Tag Archives: aerial

Winter 2 classes

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SANCA has a large class selection for all ages with classes in all things from juggling to flying trapeze! Check out the list below to view classes that are still available for this session. You can learn more about each class by visiting their respective link or by browsing on your own here.

 

MONDAY

Preteen Circus

Flying Trapeze for Everyone

Adult Partner Acro 3 Jam (DROP-IN)

Adult Advanced Flying Trapeze


TUESDAY

Adult aerial fundamentals (DROP-IN)

Strength & Flex (Online)

Kid Circus

Preteen Aerial 2

Circus for Non-Traditional Athletes

Adult Advanced Trapeze

Flying Trapeze for Everyone  (DROP-IN)

Adult Intermediate Rope

WEDNESDAY

Handbalance 1 (Online)

Kid Circus

Conditioning with Straps & Rings

THURSDAY

Teen/Adult Beginner Trapeze & Lyra 1

Teen/Adult Beginner Lyra 2

Adult Aerial Fundamentals

Parkinson’s Circus


FRIDAY

Handstand Jam (DROP-IN)

Teen Beginner Aerial 1

Intro to Juggling


SATURDAY

10 AM Flying Trapeze for Everyone (DROP-IN)

12 PM Flying Trapeze for Everyone  (DROP-IN)

1 PM Flying Trapeze for Everyone  (DROP-IN)

Adult Aerial Strength & Flex (DROP-IN)

12 PM Adult Handbalancing 1\2 (DROP-IN)

1 PM Adult Handbalancing 1\2 (DROP-IN)

Teen Circus

Adult Beginner Trapeze 1


SUNDAY

Intro to Chinese Pole 

Unicycle

Juggle Jam (DROP-IN)

10 AM Flying Trapeze for Everyone  (DROP-IN)

11 AM Flying Trapeze for Everyone (DROP-IN)

12 PM Flying Trapeze for Everyone  (DROP-IN)

Coach Eve Tours with Circus Monti this Summer!

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Eve Diamond on Cloud Swing

Cirrus Circus coach, Eve Diamond, will be joining the Swiss traveling circus group, Circus Monti, as they tour Switzerland for their Summer tour. Get to know Eve and her tips for sticking to what you love, even if what you love doesn’t always come easily.

 

To do this work you really sacrifice a lot. In my last year of school, a big job came through and I gave up my house, missed birthdays and funerals. You really do give up a lot to be a part of this work, but it is hard to not do it if it’s something that is speaking to you so loudly.

The year Eve was born, her uncle suffered a terrible motorcycle accident which left him paralyzed from the waist down. The impact of this trauma left an impression on her mother, Marilyn, to get Eve involved in as many physical activities as a possible. Growing up in Boston, she took on everything from horseback riding, baseball, softball, soccer, to field hockey, and eventually circus.

At the age of thirteen, Eve’s mother, signed her up for camp at Circus Smirkus in nearby Vermont.

“I didn’t want to go to circus camp. I was like, ‘that sounds really stupid.’ But then I went…and I became obsessed. I absolutely loved it and almost immediately knew that I wanted to pursue circus.”

After the camp, she auditioned for Circus Smirkus tours for five or six years, but was never quite able to make the cut. So, she took to her own living room and continued to train independently as she prepared for college.

“Nothing existed like SANCA to train circus on your own where I was, so I took gymnastics and practiced in my living room. My dad made hand balancing canes, and I taught myself juggling.”

In her freshman and senior years of college she auditioned for École National de Cirque, but was rejected both times. She focused on her studies, graduating Magna Cum Laude from Keene State College in New Hampshire with a BA in English and a teacher certification. But she never quit training, and her passion for circus didn’t subside despite setbacks. Soon after graduating she was contemplating a career in academia when she got accepted into a three year intensive training program at Circus Center in San Francisco.

“I was in school six days a week from 9am to 5pm for three years and working with some of the most famous, well respected, internationally recognized coaches which was amazing.…[school] was really painful and terrible, but you knew that the coaches who were training you had so much information that you would do anything to get.”

Graduating in 2011, Eve started performing professionally in her specialty areas of cloud swing and rope. Cloud swing in particular was difficult to train due to the amount of space it requires in addition to a specialized technician. Deciding to pursue cloud swing further, she moved to Montreal in 2013 to train with Coach Victor Fomine, a world expert in cloud swing, at his studio, École Léotard.

