When Mannie was 16 years old, she ran away with the circus. She hasn't looked back since

When choosing an after-school sport, most kids lean towards the classics; things like soccer, netball and rugby.

But when Mannie Kaydos-Nitis got her opportunity to pick an after-school activity, she went a little more left field.

When she was around eight years old, Kaydos-Nitis decided to venture into the world of circus.

At first, it was just for fun, a recreational sport like the rest of her peers, but a few years later, things started to shift.

"It was probably when I was about 12 or 13 that I started really taking more of an interest in it," she tells nine.com.au.

"I was like, 'this is really fun, and I really enjoy this more than school and other things'.

"I started actually teaching when I was about 14. Pretty much as soon as it was legal, I was there ready to do it."

Circus quickly became a major part of her life, both teaching others as well as continuing to train and advance her own skills.

Then, at 16 years old, Kaydos-Mitis ran away with the circus.

Now, you might be imagining a ruck-sack dramatically thrown over her shoulder while she snuck away, but the reality of the modern circus is far from what most assume.

Kaydos-Nitis auditioned for and was offered a place with Flying Fruit Circus, Australia's leading youth circus, which also offers performers schooling alongside their professional duties.

She finished her studies and graduated from high school as part of the troupe.

"I was then an acrobat and aerialist, an emerging artist in the world," she says.

Kaydos-Nitis has now been working in the circus industry for 16 years, travelling the world performing and training other aspiring circus performers.

Today, she's returned to her roots, working at the newest initiative from the team behind Flying Fruit Circus, Circus Centre Melbourne.

She has two roles at the centre, one as Public Programs Coordinator, and the other as a trainer, teaching circus to people of all ages.

She explains that the umbrella of "circus" encompasses "pretty much anything that you can think of", from acrobatics and equilibrium tricks to aerial silks, trapeze and trampolining.

"I'm trained as an acrobat and an aerialist," she says.

"Within that, for all of our classes that we offer here at Circus Centre Melbourne, I can teach everything up to an intermediate level.

"That's all juggling, acrobatics, aerials, balance, tumbling, flipping, and everything in between."

And even though circus is a thriving art form here in Australia, Kaydos-Nitis says there is still a harmful stereotype associated with it.

"Circus was always an art form that was pushed aside and a little bit different and wacky. It's still there, but as the world has evolved, so has circus," she explains.

"It is seen much more in a contemporary landscape, the same as other contemporary art. It may attract people who don't fall into the exact streams of society or boxes. Within that, though, you get the creatives.

"It really is not what people think it is, and I just want to say that people should be more open-minded. There are definitely still elements of that freakish stigma, but it is more of a perception than it is a reality. It is an art form.

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