Nexus July 2 - 11, 2021

NECCA PRESENTS PROTRACK YEAR 2 NEXUS JULY 2 - 11, 2021

AT THE CENTER OF EVERYTHING, ANYTHING THAT CAN HAPPEN, WILL HAPPEN Strength. Endurance. Flexibility.

These are the focus of every NECCA performer as well as the bank that supports them.

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Welcome to NEXUS, presented by NECCA and ProTrack Year 2. This digital program is interactive! Click on any bolded text or advertisements to learn more about our advertising sponsors or the cast of the show!

DIRECTOR'S NOTE ------PG. 4

THE NEXUS TEAM ------PG. 5

SHOW ORDER ------PG. 6

CAST BIOS ------PG. 7

SPECIAL THANKS ------PG. 12

ABOUT NECCA ------PG. 13 DIRECTORS NOTE

This year I had the honor of directing the end of year performance for the ProTrack Year Two students. One of the goals for the 2nd year of the ProTrack program is to give the students the full experience of creating their personal circus art and presenting it to an audience for feedback. During this year, the students created two acts, a major and a minor focus. You'll see a variety of peformances in which some students have focused more energy on one act, or might have even started skills training in their minor just at the start of this year. The creation of this final show is a chance for the students to share their creative selves. This means that as the director I don't change the acts they developed with their coaches in order to build a comprehensive show. Instead of devising a show around a concept (which is what our ProTrack Year Three folks do for their end of year performance), I got to curate their various styles into what I hope is something that is fun, engaging, thought provoking and uplifting, and serves as a showcase of their physical talent and creative selves. A big thank you to you, the audience, for supporting these students in virtual space. Our aim was to film this show in a way that kept the integrity of the process of live performance rather than creating a circus film, and we look forward to sharing truly live performance with you in the near future.

- Elsie Smith

Supporting the Arts in Our Community for 55 Years!

Brattleboro Office 119 Western Avenue Brattleboro, VT 05301 802-254-6400

Mt. Snow Office 118 Route 100 West Dover, VT 05356 802-464-8900 www.berkleyveller.com THE NEXUS TEAM

Director: Elsie Smith Producer: Serenity Smith Forchion Creative Team: Elsie Smith with Leah Leor, Tony Duncan, Sandra Feusi, Elena Day, Aimée Hancock Lighting Design: Owen Leonard Lighting Support: Lily Hochstetter, Julian McTaggert, Ren Carter-Tucker, Kalista Russell, Locksley MacLean Floor Design: Serenity Smith Forchion Stage Manager: Jenna Ciotta Head Rigger / Facilities Manager: Andy Schmitz Clock Sculpture / Line holder: Zane Defiant Video Footage and Editing: Angus Reid / Q Filmworks Behind the Scenes Video: Bailey Scherer SHOW ORDER

Chisana Monson: "Nooch" Character Throughline

ACT 1 ACT 2 Opening/Charivari Violet Defiant Livingston: Anna Vance: Tight Wire Handbalancing/Foot Juggling Lauren Uvino: Rope Bailey Scherer: Dance Trapeze Gabrielle Leo: Lyra Elly Craig: Cyr Wheel Carina Gillet: Straps Rita Huie: Aerial Chains Anna Vance & Elly Craig: Carina Gillet: Lyra Partner Acrobatics Erika Valles: Rope

Erika Valles: Lyra Michelle Mazzarella: Cyr Wheel Bailey Scherer: Batons Sam Malloy: Aerial Fabric Michelle Mazzarella: Aerial Sling Lauren Uvino: Dance Trapeze Violet Defiant Livingston (with Rita Huie: Trapeze Zane Defiant): Swinging Trapeze Finale Sam Malloy: Pole CAST BIOS

ANNA VANCE Originally from Seattle, Washington, Anna Vance has trained extensively in classical ballet, modern dance, and Argentine tango. In 2019 she discovered her primary disciplines of tightwire and partner acrobatics. Her circus work is greatly influenced by various dance forms, and aims to blend the artistic and athletic in a seamless and aesthetically-pleasing way. She is currently a student in the ProTrack program at the New England Center for Circus Arts.

BAILEY SCHERER Bailey Scherer is a Los Angeles-born circus artist, dancer, and performer. She traveled around the United States exploring her calling to the stage before landing in Vermont at the New England Center for Circus Arts, where she mastered dance trapeze and baton twirling. Her passion for storytelling as well as her energetically physical performances combine for a compelling artistic vision, and additionally, her friends find her ability to clap with one hand pretty inspiring.

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CARINA GILLET Born in the natural beauty of Montana, Carina Gillet is a multifacited artist that loves to combine her love of nature with her creative outlets and expressions. From music, do dance, and visual art, she is always looking to express herself in new and creative ways #circus. She began her moving journey with dance at the age of six, and has strived to make her movement vocabulary as varreid as her artistic expressions. She has experience in many kinds of dance, martial arts, rock climbing, and all of the fun circus moves she can get her body to inhabit. Immensely grateful to be a part of NECCA and the community of creatives it connects, she hopes to continue to inspire open hearts and liberated minds through circus.

CHISANA MONSON Chisana Monson is an adventurous soul who has been training at NECCA for two years focusing on cyr wheel and rope.

