, you have to start somewhere.

Just go for it.

What makes you enjoy coaching at Roustabout?

I feel that it is a community built for the community, if that makes sense.

When I first came on, or was even told about Roustabout, I just really loved the idea because our owner, Mark, really has us in mind. He wants to build a community, he wants us to perform in this community, he wants us to find jobs outside this community, and he wants to support us.

I've been at other places where ownership or management was really there just to have the facility there, either to make money or, I don't really know.

To be a part of this and to contribute to that is, I think, my favorite part.

What's your favorite circus act you've ever performed?

My favorite circus act that I've ever done was on my last cruise ship contract.

It was probably the highest skill level for myself at the time to execute it. It was a three-minute or so act to a beautiful song. It was very ethereal, and I was able to compound about four sequences into it.

I was just really proud of it. It was like all of these years had come to this moment of putting this act together.

It was such a rewarding act.

What's your favorite type of music to train to?

If I were just conditioning and stuff, electronic music or house music is probably my favorite.

But if I were doing more act creation, or if I'm trying to express myself, I really like classical music, contemporary non-vocal music, and even some lo-fi house, non-lyrical music.

You really get to be more expressive and in your feels.

What's your dream circus act to perform?

Specifically, it would be the Mystère Duo Straps Act in Las Vegas. It's such a beautiful act. The story itself is a little weird, but the act itself is just so beautiful.

It's so well done, and it's an act that uses the entire arena. It's a love story, and I love love stories.

What's your most hated aerial conditioning exercise?

Backbending.

It's not that I don't love backbending. It's the fact that everything I do on straps counteracts everything, so I have to work extra hard, and I have to be very consistent, or overly consistent, to a point where it's really annoying.

And if I don't do it, I see no progression.

So I think that's what I hate the most.

What would you be doing if you weren't doing circus?

It's hard to say what I would be doing if I wasn't doing circus specifically.

I would like to think that I would still be doing some sort of performing arts, like dance or singing.

I was in the hospitality industry for 14 years, still kind of to this day. Maybe that's what I would be doing. Hopefully not.

It's hard to imagine not doing this.

I can't imagine not doing this.

Ready to Try Aerial Straps?

Train with Adam at Roustabout School of Circus & Performing Arts. Whether you're new to aerial straps, looking to build strength and conditioning, or ready to deepen your understanding of straps technique, check out our current class schedule to find your next class.