Since then, she’s been working with SANCA and training Cirrus Circus students as she has continued to network and build her own brand.

“My job outside of coaching, which has been pretty full time, has been maintaining my acts – training, eating well, taking care of my body, sleeping well. And networking, emailing people, and researching companies I would want to work for. 

No one in this business is just like here, this is what you do. It takes dedication and curiosity to continue to pursue it. It’s really only possible to do this if you have support because it’s lonely and no one is just giving out information. You have to prove yourself to yourself and everyone around you, constantly, so it’s hard. But it’s also rewarding because you seek out a company you want to work for, you open a line of communication and you keep staying in contact year after year, sharing new work you are doing.

“I’ve been maintaining an email correspondence [with Circus Monti] for the past five years. The Gentile’s did Monti, Ben & Rachel [Duo Madrona] did Monti. It’s important to stalk your friends and follow their path. If your friends have the jobs you want, you have to be good enough friends to have someone vouch for you. This industry is so cut throat and super competitive. Everyone is hungry for the same work. You have to just not give up and be consistent.

It’s my first experience touring and working in Europe. Hopefully it will lead to more work, but you don’t know. So you have to just start all over again. Stay in touch, send updated material, and be someone that people want to be around!

…The good part of working [at SANCA] is that they really support you in doing what you want, especially in an industry with such limited job security. 

It’s cool teaching in Cirrus because it’s important to have people who are working in the industry. I am excited to have this opportunity and come back and share my knowledge with the future generation of circus artists.”

Eve on Rope:

via www.eveontheswing.com

 

We wish Eve the best of luck on the road

and can’t wait to hear about it all once she returns!

SANCA’s Annual Showcase Spectacular

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One weekend only: April 6th-8th.

We have four shows, each featuring a different line up of spectacular local and internationally renowned circus performers alongside SANCA’s tremendously talented student performers.

Every year SANCA presents a showcase of unique circus performances featuring students, alumni, staff, and friends. SANCA’s Annual Showcase Spectacular (known as SASS) is  the accumulation of the culmination of all the hard work it takes to create new acts. Our students and staff have workshopped these new performances and are ready to take to the stage in displays of pure awesomeness!

Among the featured performers are Seattle favorites, SANCA’s youth circus troupes: Cirrus Circus,  the Magnificent 7, and the Amazing Circus 1-ders. Audiences will be treated to daring displays of acrobatics, high-flying aerials, juggling, and much more!

Performances are at The Broadway Performance Hall, 1625 Broadway

Tickets are $12 (youth 16 & under) and $20 (adults 17 & up) in advance online from https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3232395 or at the door $15/$20

Friday Night April 6th, 7pm

Emcee: David Taft
David has been a physical theater artist for over forty years, performing in mask, movement, Commedia dell’Arte, dance and puppetry with a number of ensemble companies, has extensive touring credits on the East Coast and Midwest and has worked Off-Broadway for five seasons.   

The main creative focus of David’s work has been devising theater with collaborative ensembles utilizing text, nonverbal scenarios, and/or scenic choreography to investigate the physical realm of theatre and its power and expressivity. David trained actors in mask, movement and clown at Cornish College of the Arts for twenty- four years and is presently lead instructor of Theater at SANCA in the P3 Program.

Friday night lineup:
Cirrus Circus (unicycle)
Audrey Greaves (bounce juggling)
Sara Haverkamp (German wheel)
SANCA (group juggling)
Maria Mork (poi)
Nimbus Circus (formerly the Magnificent 7) (wire walking)
Caroline Alvarran-Belz & Sylvie Vermilya (partner acro)
Tania Nambo-Excobar (aerial rope)
Julaine Hall (aerial straps)
Milla Rose (aerial rings)
Laura Miller (aerial sling & tap dance)
Ashlei Mayo (aerial fabric)
Stratus Circus (formerly the Amazing Circus 1-ders) (aerial ladder)
Missy Nagin (lyra)
SANCA group (Chinese pole)

Friday Night Featured Performer: Julaine Hall. Starting at the young age of 5, Julaine joined SANCA’s youngest youth troupe and took off running!  To say that Julaine is a powerhouse is the understatement of the decade as she is proficient in Tumbling, Juggling, Acro, Teeterboard, Straps, and Chinese Pole just to name a few.  A better way to describe Julaine is as a force of nature!  Prepare to be astounded by incredible feats of strength and endurance on the Chinese Pole.