ELLY CRAIG At a young age Elly Craig took her education into her own hands and studied dance, gymnastics and theater before running away to join a circus school in Norway. She returned to the US to hone her skills at the New England Center for Circus Arts and she now splits her time between explaining what a Cyr wheel is, actually Cyr wheeling, lifting her friends (in the form of partner acrobatics), and goofing off with her famous sidekick Quincy George LeBlanc - a dapper mannequin salvaged from the demise of department stores. Elly is the co-founder of Cirque L, a trio Cyr company and general debauchery and tomfoolery troupe. She looks forward to touring the world connecting and collaborating with people and merging activism with circus. CAST BIOS

ERIKA VALLES Erika Valles is an artist specializing in vertical rope and lyra with additional training in fabric and partner acrobatics. She grew up moving every two years all around the world to places where circus was not very popular. But after seeing her first circus performance she was inspired to learn aerials through various training opportunities around the world, including the ProTrack program at the New England Center for Circus Arts. As a performer, educator, and perpetual student, Erika wants to bring her love of aerials to circus-scarce communities so everyone can experience the magic that has so captivated her.

GABRIELLE LEO Gabrielle Leo grew up in the Finger Lakes region of New York where her father and grandfather helped to cultivate a love of theater and performing. After earning her BFA in Musical Theater, Gabrielle set her sights on a different type of performance; circus. She now specializes in aerial silks (fabric) and lyra in the NECCA ProTrack program. Gabrielle hopes to give back to her community, by returning to her hometown and opening a studio where she can help cultivate a love of circus, performance, fitness and body positivity in others. CAST BIOS

LAUREN UVINO Lauren Uvino is a vertical rope artist who loves single point trapeze, handbalancing and dancing. She left her home town of New Haven, CT to study circus professionally at the New England Center for Circus Arts. Her passion is asking the question, “what if,” and creating performances that build a connection with the audience and leaves them wanting more. When not occupied creating works of circus art she loves cooking homemade family Italian recipes and brewing Limoncello for her friends.

MICHELLE MAZZARELLA Michelle Mazzarella is an 'artistic chameleon' who thrives in roles both on stage and offstage. She is a choreographer, aerialist, dancer, producer, director and educator. She started her career dancing around the living room performing for friends and family, but quickly graduated to more professional training opportunities. After finding her feet on the ground, she turned her focus to the air, and was accepted to the ProTrack training program at the New England Center for the Arts, focusing on aerial sling and cyr wheel. Michelle lives to tell stories through movement and pull her audience in to her world through musicality, texture, and human connection.

RITA HUIE Rita Huie is a static trapeze and chains artist who wants to take the audience into a world of utopian fantasy and out of everyday reality. She wants everyone, no matter what education or age, to enjoy a brilliant performance. CAST BIOS

.SAM MALLOY Sam Malloy is a contemporary circus artist driven by their absolute love for circus. Originally from Oakland, CA, they now specialize in Fabric, Straps, and Pole at the New England Center for Circus Arts. Sam is passionate about using circus as a means of representation and celebration of the LGBT+ community and dreams to create work with a focus on social justice, inspiration, and change.

VIOLET DEFIANT LIVINGSTON Violet Defiant Livingston (she/her) is a swinging trapeze artist, hand balancer, and foot juggler, specializing in acrobatic and lyric storytelling. Her swinging trapeze act has been called by audience members “a vision of nostalgia with a modern twist!” Violet uses her training as a gymnast and circus performer to bring power, grace, and technique to her artistic practice, and her training as a writer to tell stories with grit and heart. GRATITUDE & THANKS

NECCA ADMIN TEAM NECCA PROTRACK Executive Director: Jenna Struble COACHES Director of Programming: Aimee Hancock, Ariele Ebacher, Elsie Smith Cheya Potter, Chris Gatti, Elena Day, Elsie Smith, Jan Damm, Jenna Ciotta, Producing Director: Jim Strong, Leah Leor, Levi Helton, Serenity Smith Forchion Marlon Archer, Megan Gendell, Molly ProTrack Manager: Elena Day Graves, Sandra Feusi, Serenity Smith Forchion, Tony Duncan, Victoria Quine, ProTrack Governance Panel: Zeb Galipeau. Aimee Hancock, Elena Day, Elsie Smith, Jenna Ciotta, Leah Leor, Molly NECCA'S BOARD OF Graves, Sandra Feusi, Serenity Smith DIRECTORS Forchion, Tony Duncan. Click here to learn about our board!

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Nimble Arts, Hanna Moors, ProTrack Year One for behind the scenes support, and ProTrack Year Three for lighting support. ABOUT NECCA

OUR MISSION At NECCA, the transformative power of circus arts enables a diverse and inclusive community of artists, teachers and students to realize their dreams.

OUR IMPACT Last year, we helped over 1,000 community students and 37 career students get closer to their dreams with the transformative power of circus arts. This Spring, you can help sustain our impact on the global cultural landscape and the local economy with your financial support: • $1,000 purchases new equipment needed to keep our students safe. • $400 supports a young person for one week in Summer Camp. • $150 covers the cost for a health officer to protect our students during the pandemic. Thank you for your dedicated support of NECCA as we continue to bring the American tradition of circus to our community and the world.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE TODAY!

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