CIRCO FEST: ARTISTIC INSPIRATION IN PUERTO RICO

The best circus festival you MUST attend

On Mixing the Ages...

One of the things I love the most about Latin America is how ages and generations come together. This is where Joel and I met; where we traveled as street performers for years. Celebrations include everyone - Grandma is dancing with the young kids and the emphasis is about everyone together. Throughout our travels, I was witness to a culture where the young and old do not just help each other, but value one another. 

 

Circus is similar. While training can be an individual activity, we can still practice our own skills in a group space, allowing abilities and ages to come together and share the room. Our summer circus camp ranges from 5 year old newbies to older teens. The little kids are welcomed into this yearly ritual by the older kids with experience, who act as guides through the process. As a collective group, we meld the ideas of all ages, creating circus acts for a quirky and fun show. It is exciting to watch new students learn and find their footing, while observing seasoned veterans take on more challenging roles, as performers on stage and leaders off. Every summer I marvel at how good the kids are to each other and how we don’t see much division based on age or gender. I deeply wish our nation could come together and create as well as I am witnessing these kids do! 

 

As I approach a milestone birthday, I am reflecting much about age and time and how youth and age have so much to offer one another. Both groups suffer from many assumptions and lack of respect, but as I have witnessed that this does not have to be the way. If we can step into play with open hearts and a smile at any age. Circus certainly has so many lessons to share…

Costume Design and the Creative Process

During super long winter nights and short days, I find it to be a fantastic time to dive into the creative process. I spent this past December working on two custom costumes for a New Year’s Eve event. The client requested tree-inspired costumes and that one should be a quadruped; giving me the liberty to not be literal and let my vision guide the process.This project touched on so many things that I love about the creative process; giving new life to found and leftover materials, creative problem solving, experimentation and learning.

As the project unfolded, I was able to use a bunch of materials that I’ve had kicking around forever. I repurposed some leather pieces from the Collinsville axe factory that had been previously used as ax and Hammer handles.  An old bra that fit horribly was adorned with the leather pieces, painted gold and affixed to the outside of the costume.

One challenge was how to attach the headpiece to the quadruped costume. I had made a large headpiece with ferns and antlers. Since the performer would be on all fours and looking down slightly, it had to be very secure to the head without tilting forward. I was also concerned it would be too heavy to wear for 9 hours, which includes performance time, but also set-up, makeup and breaks between sets. It took some thinking on how to attach this headpiece to the hood underneath without sacrificing look or performer comfort.

I wanted the base unitard of the costumes to be mottled and not super uniform, more like the natural world. I was concerned that dyeing them would produce a tie-dye look, which I didn’t want for these pieces. Dyeing the unitards and stilt covers also required some problem solving, testing and experimentation.  I came up with the idea of putting the unitards in a paint straining bag so they’d be squished in there. It did work out quite well.

I find creative problem-solving to be a favorite part of my artistic process, whether it is in costume design or even my aerial work. Finding new ways to get into positions, different transitions and ways of connecting skills is exciting and there is a satisfaction in discovering a different way to think on your feet. Costuming supports my Circus work and is one of my favorite parts, largely because the creative process in aerial work feels similar to the process of making costumes: strategic thinking, exploration and play.

 

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12 Loves of Circus

The 12 loves of circus.

Hello Circus friends! I wanted to share with you some reflections about my 20+ years in circus 

 

In my first days of circus, circus gave me freedom. I was drawn to circus for its wildness and the fiercely free lifestyle it offered. These were days of traveling through Central America, making jewelry and practicing circus while waiting for sales. We met travelers from around the world, practiced together sharing skills, making music and eventually performing. The nomadic life of street performing kept us traveling to new, inspiring places,, living in the sun and carrying a heavy backpack. Today, circus still compliments a healthy, fiercely independent and dynamic lifestyle that I cherish.