Saturday Matinee April 7th, 3pm  

Emcee: Mary Machala – Actor, Director, Improvisationalist and occasional Unicycler
Mary has acted and directed in Seattle for the past 30 years but who’s counting?  She is a founding member of Book-It Repertory Theatre, Artistic Director of the socio/political improv group Off the Wall Players (this was a long time ago), and touring member of Dudley Riggs’ Brave New Workshop out of Minneapolis, MN (a really long time ago).  She’s also a Master Gardener, Master Composter, Apprentice Beekeeper and fledgling Master Pruner.  After four years of circus classes she still can’t juggle but she can (with a lot of warm up) unicycle across the floor.  Progress, not perfection.

Saturday Matinee Lineup:
Hallie Smith (Cyr wheel)
Max Voronin (diabolo)
Laura Sposato (tumbling)
Fiona Ryan (German wheel)
Rachel Randall & Nick Lowery & Wendy Harden & Nick Harden (group juggling and acro)
Faye Visintainer & Devin Helton (poi)
Julaine & Jacob Hall (unicycle)
Stratus Circus (formerly Amazing Circus 1-ders) (lasso)
Jordan Rempel-White (aerial straps)
Faye Visintainer (single-point trapeze)
Erin Henderson (aerial fabric)
Alyssa’s Aerial Class (mixed aerial)
Duo Avocado (duo trapeze)
Nimbus Circus (formerly the Magnificent 7) (unicycle & lyra)
Cirrus Circus (Chinese pole)

Saturday Matinee Featured Performer: Duo Avocado
Comprising of Youth Company coach Alyssa Hellrung and Stratus Circus performer Ava Vermilya, Duo Avocado will light up the stage on Saturday afternoon!  These two amazing performers have been working together on the Double Trapeze for several years and are excited to showcase some new skills for SASS!  Don’t miss this stunning performance of trust and skill on April 7th at 3:00PM!

Saturday Night April 7th, 7pm

Emcee: Mary Machala – Actor, Director, Improvisationalist and occasional Unicycler
Mary has acted and directed in Seattle for the past 30 years but who’s counting?  She is a founding member of Book-It Repertory Theatre, Artistic Director of the socio/political improv group Off the Wall Players (this was a long time ago), and touring member of Dudley Riggs’ Brave New Workshop out of Minneapolis, MN (a really long time ago).  She’s also a Master Gardener, Master Composter, Apprentice Beekeeper and fledgling Master Pruner.  After four years of circus classes she still can’t juggle but she can (with a lot of warm up) unicycle across the floor.  Progress, not perfection.

Saturday Night Lineup:
Cirrus Circus (group acrobatics)
Siren Glenn (dance pole)
Brighter Than Diamonds (Floorial)
Fallon Mickle & Mary Gargett (hula hoop)
Aimee Storm (poi), Aimee Storm (wire walking)
Emma Cady (aerial fabric)
EJ Landsman (aerial straps)
Vertical Axis (duo aerial fabric)
Emma Curtiss (aerial fabric)
James Finch & Alyssa Luna (duo trapeze)
Iris Stokes (German wheel)
Mari Sharpe (lyra), Nick Harden (circus bike)
Jasmine Manuel & Tania Nambo-Escobar (duo aerial rope)

Saturday Night Featured Performer: Nick Harden
Internationally renowned unicyclist and bike extraordinaire, Nick Harden will take the stage for a performance that is sure to delight.  Nick has been unicycling his way around America and overseas for many years and is here to bring you a new act for your entertainment.  A dazzling display of spins, turns, and tricks on the Swing Bike awaits you on Saturday night.

Sunday Matinee April 8th, 3pm

Emcee: Emma Cady began training in circus arts at SANCA at the age of nine.  From age ten to eighteen, she performed with SANCA’s youth troupe Cirrus Circus throughout the greater Seattle area as well as in London, UK, Cardiff, Wales, and Sylt, Germany.  She has also worked as a professional aerial artist in such venues as Seattle Immersive Theater and Teatro Zinzanni, where she played the role of Schmee in their production of Lighter than Air.  In addition to hosting shows at SASS in the past, Emma has also been a Mistress of Ceremonies for the American Youth Circus Organization at two of their national festivals, first in Seattle and most recently in Trenton, NJ.  

