Warren Bacon Memorial Fund

Warren Bacon was the first circus teacher and mentor for Circus Harmony’s Artistic/Executive Director and Founder Jessica Hentoff. His teaching inspired Jessica to pursue a career in the circus, and ultimately to found Circus Harmony. Warren was the Lead Coach for Circus Harmony for many years, teaching hundreds of students here in St. Louis.

In August 2025, Warren passed away leaving a legacy of generations of students who were inspired to perform and teach circus arts. All he ever asked of his students was to “pass it on”. To share the circus with others. The students you see today at Circus Harmony, the alumni around the world performing or teaching or working in other fields, are there thanks to Warren Adams Bacon IV and the time and care he spent teaching so many of them. 

We are thrilled to announce the establishment of the Warren Bacon Memorial Fund which will be used to support the training and paying of student teachers as they join the chain of passing it on! We cannot think of a better way to memorialize Warren’s commitment to the circus than by truly "passing it on" to the next generation through our student teachers. 

Circus Harmony has a long tradition of hiring advanced students as teachers and paying them for their time and expertise. This fosters a mentor/mentee mentality and provides young people with the opportunity to gain real work and leadership experience in a supportive environment. 

The establishment of this fund will ensure that our student teachers are paid a fair and comparable wage and provide funding so that we can continue this tradition of training and payment of student teachers for several years into the future.