courtesy of sharon jones-chase INSTRUCTOR SHARON JONES-CHASE traveled the world as an acrobat with a Chinese circus in her youth and used the stage name “Sandy Stewart.” Her style of performance broke ground and can still be seen in the shows of Cirque Du Soliel. Elizabeth k. Peterson TEN YEARS AGO, Instructor Sharon Jones-Chase broke her back after falling from an aluminum bar while performing acrobatic stunts in Portugal. She is currently serving as an instructor of politics in the School of Humanities and Sciences.

Atop her platform and wrapped in a slithering leotard, the snake-like acrobat teased the audience with a glowing red apple. In a performance called “Eve” she contorted her body into and out of positions, as she moved the apple from head to toe. She was famous all over the world for her explosive productions and theatrical interpretations. She was “Sandy Stewart,” a runaway from Zimbabwe who has now run all the way to the politics department at Ithaca College. This dazzling entertainer is Instructor Sharon Jones-Chase.

Born in Boston, Chase stayed in the United States for a very short time. Her mother and father, both citizens of the British Empire, took her all over the world. She went to elementary school in London, middle school in Hong Kong and high school in Zimbabwe.

Chase said she struggled in school, often transposing her letters and words. She is dyslexic, but at the time no one knew what dyslexia was. Chase said she was therefore labeled a “dummy.”

What she lacked in the classroom, however, Chase said she made up for in her dance lessons.

“All my juices, all my energy, all my talent went into my dancing because I couldn’t do anything else. So, I was a damn good dancer,” Chase said as her eyes seemed to re-open and burn with pride.

After she graduated from high school, Chase said she had no idea what to do with herself. All her life people had called her a dummy and she believed them. So she ran away to Hong Kong and joined a small traveling circus. Chase said she used the circus as camouflage from her searching parents and as an opportunity to perform.

Chase traveled with a Chinese circus for three years and said she learned acrobatics from some of the most talented acrobats in the world. When she was twenty, she decided to get an agent and travel as a solo performer. This is when Chase said her stage name, “Sandy Stewart,” really took off.

By combining the elements of costume, music, lighting and theme, Chase said she intensified the artistry of circus performance. The integration of such theatrical elements was rare in her time and introduced the world to a new form of circus entertainment. This same form has taken shape in Cirque Du Soliel, a show that has been wowing international audiences with a blend of circus art and street performance.

Unfortunately, Chase’s career came to a tragic end 10 years ago. While performing at a casino in Portugal, Chase fell from an aluminum bar above her platform and broke her back.

Chase decided to go to a rehabilitation center in Florida because her mother was living in St. Petersburg at the time. Chase said the recovery was painful and frustrating. Even if she did improve, she said she did not know what she was going to do with herself.

“All my life I’d been an acrobatic dancer,” Chase said as her eyebrows furrowed. “I played the biggest casinos and nightclubs in Europe. I played in New York City and Las Vegas. I didn’t know what I was going to do.”

While recovering, Chase was diagnosed with dyslexia. This, Chase said, proved she was not a dummy.

Within six months she relearned how to read and write. She went back to school to study business administration and political science. Nine years later, she received her Ph.D. in political science from Syracuse University.

“[I did it] all in a time frame of about nine years. From a person who couldn’t read or write. That’s my life story. Education was my quest. And here I am teaching others. It’s been a wild ride,” Chase said with a smirk.

Chase taught classes in politics and multiculturalism at SUNY Cortland before coming to Ithaca. Gerome O’Callaghan, Chair of Cortland’s political science department, said Chase’s various perspectives strengthened her teaching.

“It is very unusual for students in New York to come across an instructor with such a wide range of international experience, and such variety in prior careers,” O’Callaghan said.

Chase has not left the entertainment world entirely. Her son is a professional magician who appeared on a television special with David Blaine and now studies acting at SUNY Brockport. Chase is also very active among the Society of American Magicians and has helped write newsletters for different magic clubs and organizations. Magician and friend Jack Miller said that her work ethic is evident in everything she does.

“Sharon coached her son with unbelievable effort and went as far as to enter him in contests around the world,” Miller said.

Chase said she will be using some magic in her classes this semester. Sounds like a politics lesson you won’t want to miss.