The Greatest Show on Earth- An Interview

I remember the first day I walked into my preschool. Four years old and going into the real world for the first time. My mom and I had toured several other schools and we ended up at a very clean and organized one near my house. I was greeted by the owner asking how I pronounce my name followed by, “Oh, we already have a Regan here, so you’ll be the other Reganne.”

Little did I know, the other Regan would become one of my close preschool friends. She was the most creative person I knew. Always making something out of nothing. Her mom and my mom would hit it off, and my mom ended up watching her during the school year.

We lost touch and I later stumbled across her Instagram account. I was absolutely blown away. The spunky little blonde girl that I once knew, now had multi-colored dreadlocks, crazy outfits, and she was trapezing, fire dancing, and somehow nothing and exactly like her past self.

I wanted to know more, so I contacted her, and I was lucky enough to have the chance to meet up with her in North Settle, near her home.

We met at Chocolati, a little coffee shop that according to Regan, got her through her two years at Bastyr University. As I stumbled into the shop, after a stressful morning, I was greeted with a hug from a nineteen-year-old, athletic, five foot nine, jewelry covered girl.

After ordering, we made our way to the back patio and on this beautiful October morning, I got down to the good stuff, immediately asking her about her dreadlocks.

White people with dreads. Not something that you see every day. Dreadlocks are traditionally not a part of white culture. Many people consider white people with dreadlocks to be disrespectful and demonstrate cultural appropriation. Regan explained to me that she didn’t get dreads for any particular spiritual or religious reason, and especially not to anger or offend other cultures. Yet, she had no idea what she would gain from having dreadlocks. “I went into this journey not expecting to get much out of it, but I had no idea where dreadlocks would take me and what they would give me.” She was introduced to an entirely new community, filled with people who disagree and agree with her choice to have dreads. Regan explained to me that she has never had a person of color approach her about her hairstyle, however, she did have a white woman message her on Facebook. “Yeah,” she says laughing, “this woman came across my Facebook page and she messaged me saying that my hair was offensive to other cultures and that even though she doesn’t represent those cultures, she was offended for them. So, I messaged her back saying that I was not going to end my dreadlock journey because of her. Now, if a person from a Rastafarian or black culture were to approach me, I would love to sit down with them and have a mutually respectful conversation about it.”

Surrounding herself with an open-minded community of circus people, and loving family and friends, Regan has never had problems with loved ones regarding her hair, much like how they fully support her career choice.

After attending Bastyr University, a school famous for teaching holistic medicine and being full of hippies, and getting her BA in Exercise and Wellness Science, she became very interested in the circus arts. She works at a trapeze studio in Seattle and performs at shows across Seattle and Oregon with her aerial hoop and cube. She demonstrates creativity through everything that she has, from her thrifted clothing to her fire dancing. Aside from fire dancing, she practices meditation, acro yoga, she constantly goes to festivals. She is ultimately in constant motion. “I did CrossFit all throughout high school so I think it was good preparation for the ariel arts that I practice now.” At one point she flipped open her planner and my eyes widened. I asked her how she does it all. “I’m really busy. I actually have an adult ballet class right after this,” she says laughing again.

We continued discussing her hobbies, ones that might make people uncomfortable, and she explained that she surrounds herself with like-minded people. “I know that the way that I live makes other people uncomfortable, it’s because they’re unfamiliar with it, but I don’t let that affect my everyday life. If I had any advice to give, it would be to be yourself. Express yourself however the fuck you want, as long as you’re not hurting anybody, its fine.”

This interview was a first for both of us. I learned so much about circus culture, a culture that I didn’t even know existed. I was also graced with the presence of an old friend who doubled as an open book.

If you want to know more about Regan Powers, check her out on Instagram @gypsielikenicks

-Reganne