Our very own resident physical therapist, Emily Scherb, has written the first ever aerial anatomy book: Applied Anatomy for Aerial Artists, published by North Atlantic Books. You can get a your copy early at the book launch August 21 at Third Place Books Ravenna.
Emily shares how she convinced the publishing world that the circus community is a thing and that we need anatomy books! No one else has really laid out the physicality of the work we’re doing, so she took it upon herself to prevent injuries and help us all become better students, instructors, and performers.
How did you originally get into circus?
Emily: Well, I was a competitive gymnast as a young kid and when I was eleven I found circus summer
camp. That was it! I loved it. By the time I was 16 I was teaching at the camp and trained independently with my trapeze rigged up at a gymnastics school throughout the year. When I finished high school, I moved to Portland and joined a local aerial dance company, Pendulum Aerial Arts Dance, and interned with Do Jump! Extremely Physical Theatre. After spending some time in Portland, I went to college in St. Louis where I worked with Circus Harmony during the year and in the summers taught flying trapeze. I interned with Elizabeth Streb as a dancer after my sophomore year, and after graduating I moved to New York City and became the Assistant Manager of the Trapeze School of New York and worked at the Espana-Streb Trapeze Academy. Then, I went to
graduate school back at Washington University in St. Louis where I was able to continue training and teaching throughout my studies. When I heard SANCA had just opened a flying trapeze rig the timing was perfectly coordinated with my graduation, and I headed to Seattle.
Clearly circus is an integral part of your life! How did you get the idea for writing a book?
Emily: In 2012 SANCA was hosting what was then called the AYCO Educators Conference (now ACE). Jo Montgomery asked me if I would create a four-hour long anatomy course for the educators who were attending. The questions they had and the deep interest everyone expressed about the topic really inspired me to start thinking about writing a book. It took a few more years and quite a few more workshops until I felt knowledgeable enough to approach the logistics of actually making it happen.
Once you had conceived of the idea for your book, how did you start the process of getting it published?
Emily: I did some research on publishers who have published similar things (anatomy, sports textbooks, etc.)
and with a friend’s guidance, I wrote up a book proposal. Circus has been growing exponentially so it was a great opportunity for a book like this.
My book is really focused on injury, injury prevention, self-care and building a training plan. It includes exercises for aerialists and education on what injuries they prevent.
Was it hard to get publishers to listen?
Emily: Definitely, I really had to make the argument that there is a huge community out there that is hungry for this information – about how the body works and how it allows us to do the things we do. No one has really broken down how aerialists are moving!
How long did it take to get a book deal?
Emily: I sent out the first proposal to a publisher in the summer of 2016 but didn’t get a contract until April of 2017.
What was your incentive for creating the book?
Emily: I hope it’s going to be a resource for aerialists and instructors to increase safety and awareness in their training. I hope it helps people have a better understanding of the body mechanics behind [aerial] so we can all be better students, instructors, and performers.
Muscles are made to work together either in pairs, or dynamically with other. Often when there is pain, it means there is over use of one group instead of balance.
What are common injuries in aerialists that you are hoping this book will help prevent?
Emily: The most common injuries are over-use injuries, especially in the shoulders – then hips and backs. The most common acute injury is sprained ankles and back.
What do the exercises focus on in order to prevent those injuries?
Emily: Muscles are made to work together either in pairs, or dynamically with other. Often when there is pain, it means there is over use of one group instead of balance.
Did you work with anyone to get the book done?
Emily: I worked with medical illustrator, Tiffany S. Davanzo, photography by Danny Boulet and used
aerialists from the community as my models.
You can find Applied Anatomy for Aerial Artists at your favorite bookstore and online at Amazon. Are you interested in working with Emily as your physical therapist? Check out her business website, Pure Motion Physical Therapy, for office locations and booking an appointment.
Miranda: My career is musical theatre, which I studied at Cornish. But I do a lot of types of singing. I’m a professional Christmas Caroler with the Dickens Carolers. I sing opera at a restaurant downtown, 
Miranda: I always loved musical theatre, Gilbert and Sullivan, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire. So, my parents one day said “Hey, Seattle Children’s Theatre has a summer program for kids to do musical theatre do you want to do it?”
In 2017, SANCA participated in the first evidence-based, national study looking at the socio-emotional benefits of Social Circus on young people in the United States. Organized by the American Youth Circus Organization (AYCO) and the Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality, the study collected thousands of data points over nine months, with information that includes participating youth reporting on their own lives, program staff observations of youth behavior, and external program quality assessments. To support the research, AYCO asked SANCA to contribute to the data collection efforts which resulted in AYCO sending me to experience the rich diversity of Social Circus programs and Social Circus organizations in Saint Louis, Oakland, and San Diego.
Beyond this major study, 2017 saw SANCA share our work out in the world unlike ever before. In June, SANCA participated in the 50th Smithsonian Folklife Festival, bringing our particular approach to adaptive circus to share with the 600,000+ visitors who attended the festival. SANCA was honored by the Smithsonian with being the only organization entrusted to directly engage the public in a variety of circus activities including: tightwire, acrobatics, trapeze, and aerial sling. During our time there, we introduced thousands of visitors of all ages, background, and abilities to their first experience of being a circus artist–it was fantastic!
SANCA continues our commitment to develop as a leader in Social Circus, increasingly becoming a destination for students, practitioners and research.
In 2018, we will be joining the international circus community in a year-long celebration of the 250th anniversary of modern circus. Be on the lookout for events and performances celebrating the rich past, present, and future of circus. And in the spirit of Social Circus, we will be taking these festivities into communities all over Seattle! We invite you all to join us not just in celebration of others, but in taking your own place in the spectacular, vibrant history of circus arts.
The Acrobatic Conundrum, the contemporary circus group founded by Terry Crane, have spent the last three months touring the western United States with their show, Love and Gravity. Now they have returned to Seattle presenting two new shows: a cabaret, “
SANCA – “A circus artist trains and works so hard in bringing their art to the stage. Powering up with healthy food must be very important. What is the best snack to pair with your apparatus of choice?”
ANCA– “Finish this sentence: At the end of a best day in circus I feel…”
Originally from Spokane, Washington, Sam is a professional acrobat with more than five years of professional performance experience in both hand balancing and hand-to-hand acrobatics. He has trained under artists in Cirque du Soleil and world champion sports acrobats. He also has experience coaching hand balancing classes and teaching private lessons and workshops all around America. Sam has been coaching at SANCA for about a year.
Fun in the sun and good times to be had for all at Summer on the Cirque Riviera! Take a stroll through the Mercado del Mar. Catch some rays poolside with buff babes and saucy sailors, but beware of pool sharks! Or just relax and beat the heat with a glass of wine, or perhaps something stronger at Cirkuski Kafić where you may even catch a glimpse of the Green Fairy.
