Author Archives: Max Clabaut

SANCA is honored to present our talented staff in their own show. Everyday Miracles, transforms everyday actions through the beauty of circus, elevating the mundane into the marvelous. Circus artists are superheroes performing these little miracles every day, affecting other people, spreading mystery and joy.

Artists performing in the SANCA Staff Show include: Rachel Randall & Nick Lowery, Bridget Gunning, Professor Scotty Walsh, Noa Schnitzer, Leslie Rosen, Mick Holsbeke, Zach Holmbergh, Orville Zharoff & Lauren Kettner.

SANCA resident collective Acrobatic Conundrum will be appearing as the second half for the weekend of August 15-17.

IMPulse Circus Collective will be appearing as the second half for the weekend of August 22-24.

Also part of the Festival: SANCA is proud to produce it’s first late night variety show directed by David Crellin aka Armitage Shanks. An evening of raucous thrills with live music & special guests.

Our Friday August 15th Show includes: Armitage Shanks, Marta Brown, Esther de Monteflores & Laura Burch, Nash Fung, Duo Finelli, Jenny Penny, Miss Adra Boo, Professor Scotty Walsh, Bridget Gunning with live music by Bucharest Drinking Team.

Our Friday August 22nd Show includes:
Professor Scotty Walsh, Bridget Gunning, Tanya Brno, Duo Finelli, Vivian Tam & Gunnar Field, Esther de Monteflores & Laura Burch, Jenny Penny, Armitage Shanks, Marta Brown, with live music by Chaotic Noise Brigade.

SANCA received a grant from 4Culture

June 27, 2014

June 27, 2014 – SANCA has received a $2,000 grant from 4Culture, the King County Cultural Services Agency, to purchase new flying trapeze safety belts and other equipment.

4Culture KCLodgingTax Thank you 4Culture!

Beyond Intro to Aerials

December 14, 2013

If you’ve been to SANCA you’ve probably seen people climbing the rope and working on the trapeze. Looks easy when other people do it, don’t you think?

I’m going to tell you a secret and introduce you to some amazing women. The secret is that aerial work is hard. Almost everything hurts at first, and all the skills take practice and conditioning—especially if you get started as an adult without a background in gymnastics or rock climbing. Does that mean you can’t do it? Or that you shouldn’t do it? Dare you try? Of course you should! It’s fun, challenging and exciting. You can take your strength, flexibility and courage to new heights.

I want to you to meet the women of the daytime aerial class “Beyond Intro to Aerial”. These fit babes have all been in the aerial program for at least a year, and most of them have been working on the foundation skills of the Intro program for almost two. Not one of them could do a pull-up or straddle in the air when they got started.

“My brain would say pull-up. And I wouldn’t even move.” ~ Erin H.

Now Erin’s rocking pull-ups. On the first day of aerial class everyone learns the basics of how to climb. Does that mean we all climb to the top the first day? Nope. We learn the basic leg wrap to hold our bodies in the air and then we begin.

“You have to be excited about the little things. The first week I could do two climbs. The next week it was four!” ~Rachel D.

Now Rachel is doing two climbs all the way to the top of the rope as a warm-up activity. When she first started the class, Erin G. couldn’t hold her feet off the ground. At SANCAthon 2012, she climbed the rope 10 times in an hour to help raise money for our scholarship program, no sweat—and she could have kept going. Jenn says, ” I couldn’t do a straddle on the ground rolling back to touch my toes on the mat.” Now she’s doing straddles in the air. Serenity joined the class in 2011. The biggest adjustment for her was getting used to hanging upside down. She loves the company of the other ladies and brags about all the awesome chicks from aerials. There is a lot of camaraderie in the group as everyone cheers each other along and enjoys each other’s successes.

“The turtle wins the race!” ~Lauren M

Aerials helped Lauren quit smoking and start a general lifestyle overhaul that includes running and multiple days of aerial training each week. She also got the surprise side benefit of added flexibility and is doing splits for the first time in her life.

Congratulations ladies!
Thanks for reminding us all that it’s never too soon or late to get started. There is always more to learn and you can always get stronger.

Full Spectrum

November 15, 2013

Take a break from fall doldrums and treat yourself to a splash of early spring with this high-energy, acrobatic show. Follow the characters of Cirrus Circus as they each discover their own distinctive personality, evolving from a monochrome daily drab to a prismatic burst of colors.

