1. Isabelle Chasse
One of the founding members of 7 doigts de la main. Her solo tissu piece in Cirque du Soleil’s Quidam was my all time biggest inspiration for my career.
It was the first silks piece that I ever saw, and to this day the passion and dynamics of her act still moves me. I used to watch it in slow motion on my VHS player (in the year 2000) over and over again to study her movement.
2. 7 doigts de la main
Speaking of the 7 doigts de la main (7 fingers of the hand in French), no list of circus influencers would be complete without them.
While I was awed by the high production of the epic Cirque du Soleil shows in my earlier years in circus, the artist in me was never quite satisfied on an emotional, human level.
The 7 fingers changed that for me with their first show, Loft, which I saw in 2003 at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. (See a video here.)
They invited the audience to enter the theater through their refrigerator on the stage where they greeted us dressed only in their underwear as if we were friends coming over to hang out. The cast used everyday objects to ‘entertain themselves These 7 original company members really broke the mold of traditional circus and paved the way to modern circus, inspiring artists like me to explore the expression of vulnerability and emotion through circus arts. https://vimeo.com/95216541 I showed up at Ecole de Cirque du Quebec in 2002, a wide eyed, dreadlocked hippie from California. Didn’t know a lick of French or what the heck training at circus school was going to be like. I was welcomed into their amazing school and got a great foundation for my training. They have become one of the best professional circus training programs in North America. The Circus Center is a wonderful space and training resource for people who want to live their dreams! After 3 years of renegade, DIY, aerial training hanging from a tree in my backyard and studying VHS tapes, I moved to San Francisco to pursue my career as an aerialist. I pretty much lived at the SF Circus Center for the next 7 years. I ended up training, teaching and rehearsing there and became deeply involved in the world of circus. I owe my career to this place and the teachers I worked with there. Here’s a sneak peak video. I took my first real tissu workshop with Fred Deb in 2003 at the SF Circus Center. I was so refreshed that she taught me about timing, flow and beautiful transitions. We didn’t spend time on tricks, we spent time on artistry. That stuck with me. Fred continues to teach and and inspire aerialist all over the world to be more than the tricks. Thanks, Fred, for putting the art back into aerial arts. Watch one of her inspired video demos here. When I arrived at the SF Circus Center in 2003, fresh and ready to soak in everything circus, it wasn’t long before I encountered Brett. He was young, lanky and incredibly dynamic. I was too shy to even talk to him, but I admired him from across the gym when he practiced. Here’s a video of his award winning act in 2006. He has since moved to Los Angeles and opened a high quality aerial training studio, the Loft, in North Hollywood with his performing partner, Rachel Bowman as well as their aerial fitness classes, Silkstreme. Brett will be teaching tissu skills and artistry at our Int/Adv Aerial Artistry Retreat this April 22-May 1, 2016. Sign up here. I owe my artistic development and ‘bread and butter’ of my career to Scott Cameron and Ruby Skye SF, an upscale nightclub in Union Square San Francisco. Scott scouted my spark while I was training at the SF Circus Center in 2004. Soon after that I was performing my solo tissu and duo straps acts at Ruby Skye regularly for thousands of people. Ruby Skye attracts some of the biggest names in DJ’s and collects a wide range of local San Franciscans and ‘bridge and tunnel’ partiers, and it feels like home to me. Here is a video of one of our epic Ruby Skye performances. I first met Rain in 2006 when she came to my aerial choreography class at the SF Circus Center in 2006. Already a professional level aerialist, she wanted a different perspective from my class. Her work with Sarah Bebe Holmes in Paper Doll Militia has become the most cutting edge aerial theater out there enriching the ‘cultural life of the community through dynamic movement, storytelling and education.’ I am honored to have worked with and around them. Here is a video of one of their original aerial theater shows. Rain taught tissu skills and performance at our Int/Adv Aerial Artistry Retreat in 2015, and we hope to have her back next year. The festival offers affordable tickets to the Seattle masses making for some of the funnest audiences I have ever performed for. But the real fun is with the performers backstage where laughs, skills, and personal secrets are shared wildly! Here is a video of one of my all time favorite Moisture Festival performance groups, Nanda Ninjas. Zaccho Dance Theater nurtures artistry through dance, theater and aerial arts. It’s the home of some of the best aerial dance companies in the SF bay area including Capacitor, Flyaway Productions, and Sweet Can Circus, as well as a youth performing arts program dedicated to enriching the learning and expression of the youth living in San Francisco’s Bayview Hunter’s Point neighborhood. When Zaccho director, Joanna Haigood touches things, they become beings of beautiful, twirling grace. Everyone gets their start in circus somewhere. For me, it has been an exhilarating journey with lots of exciting highs and drops (literally!). Are you diggin’ this? For more updates and fun posts, sign up here.3. Ecole de Cirque du Quebec
4. SF Circus Center
5. Fred Deb
6. Brett Womack
7. Scott Cameron & Ruby Skye SF
8. Rain Anya & Paper Doll Militia
9. Moisture Festival
This show REALLY lives up to its name. Located in Seattle, this ridiculous month long variety, vaudeville and burlesque festival runs every spring. I was lucky to perform my acts including my ridiculous contorted clown act there 3 years in a row, working with some of the most innovative variety performers from all over the world. 10. Zaccho Dance Theater
If you are interested with training with the greats, some of the amazing performers listed in the post actually teach at Sweet Retreats.
Come meet them and get a chance to see what they can really do, live in person!
