Teacher and Gypsy, She Keeps Several Balls in the Air

Christina Garner is two people and perhaps more.

“It’s amazing how different I look when I transform myself from a blond Swedish gal to a dark-haired Gypsy woman,” said Garner, a Loara High School English teacher. She is fluent in Spanish and also teaches English as a second language.

Off campus she wears a long, colorful skirt and lots of gold jewelry, and juggles balls, clubs, knives and flaming torches while talking to youngsters and adults about the tradition, history, language, culture and background of Gypsies.

Garner targets libraries for many of her performances, which include original Gypsy tales and her juggling, a skill she uses “to help move the story along.”

Her most recent show was at the Fullerton Main Library.

“It has taken me awhile to develop the character,” said Garner, a member of the Orange County Jugglers and International Jugglers Assn. and holder of an English degree from the University of Texas.

Garner, 38, lives in Fullerton and is the mother of one child. She formerly worked as a Head Start teacher and health educator, and taught at Garfield High School in Los Angeles.

While a student, Garner became enchanted with street performers, from whom she learned juggling. She later enrolled at a private performing arts studio to learn mime and clowning.

“I guess you could call me a Gypsy scholar,” Garner said. “I have always had a natural fascination with their colorful and distinct culture, and I’ve thoroughly researched them.”

Garner chose the Gypsy look and juggling when she decided to become an entertainer performing at fairs, conventions, private parties and restaurants.

“In portraying a Gypsy character I wanted to be sensitive and present them in a more positive light,” Garner said. “I want to showcase the qualities that have made them attractive to people for so long.”

In addition, “I try to avoid stereotyping Gypsies. I try to use sensitivity and authentic Gypsy folklore.”

“I think the character is well received,” she said. Her husband, James Garner, a businessman in Garden Grove, sometimes plays Gypsy violin while she tells Gypsy stories.

She started entertaining as a clown, she said, “but I didn’t get off well. I looked for a character to emphasize my femininity, but someone who was not me.”

She settled on the role of a Gypsy but also has many other performing talents that can be used to develop different characters.

Besides developing her mime and clown skills, she has studied flamenco, English country dance and classic dances of India.

“I had a lot of dreams, like running off with a circus, and maybe it took me longer to grow up than other people,” she says. “I never had an eye on the Hollywood scene. I like to create my own little reality.”

While she finds joy in her entertaining role, Garner is aware of the ups and downs facing performers attempting to earn a living.

“I’ve worked hard at my job skills as a teacher,” she said, “to make sure I have something I can rely on forever.”