Bayaraa Odonchimeg and Baya Khaltar met as youngsters attending full-time circus school in Mongolia. Fast-forward 30 years and the husband-and-wife team, who have spent more than 20 years performing across Europe, China, Russia and South Africa (to name but a few), are settled in Auckland training almost 400 students in their beloved circus skills. 

Situated in Randolph St, Eden Terrace, the school occupies a former warehouse, chosen for its high ceiling and the fact that it was “central enough that parents would find it easy to bring their children,” says Baya, “as well as being welcoming for kids and having places nearby that waiting families could go and get a great coffee.”

The school opened in 2015 with a holiday workshop attended by just five children, “and two of them were ours,” says Bayaraa. The couple have two sons aged 16 and two and a 14-year-old daughter. Three months later, the school was attended by 100 kids and even adults were starting to come, as word of mouth spread and kids brought their friends. The school is now open every day and offers classes across a range of disciplines, from aerial to tumbling, juggling and contortion. There are also holiday programmes and birthday parties.

Walking into Flip N Fly is like entering a different world. The space is filled with crash mats “for health and safety” says Bayaraa, who tells me that “the kids get so excited and they want to explore everything, so we make sure that it is safe for them to have total freedom.”  Students wear a harness when trying new equipment or perfecting tricks and their warm-up is a huge focus, preventing injuries and improving strength and flexibility. An array of multicoloured apparatus hangs from beams in the ceiling, professionally rigged of course.  There are silks and hammocks for climbing and dropping down, as well as cubes and hoops that “spin really fast” and trapeze. At one end of the warehouse are unicycles, juggling sticks, trampoline and German wheel, creating a space that is fun and playful.

Many of the adult students come initially for a fun way to get active and improve fitness. “For them, there is a lot of thinking before they try anything,” says Baya. “They are the opposite of kids and it is often about training their minds, whereas the kids just try it and they have no fear. If they can’t do something they just keep trying until they can.” Students at the school range in age from four-and-a-half to 63-year-old Sue, who has been training at Flip N Fly for five years. 

The weekend before we met, the school had produced a sold-out show at SkyCity Theatre called Opulent, which was attended by friends and family as well as current students, who come to be inspired by their peers. Baya becomes emotional as she tells me that she feels “so proud” of all her students. 

“It is such a pleasure watching them grow up. Sometimes kids arrive for their first lesson and they’re quiet and shy, but they learn a trick and they get a real sense of achievement and their confidence builds really quickly. Circus is not competitive, but supportive. Success for us is making every student feel that they have improved and accomplished something.”

Former colleagues and past pupils perform as part of the world-famous Cirque du Soleil, visiting the school to chat to current students and lead workshops. Star pupil Christopher, aged 18, is professional-ready and Bayaraa and Baya are sending his act to friends and agents as they try to help him achieve his dream of joining the circus. He trains almost every day at Flip N Fly, working alongside regular teachers Zaya, Jodie and Svetlana as well as choreographer Belinda. Also showing huge promise is the duo’s own daughter, Anungoo, who is juggling school with her passion for rhythmic gymnastics and circus, recently winning two gold medals at the Australian Circus Festival.

In future, Baya would love to start a class for toddlers, inspired perhaps by her youngest son, who is busy exploring the equipment as we chat. “He can almost do flips on the trampoline now,” she says proudly, “this is his playground.” With the school designed to feel like family, he won’t have to run far if he wants to join the circus.