Cirrus Circus (formerly the Youth Performance Company) is one of the most accomplished circus troupes in the region, and is in demand at many of Seattle’s popular festivals and events, including Moisture Festival, Seattle Center’s Winterfest, the Georgetown Carnival, and more. Cirrus Circus has been invited to perform in 2014 at the London International Youth Circus Festival in England, and InselCircus in Sylt, Germany.

Full Spectrum includes all-new original acts on the triple trapeze and the trampoline, as well as aerial contortion, acrobatic unicycle, juggling, tumbling, partner acrobatics, and much more. This show also features guest performances by SANCA’s younger performing ensembles, the Amazing Circus 1-ders and the Magnificent 7.

Full Spectrum is created and devised by the members of Cirrus Circus, with additional choreography by Rachel Randall of RandAll Dance.
Erica Rubinstein, Cirrus Circus Managing Director
Kari J. Hunter, Cirrus Circus Assistant Director

Beauty Blog: Hands

October 14, 2013

Want paws of steel that don’t crack or peel? This SANCA Beauty Blog will take you in for an extreme close-up on the digits of some of your favorite Aerialists.

Do you or someone you love adore aerials?! If so, you’ve probably noticed thick calluses and dryer skin. Want paws of steel that don’t crack or peel? This SANCA Beauty Blog will take you in for an extreme close-up on the digits of some of your favorite Aerialists.

Consider yourself among the privileged few that will get a peek at the proverbial ballerina’s feet.   All that chalk keeps your hands dry when you work on the bars—but it also makes your hands dry in general. You don’t want them to be slippery on equipment, but you also don’t want hands like work gloves with calluses that crack or peel. What is a budding aerialist to do? Here is some advice from aerialists around SANCA.

Aerials coach and veteran aerial performer “Sally Pepper” (AKA Kari J. Hunter) prescribes, “Wash, lotion and use coconut oil. Before you train, wash your hands well and then wipe with rubbing alcohol on a clean towel. This will ensure that your hands are very clean and oil-free. Moisturize anytime your hands feel dry.”

Globe-trotting trapezist and SANCA coach alum Rachel Nehmer, the flyer of Duo Madrona fame, says, “Supple calluses are the key to long term hand health”, and uses moisturizer before bed. As the flyer in a duo she rarely touches the bar, but she has some mega-special muscles between her thumb and pointer finger.   Ben, the base of Duo Madrona, has his own beauty regime: “After a hard day of training, hold a cold beverage in each hand.”

Tom Hanna, SANCA coach and resident one-man variety show (really, he plays guitar and accordion too—and you should see how he opens an apple!), has this advice: “Pumice your hands after the shower, it smooths the calluses without taking them off. It keeps them from tearing.”

Aerialist & flying trapeze coach Alyssa Hellrung recommends, “Never underestimate the magical power of rosin. No moisturizer for me, as the climate here in Seattle is very good for hands. But in Florida and humid climates the skin on my hands would rip often. I just deal with it.”

Thomas and Justin, who perform as Duo XY, shared with us some special flyer and base calluses they have from their hand grip. They advise to moisturize at night before bed. Thomas is sporting a sweet vacation mani/pedi, and Justin got a moisturizing paraffin wax dip while on vacation. It helped for a little while.

And finally, new aerialist Naami says…”Suck it up.” (It hurts for a while.) “When it gets so bad you can’t grip….stop.”

So there you have it:
Keep your hands clean and moisturize them.
If you have raised calluses then you should file or shave them flat.
Make sure you don’t have oil on your hands when you are training.
And you kind of have to suck it up.

IMPulse

October 11, 2013

A slap. A scream. A kiss. We are standing at the edge of the precipice.

Artists in residence & staff of SANCA present a contemporary circus show exploring the Imp of the Perverse, a short story by Edgar Allen Poe.

Arne Bystrom
Zora Blade
Emma Curtiss
Gabe Corey
Jasmine Manuel
Reed Nakayama
With original score and live music by Caleb Corey.

Show dates: Fridays and Saturdays 7pm, Sundays at 6pm
Oct. 11 – 13 and Oct. 18 – 20

SANCA is proud to be presenting these talented artists. As all SANCA shows, this is a family friendly production while being a bit edgier and intense than the typical SANCA show.

