The Show The Aerial Arts Festival was created using standards established in the Circus Festival tradition and the with a circus spirit of innovation and discovery. More About the Festival! The Festival gives wings to artists and instills awe in audiences of all ages. It showcases semi-professional aerialists from North America and from around the world. A semi-professional aerialist is an artist who can be formally trained Over 60 aerialists have travelled to Denver and performed in the Festival or self-taught, who has performed for one-time events or on a regular basis. shows since 2011. Aerialists who have performed in previous festival shows The Festival welcomes artists who have a unique style and desire to work in have been hired by Cirque du Soleil, Cabarets in Germany, Circuses, the field of circus arts, and entertainment. Productions, and have been inspired to create their own circus festivals. In order to reach the show competition, aerialists submit videos for review The Festival also offers Workshops! by a pre-selection panel. Over 100 talented artists applied from across the United States, Canada, Holland, Australia, Venezuela, Germany, and France. From May 28 to June 1 at the King Center on the Auraria Campus, learn more about rigging, auditioning, the creative process, and more! Take a The criterion for judging was based on standards of Aerial Festivals from look at the full schedule on the Festival web site. around the world. Friday’s show is the Preliminary Competition with the judges selecting one Finalist per discipline plus the Audience response helps select an Encore Act to perform in the final show Saturday night. Saturday’s Show will feature the finalists, the Encore Act, and Innovative Performances. Circus Fact In the 1980’s Ecole Nationale de Cirque opened in Montreal. Fete Foraine, The Festival celebrates undiscovered talent and also welcomes audience participation in selecting the Audience Choice Award and in selecting who festival of street performers was founded in Canada, 1982 by Guy will win the Best Innovation Award. The Judges will select the Best Technical, Laliberte. In 1984 Cirque du Soleil played its first season in Canada. Circus Best Artistic, and Best Over-All Performance. Flora debuts at Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC in 1986. National Center of Circus Arts opened in Chalons-sur-marne, France. Cirque du Soleil The Aerial Acrobatic Arts Festival will evolve. It is meant to foster community. American debut in Los Angeles in 1987. 1988 Moscow Circus introduced It is a platform for aerialists to experience the joy of performing, the the Flying Cranes to America. excitement of competition, and the inspiration of seeing what is possible. Welcome to the Fourth Aerial Acrobatic Arts Festival. Enjoy the Show! www.AerialArtsFestDenver.com Be Inspired. Connect. Learn. Have Fun! 2014 The Performers Aerial Silks Vivian Tam Seattle, Washington Innovation – Duo Aerial Straps Vivian is a seasoned local aerialist from Seattle. She is a Jacki Ward and Nicolo Kehrwald veteran crowd favorite at the annual Moisture Festival, Portland, Oregon returning to the stage every year with a new aerial act. Jacki and Nicolo are contemporary She has performed internationally with the Aerialistas circus artists specializing in duo aerial as a duo hoop artist. Since traveling, she debuted a straps. Their expressive and fluid new invented aerial apparatus at Teatro Zinzanni’s late night cabaret. Vivian style is influenced by their combined co-directed the 2013 Staff Show at the School of Acrobatics and New Circus experience in capoeira, contortion, Arts (SANCA), where she has coached for five years. Vivian now teaches at physical theatre, and dance. After extensive solo training, Jacki and Nicolo Knotty Yoga, and is a resident performer at the Suite Lounge. Vivian began traveled together to Mongolia in 2011 to study with world-renowned her training at Hollywood Aerial Arts in 2005 and has since continued her contortion and hand balancing coaches such as Tumarbaatar Bud and private training with Sagiv Binyamin, Chelsey Rea, and Maxime Clabaut. She Yanjinbileg. While there, Nicolo and Jacki discovered a shared interest in is excited to present her solo work at this year’s Aerial Acrobatic Arts Festival yurts, handstand technique, and…each other. Since then, they have traveled, in Denver and thanks her friends, family, and mentors for all of their support. trained, taught, choreographed, and rehearsed side by side. They began training duo straps under the tutelage of Rui Ling and premiered their new, Aerial Silks updated act at Seattle’s renowned Moisture Festival in April of 2014. Theo Spencer Portland, Maine Innovation – Double Tear Duo Slings During a year abroad, Theo tripped over a burgeoning Nicole Burgio and Argentine circus community and fell in love with Kendra Greaves aerial movement. Immediately a dream was born