 

The next layer of my love, driving my 23-year journey in circus, resides in its profound ability to foster a deep connection with oneself while pursuing strength and equilibrium. Initially, my quest for greater physical wellness was based in yoga—a modality that nurtures awareness, balance and harmony. Simultaneously, circus emerged as a dynamic, creative and interactive “yang” counterpart. In my early days, I mostly practiced fire spinning, juggling, and dance (ballet, modern and belly dance). However, for over a decade, my aerial pursuits have dominated. Pursuing higher level arial training is very demanding. I frequently traveled to Vermont for formal training at the New England Center for Circus Arts. The pursuit of circus has also inspired me to study biomechanics and follow the work of Christine Altman and Katy Bowman.  Many gymnasts and dancers also find circus to be a physical form that offers high physicality,creativity but greater longevity. Currently, my circus training is so different from the early days in the streets of Central America: now so focused on strength and fundamental skills. I struggle to bring together the pieces I love about both worlds: the raw, wild freedom of the streets with the rigorous precision of aerial training. I dance between these two loves.

 

Community. I love that circus is an individual, non competitive activity that can be practiced within a group. Though we may be on a different journey or practice, we can still jam together, create group acts, collaborate, fusing our creativity with others to create something greater, or just have company in practice. Just about anywhere in the world we can meet people who practice circus and have an instant community

 

Recently I have begun to deeply appreciate the Quiet of circus. In a time where speech is so divisive, I love that circus inspires and connects without words. Circus performances feature the physical, our vehicle for art making. We also share this form, with some differences, with all other humans on earth, inspiring introspection of the similarities and differences amongst us all. 

 

I love the absolute boundlessness of circus- it can be sweet, elegant, demure or ridiculous, raw or zany; all within one show, or a seamlessly elegant theatrical production. 

 

I love the diversity of circus. Lovers of circus are an incredibly diverse group- from juggling mathematicians, street performers of South America, acrobatic troupes from Africa and so many people who have  ”regular” jobs but find something nourishing and inspiring in circus. We are definitely a group that is unique. Many people who have not found a home in other arts or fitness practices find a home in circus’s quirky, active community. Differently abled people can also find a place in circus. We have trained and performed with people from all over the world: clowns from Spain, diabolists from Venezuela, jugglers from Argentina and so appreciate each person’s unique interpretation, practice and expression.   …

All things circus require so much dedication, time, focus and will. Some tricks will take months or years and can go completely unnoticed by an audience, but something about the skill is appealing and we keep on with it. The windmill hip key on fabric is one such skill- the audience claps for splits and drops on silks but has no idea that a pretty windmill hip key took years to perfect. But we want it, so we train. The focus circus requires is complete- stimulating for varied centers of the brain and the body. Many with ADHD find that they excel in circus as they have a unique capacity to hyper focus if movement is involved. 

 

Costuming! I love this so much. As a kid I wanted to be a fashion designer but had little interest in everyday clothing. Costuming for aerial circus has a lot of restrictions because of the technical/movement requirements but these constraints almost make the challenge more fun. Stilt walking costuming is pretty much unlimited and there are some amazing works out there! It is really fun to bring this flair and joy to all types of events.

 

Growth. There is something about circus that manages to find all of our vulnerabilities and brings them to light. Some struggle with building strength and others with flexibility- too much or too little; circus highlights these things. For some trust is an issue- circus requires that we learn to trust our community, coaches and selves in order to progress. We can take the lessons circus gives us and apply them to our our lives becoming the best versions of ourselves.

 

Circus pushes us to share pieces of the self with the audience. Circus asks us to dig deep. The most impactful performances are by artists who share something powerful, heartfelt, intense and deeply felt. Sometimes there is a story and a history we tell, sometimes it is just the joy of the prop, audience and the stage; but to connect, we must share.

 

On the very top of my list of loves is the Unique experiences and exposure to communities, people and events circus has brought me to; places my life would normally not insect with. Performing has taken us to poor rural villages in South America and mansions in Newport, RI, biker rallies and extravagant galas. I love all of these experiences and it is a great honor to be a part of these celebrations and lives. I’m fascinated by different lifestyles and people and I marvel at the similarities amongst us all.

 

One of my favorite parts of coaching is supporting others in finding their artistic expression. Sometimes in aerial work, we get bogged down in trick acquisition but I love so much to witness when students find movement and small expressions that are uniquely theirs. These might be a small flick of the wrist, or a knee lead impulse, but it is so striking and powerful when it comes from within. Seeing adolescent girls find these sacred connections with themselves and share them is one of the best things in circus.