Bellevue Girl Finds Success in Circus Skills

September 28, 2013

http://www.bellevuereporter.com/entertainment/225657571.html

Saffi Watson brings oohs and ahs from the audience
— Image Credit: Courtesy Photo, Teatro ZinZanni
posted Sep 28, 2013 at 2:20 PM

By Gabrielle Nomura
Special to the Bellevue Reporter
For the majority of 12-year olds, extracurricular activities are all about self-improvement: mastering the art of shooting a ball through a basket, speaking a new language or mastering a dance move.
Saffi Watson, a Tillicum Middle School sixth grader and Bellevue resident, knows all about practice.
The talented contortionist and gymnast can hold her limbs in an ever-moving sculpture, like a living work of origami art. Saffi’s hands know the floor well; she’s used to resting her entire body weight on them in a variety of poses. In these handstands, her ballerina-like feet hover high above her head. With a smile on her face, she radiates warmth and poise during her performances.
Saffi has performed on a hoop suspended from the ceiling and been shot out of a cannon, just to name a few acts.
She’s also extremely practiced in the art of making audience members “ooh and ahh,” having taken this talent to the stages of Teatro ZinZanni, Moisture Festival and Cirque Dreams Illumination.
During a run of a ZinZanni family show, “In Tents” two years ago, Watson, only 10 at the time, left audience members waiting with baited breath.
As childlike music plucked like the metal heart of a jewelry box, Watson moved slowly and deliberately. Smiling serenely, she blew kisses, clutching a teddy bear.
Suddenly, her head began to fall backward. As if a magnet was connected to her pigtails and her tailbone, she arched backward, discovering the space behind her ankles. Planting her palms to the floor, the girl’s supple torso bent generously. With her entire body in an “O” shape for just a moment, Watson suddenly released her legs, which gracefully launched out behind her onto the ground, like “the worm” dance move.
Circus arts are a healthy and positive activity for all young people, even if they aren’t born with exceptional flexibility like Watson.
Unlike gymnastics or ballet, there’s less of an emphasis on competition or being the best. Here, it’s about affirmation and teaching kids a wide variety of skills. They can use these as performing artists, or simply to increase their self-esteem said Erica Rubinstein, a coach of Watson’s who teaches at Seattle’s School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts (SANCA).
“Every skill, every body type has a place and is valued,” Rubinstein said.
This appealed to Saffi’s parents, a singer and pianist who are both performers themselves.
Clifford Watson just hopes his daughter grows up to be healthy and happy.
“We signed her up for gymnastics because we noticed she would jump off the sofa and do crazy things,” he said. “With a kid like that, you can either get them to stop, or you can help them harness and use that talent.”
To learn more about classes in the circus arts for all ages, go to sancaseattle.org.
Gabrielle Nomura is a former staff writer with the Bellevue Reporter. She lives in Seattle.

The girl on the flying trapeze

August 28, 2013

This blog post is a post from Dawn Parsons’ personal blog. Dawn’s daughter, Lucy, had a stroke as an infant leaving her with hemiparesis, a weakness in one side of her body

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

The girl on the flying trapeze

Lucy has been attending SANCA (School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts) for one year. We first went there on a field trip while she was doing her constraint therapy camp last summer. She started working with Jo every Saturday for one hour and the progress that we have seen is amazing.

Lucy does everything from tight wire, trampoline, rolling globe to trapeze. This past week she attended a summer camp for a week, 3 hours a day. On the fourth day the kids were told they would get to take a flight on the flying trapeze.

Now, the only trapeze Lucy has been on is 5ft off the ground..this would be the real deal!!

So, they harnessed her up, and she climbed the 30ft+ ladder without a moment of hesitation (I was a little freaked out as is obvious by the video 🙂

Lucy’s biggest concern was that she would not be able to hold on very long, as her weakend left side would cause her grip to slip. When she first started doing trapeze she could only hold her left hand grip for no more than 3 seconds or so…as you can see in this video..she has come SO far in her strength.

This little peanut amazes me everyday with her attitude and determination!

all the kiddos doing a little warm up

Lucy blog post: warming up

there she is …first on the list!
Lucy blog post: list of names

making her way to the top!

The smile right before this picture was the biggest I had ever seen!

She might not be willing to do this every week but she has done it once, and that’s more than I can say for myself 🙂

Falling Upward

August 23, 2013