of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania creating opportunities for others to do the same. After Nicole and Kendra are both begrudgingly but quite successfully completing his experienced aerialists, but have Bachelors in Linguistics from Tulane University, Theo was accepted into a performed mainly as solo artists. They highly competitive three year program of study in circus arts at the University teamed up in the summer of 2013, of San Martin where he specialized in aerial fabric. After completing his and developed a unique doubles act and a strong friendship. Both young studies and performing for the Presidency of Argentina, Theo began women are proud to be representing Philadelphia at the fourth annual Aerial teaching, passing on the joy and significance of aerial movement. Theo Acrobatic Arts Festival. When they are not performing, Kendra is a full time currently performs out of and teaches in Portland Maine, where he hopes to nursing student and Nicole is a circus performer and coach. help staff the Circus Conservatory of America. www.AerialArtsFestDenver.com Be Inspired. Connect. Learn. Have Fun! 2014 The Performers Aerial Straps Carlos Salazar Aerial Hoop – Lyra Pueblo, Colorado Rebekah Burke Carlos, age 23, was born and raised in Pueblo, Colorado. Spotsylvania, VIrginia Since the age of three, Carlos has studied martial arts Rebekah studied ballet and contemporary dance at the and today has made a career out of it with his father North Carolina School of the Arts with Ethan Stiefel, as Phil Salazar at The Dragon Dojo. He is well known in well as Ellison Ballet in New York City, the Gelsey Kirkland the Colorado Karate Association (CKA )for being awarded multiple state Academy of Classical Ballet, and at American Ballet championships, grand championships, as well as “First overall” in the state Theatre’s summer intensive in New York City. Rebekah of Colorado. His additional disciplines are springboard tumbling, and martial trained on the Cerceau and Aerial Hoop with Jan Manke in NYC, at Le arts tricking. He is a skilled potter as a side profession. In January of 2013, Studio in LA, and on her own in Fredericksburg, VA. She has performed on a The Dragon Dojo started an aerial program and during this time Carlos began freelance basis in both NYC and LA. training on aerial straps. Carlos has devoted a year of hard training as a come back from a March 1, 2013 complete ruptured Achilles Tendon. Aerial Hoop – Lyra Kate Winston Aerial Straps College Park, Maryland Danielle Berg Kate is an aerial performer and teacher based in Maryland. San Diego, California She has performed across the country, including at the Danielle was born in Long Beach, California, but spent her Nashville Fringe Festival, the 2013 Aerial Acrobatic Arts childhood in Cameroon, West Africa, where she learned Festival in Denver, and the Baltimore Alley Aerial Festival. the techniques of climbing trees with her toes from her Kate first studied aerial with Air Dance Bernasconi in pet gorilla. During her high school years in Texas she Baltimore, where she fell in love with the aerial arts the first time she swung perfected the art of bareback standing riding on her disgruntled Arabian upside down on a dance trapeze. She also studied with Arachne Aerial Arts mare. As an adult she and her husband David have made their home aboard and the New England Center for Circus Arts (NECCA), and she recently a sailboat in San Diego, which provides ample opportunities to dangle by completed four months of intensive aerial hoop training in Montreal. Kate ropes from the 50 foot mast. All these events conspired such that when she teaches with Movement Arts in Maryland and Trapeze School New York in walked by a sign advertising “Kung Fu and Circus Arts” she felt herself drawn Washington. irresistibly. Since then the aerial arts have become one of her passions. She loves pushing herself to achieve feats she previously never believed she was capable of. Circus Fact In 1873, P. T. Barnum’s show became too big for a single ring. He added a second ring, and then expanded to the three-ring circus. Circus Fact In 1880, Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus was formed. The show of In 1825, the circus tent appeared in North America. shows. Mexico had a number of circuses in the 1850’s. Mexican clowns were termed the Parades flourished during The Golden Age of Circus - from1880 to 1910. “poets of the common people.” The Circus parade faded, due to the advent of the automobile. Ironically, the car was introduced to the American public as a circus curiosity. Circus came to Denver in 1869. www.AerialArtsFestDenver.com Be Inspired. Connect. Learn. Have Fun! 2014 The Performers Single Point Solo Trapeze Whitney Smith Sandy, Utah Whitney loves dance and all things fitness related, so Single Point Solo Trapeze discovering the aerial world in 2012 was the beginning of Xochitl Sosa a new and challenging hobby.