Paul Binder '63

What I've learned since graduation

"MY FIRST MENTOR WAS A BUILDING. The first year of Hopkins Center I was in three productions. I learned I had all these incredible passions and urges that I had held secret and hidden away. The Hop gave me a chance to find them, exercise and to aggressively embrace my passion for the unknown."

"JULIA CHILD TAUGHT ME TO GIVE THE PUBLIC SOMETHING SPECIAL AND FINE but show them it's a part of themselves. She was one of the earliest influences on the Big Apple Circus. After graduating from Dartmouth, I was hired as the stage manager for The French Chef. One time, the director said, 'Tell her she's sweating, Paul!' And I wrote on a sign, 'YOU ARE PERSPIRING!' and I held it up. Afterward she comes over, embraces me and says, 'Paul, where I come from, they call it sweat. Just write the word sweat and I'll understand.'"

"JUGGLE ONLY WHERE YOU'RE WELCOME. My friend Michael Christensen and I left the San Francisco Mime Troupe to juggle on the streets of Europe. We traveled from London, all the way to Istanbul and then back to France, strictly on our juggling. In Greece we were arrested. We went to the American consulate and they said; 'Hey, you get busted again and they'll put you in jail for six months or a year, so don't be stupid.'"

"WHEN THE BIG APPLE CIRCUS DOES ITS JOB RIGHT, IT TOUCHESPRIMAL CHORDS. The first time Michael and I appeared in the circus ring was in France. After that it was all I ever wanted to do for the rest of my life. I understood that this was a device that, in its original form, was about community. People come together, sit in a circle and watch their aspirations acted out for them. Just as the tribal people got together and the hunt was acted out and the fear of the storm was acted out."

"NOBODY is MORE ORDINARY THAN emeus PEOPLE. These are simply ordinary people who have trained themselves to do the most extraordinary things. It's saying to the audience, hey, these people wake up in the morning and put their pants on the same way you do. And look what you can do. Look what we human beings are capable of."

"CIRCUS IS A PROFESSION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. And my bones, every one of my bones, knows it. We perform 35 weeks a year, of which 11 and a half are in Lincoln Center. The rest are spent touring. We live in the trailer most of the time. That's by far the toughest part of the job."

"IF YOU STAY IN ONE PLACE LONG ENOUGH, THEY HANG A PLAQUE ON YOU. On November i I'm going to be honored by the New York City Landmarks Conservancy Commission as a living landmark. I wonder what it pays?"

JOB TITLE: Founder, artistic director and ringmaster of the Big Apple Circus NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS: Brought the one-ring circus to America 22 years ago; now hosts half a million circus-goers each year MARRIED: For 15 years to Katja Schumann, the circus equestrienne COLLEGE MAJOR: Cultural history