Sunday Matinee Lineup:
Sara Haverkamp & Lilian Hoskinson (mixed circus)
Cirrus Circus (contortion)
John Spinosa (unicycle)
Nimbus Circus (formerly Magnificent 7) (tumbling)
Stratus Circus (Amazing Circus 1-ders) (unicycle)
Iska Popovic (wire walking)
Duo Shipwrekt (Laura Miller & Faye Visintainer) (duo trapeze)
Kevin Ruddell (aerial rope)
Carmi Westbrook (single-point trapeze)
Randi Morrison (aerial sling)
Alice Page (aerial fabric)
The Beautiful Aerialists (aerial fabric)
Duo TomKat (duo trapeze)
Julaine Hall (Chinese pole)

Sunday Matinee Featured Performer: Kevin Ruddell
Kevin has been a part of the SANCA community for many years.  Having had both of his children in classes as youngsters, he decided it was time to take to the air himself!  He has been training Rope with several renowned performers including Eve Diamond and Carey Cramer.  Let him astound you with feats of strength as he climbs his way to new heights on the Aerial Rope!

 

Performances supported in part by 4Culture and Seattle’s Office of Arts & Culture

The Acrobatic Conundrum return to Seattle with TWO new shows!

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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, “Volume 5,” and an evening-length performance, “The Fig Tree Waltzes.”

The Acrobatic Conundrum have been artists-in-residence at SANCA briefly this fall, in preparation for their shows at 12th Ave Arts, and we caught up with Terry after one of his training sessions at SANCA to ask him a few questions.

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?”

Terry: ” I just started learning multi-cord. Definitely pairs well with spaghetti. I guess that makes me the meatball.”

SANCA – “What do you take with you on the road to help you feel like you aren’t a homeless vagabond?”

Terry: “Not a homeless vagabond… what an idea. I take a posse of 5 other circus artists so I feel like a wandering saltimbanco. I also take an e-reader everywhere so my whole library can follow me. ”

SANCA– “Finish this sentence: At the end of a best day in circus I feel…”

Terry: “…like an underground rockstar. Top of the charts, but living out of my mom’s garage. I’m not really… I swear. Circus makes me feel like a happy human; strong, agile and with a subtle swagger.”

You can see The Acrobatic Conundrum perform in December, but don’t hesitate or they’ll be off again on a new adventure! Tickets for their shows can be found .

 

In Somnia – Professional Preparatory Program final show

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Where do we drift off to when we sleep? Leave the waking world with SANCA’s Professional Preparatory Program graduates as they entwine themselves in a dreamscape of aerials, acrobatics, handbalancing, dance, Chinese pole, and contortion. Fall into our circus dream and lose yourself in what you find there.

Sponsored in part by:
Seattle Office of Arts & Culture
4Culture

Artists-in-Residence: Acrobatic Conundrum present “Love & Gravity”

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April 8-10, Broadway Performance Hall

In this new, thrillingly beautiful work, Acrobatic Conundrum transports audiences to a captivating world seemingly free of the bounds of physics, but not free of the capricious struggle for human connection.

Fluent in the language of acrobatics, this cast risks all on a quest to tell honest accounts from an uncharted territory. Real life romances are portrayed through mesmerizing juggling acts, breathtaking aerial and partner acrobatics — all while balancing on a bar 20 feet in the air! This show will upend everything you thought you knew about these two laws of attraction: Love & Gravity.

Features: Carey Cramer, Terry Crane, Scotty Dont, Erica Rubinstein, Xochitl Sosa, Ty Vennewitz, and local special guests, Alex Allan and Anna Thomas-Henry.

Evening Shows: Advance Purchase $20, Door Price $25
Matinees: Advance Purchase $17, Door Price $22
VIP reserved seating available for all shows: $45, $100

Tickets: https://www.artful.ly/store/events/8470

Cirrus Circus presents “Hotel”

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Hotel poster FINALsmHOTEL is the tale of a once-grand institution that has fallen on hard times. A thick layer of dust covers the concierge desk and the rooms sit unoccupied. When two unsuspecting guests arrive to stay the night, little do they know, they are in for a wild ride. With portraits that swing out of their frames, a fountain that comes to life, acrobatic bellhops and juggling ghosts, it’s clear…this is no ordinary hotel!

Cirrus Circus is known throughout Seattle as one of the most accomplished youth circus groups in the region. The troupe is in demand locally, performing at many of Seattle’s popular festivals and events, including Moisture Festival, Seattle Center’s Winterfest, the Georgetown Carnival, and more. In July 2014, Cirrus Circus had the honor of performing internationally at the London International Youth Circus Festival in England, at No Fit State in Cardiff, Wales and Island Circus in Sylt, Germany.

HOTEL will feature all-new original numbers on trapeze, aerial fabric, aerial hoop, and Chinese pole, as well as contortion, club juggling, unicycle, partner acrobatics, clowning, and more.

HOTEL is a collaboration between the Directors and members of Cirrus Circus, with costume design by Milla Voellinger, set by Morgan Sobel, acrobatics consulting from Jacob Skeffington and Erica Rubenstein, and select originally composed music by Tristan Moore.

Rachel Nehmer, Interim Cirrus Circus Managing Director
Arne Bystrom, Cirrus Circus Assistant Director

Grab a front rug seat at Moisture Festival

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By DOREE ARMSTRONG, SPECIAL TO THE P-I

Published 10:00 pm, Thursday, March 12, 2009

  • Sally Pepper is one of several aerialists performing at this year’s Moisture Festival. Most of the performances are family-friendly, but there is a series of late-night burlesque shows for the 21-and-older crowd. The festival’s producer said there is a live band at each performance. Photo: Michelle Bates
    Sally Pepper is one of several aerialists performing at this year’s Moisture Festival. Most of the performances are family-friendly, but there is a series of late-night burlesque shows for the 21-and-older crowd. The festival’s producer said there is a live band at each performance. Photo: Michelle Bates

It’s these dark days at the end of winter that have people crying out for something fun to do, and the sixth annual Moisture Festival delivers.

Combining traditional European vaudeville and variety acts such as aerial artists, jugglers, dancers, comedians and can-can girls, the Moisture Festival is a monthlong celebration of physical arts taking place at three different venues: ACT Theatre (700 Union St.), Hale’s Palladium (4301 Leary Way N.W.) and the SIFF Cinema (McCaw Hall, Seattle Center).

Most shows are family-friendly, but the festival does have a series of late-night burlesque shows for ages 21 and older. The family-friendly shows feature a variety of performers, such as bubble magicians, jugglers, comedians, musicians and others not so easily categorized.

“It’s a return of live, variety entertainment that builds on old traditions but is updated for current times,” festival producer Tim Furst said. “There is a mix of 10 different acts and a live band at every show and each show is different, so people can keep coming back and they’ll see something new and different every time. This is their only chance to see some of the world’s best performers in one place.”

Furst is no stranger to vaudeville, having been one of the original members of the Flying Karamazov Brothers. He is retired from full-time performing with the group, but occasionally fills in and will perform as Fyodor Karamazov at the Moisture Festival. Fellow former Karamazov performer Sam Williams, known as Smerdyakov Karamazov, also will perform and emcee at the festival.

When asked how to explain the Moisture Festival concept to a first-timer, Furst says it’s similar to Teatro Zinzanni — minus the dinner theater and high prices. Moisture Festival tickets range from $7.50 for children to $25 for adults, making it an affordable indulgence for a family.

Children and their parents can sit up front on a rug instead of in chairs, and some acts encourage audience participation.

“It’s great for kids just to have the experience of seeing live performance, and to experience a performance surrounded by hundreds of other people experiencing the same thing,” Furst said. “It’s sort of the antidote to television.”

The March 21 matinee is a collaboration with the School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts, which is providing all of the performers for that show.

Terri Sullivan, a former circus arts performer and now a part-time instructor at SANCA, says the school has 600 students of all ages, from age 2 to 60-something.

“We wouldn’t turn away anyone who was older, we’d just make sure they didn’t get hurt,” Sullivan said. “But the bulk of our students are in the 7 to 10 age range.”

The idea behind the school is to provide a noncompetitive atmosphere in which people can try new things — and the school doesn’t let finances get in the way. Last year, SANCA provided $35,000 in scholarships to students.

“It’s great fun, first of all, and anything that’s physical and fun builds self esteem and just joy,” she said. “Some kids are great at competition, but others are not and they won’t really blossom.”

Sullivan says circus arts are perfect for all ages and interests because there’s such a wide range of skills. You can do acrobatics, juggle or be a clown, or walk a tightrope or a rolling globe.

The March 21 performance will feature instructors and students from SANCA, including its Youth Performance Company (ages 8 to 18) and the Amazing Circus Wonders (ages 5 to 8).

“They are super, super cute and fun,” Sullivan said of the littlest ones.

“The kids who are at their shows go, ‘They’re the same age as me. I could do that!’ So that’s very inspiring for them, seeing someone who’s just like them.”