Cirque Program

CIRQUE

PROGRAM

November 3 & 4, 2023
at Old Town Center for the Arts

First Showing
Friday November 3, 2023
7:00 pm

Second Showing
Saturday November 4, 2023
2:00 pm (matinee)

Third Showing
Saturday November 4, 2023
7:00 pm

CAST

Tyler Barnard - Stage Pole
Ali Brae - Lyra
Emerald Forest - Belly Dance
Grace Livermore - Silks
Clay Massey - Cyr Wheel
Kristen Massey - Duo Sling
Sunn Mixon - Duo Sling
Jes Palmer - Trapeze
Kevin Ringle - Hat Juggling
Mazzy Rose - Lyra
Taylor Marie Turner - Corde Lisse
Colleen Walls - Kung Fu

CREW

Taylor Marie Turner - Co-Director, Co-Producer, Rigging Technician
Logan Turner - Co-Director, Co-Producer, Sound, Safety Coordinator
William Eaton - Co-Producer, Sound
Jes Palmer - Lead Rigging Technician, Stage Technician
James Ball - Head Lighting Designer
Stephan Barber - Stage Manager
James Ismert - Photographer, Videographer

CIRQUE

FIRST HALF

COMING SOON

INTERMISSION

SECOND HALF

COMING SOON

CIRQUE CAST

Tyler Barnard

Tyler has a background in several different movement practices, including yoga and capoeira angola. Tyler first dipped her toes into the aerial world with a pole class in August of 2019 and never looked back. She stared lyra not long after in June of 2020 and added in rope to the repertoire of apparatuses she trains in January of 2022. Tyler is passionate about pushing herself and her craft. She has performed in several professional shows including Unfurl, Robot Apocalypse, Southwest Flow Fest, Frightful Fete, Hungry Hearts, Imaginary Universe and more.

Ali Brae

photo by Eric Retterbush

Ali began learning acrobatic dance in 2011. She has trained with Cirque Roots, AcroBody, Divine Play, and at VIVAcroyoga Montréal, where she has taught acro adagio workshops. She has been teaching and performing partner acrobatics for seven years. For the past five years, Ali has specialized in solo and duo lyra, as well as dabbled in corde lisse and aerial cube. Her background in partner dance has led her to value quality of connection in movement and exploring movement with others.

Emerald Forest

My love of movement and the healing power of kinesthetic practices has most definitely saved my life. After college I moved on to begin a lifelong study of yoga and flexibility training, becoming certified as a teacher in 1999 by Lex Gillan and the Yoga Institute. But it was only in 2015 that I discovered fusion belly dance, and developed an obsession with this form of movement, discipline and expression. I spent the last seven years evolving myself into a dancer and giving myself permission, finally, to follow my joy and to fully express myself through movement arts. I have been fortunate to train with some of the most influential fusion belly dancers in the world—Rachel Brice, Zoe Jakes, Tiare Tashnick and Deb Rubin. I am certified in Rachel Brice's Eight Elements of Belly Dance Level 1, and Deb Rubin's Dance Therapeutics Level 1 and 2. I also completed a year long dance intensive with Deb Rubin in 2021. Finally, I fell in love with aerial circus arts in 2020 beginning with Lyra and have been studying pole at Momentum in Flagstaff for the last year. I am as inspired by creative possibility and expression, as I am about the process of embodiment.

Grace Livermore

Grace has a background in classical ballet and has dabbled in modern/contemporary, burlesque, hip hop, bhangra, and Latin dance forms. She has been doing aerial silks and lyra for 3 years and aerial rope for 2 years. Recently she has started working in aerial harness, taking workshops with Bandaloop and collaborating with Dark Sky Aerial.
Grace choreographed the Opening Act ensemble piece entitled Earthing for Hydrangea Sky's Spring 2023 full-length production, Unfurl, and created Earthing's concept, story, and costuming.

Clay Massey

Clay Massey lives in Flagstaff and is a parent of two wonderful children. After being inspired by so many others taking up various forms of aerial, acrobatic, and circus arts they decided to pick up the Cyr wheel. It was in the middle of the first session that they fell in love with the movement and cadence of the apparatus, appreciating the way it demands to be in relationship with the artist. Clay enjoys finding fun and creative ways to use movement and dance to express and process what it means to be a human moving through this crazy life.

Kristen Massey

Kristen first fell in love with the graceful, dance-like movements of rock climbing. Rock climbing was her first pathway to embodiment, and the strength, freedom, and altitude it allowed her to access paved the way for silks. Kristen has always been drawn to the aerial arts, and her first silks experience was over 12 years ago. Now, two kids and a full time career later, she feels privileged to have access to a local gym and formal classes the last four years. Her aerial interests include silks and pole dance.

Sunn Mixon

Sunn was first introduced to aerial and performance arts 8 years ago while training in partner acrobatics. After moving to Flagstaff 5 years ago, she fell in love with aerial dance and has been practicing ever since. She now teaches for Momentum Aerial, specializing in solo and duo lyra and has recently taken up a passion for aerial sling. Her love of movement and somatic based practices has led to a deep connection to movement arts that allow her to express through her body and motions.

Jes Palmer

After growing up practicing a variety of dance styles and having a strong background in tumbling and group stunting (flyer), Jes found the perfect blend of her favorite part from each of those things when she began training on static trapeze in 2020. Since then, Jes has continued to add new apparatuses wherever they could fit. Trapeze has continued to be her main apparatus, but Jes also trains in pole, silks, and rope, along with the recent additions of hammock and lyra. From her experience with dance, Jes held onto her love for contemporary dance in particular, and loves taking any opportunity to incorporate the style into aerial arts.

As an instructor and administrative assistant at Momentum Aerial Arts in Flagstaff, AZ, she has had the opportunity to continue seeking opportunities that will contribute to her success as an aerialist. This includes completing Paper Doll Militia’s Level 1 Teacher Training for both Trapeze and Silks, along with attending the upcoming American Circus Educators Conference (with administrative experience in both organizations, through being accepted to their work trade programs.

Kevin Ringle

Juggling and flow arts has let Kevin travel the world. Starting out as just a hobby, this art form soon led Kevin to teach workshops throughout the USA, and later to perform in Berlin, Germany. Kevin enjoys the challenge presented by prop manipulation. Starting out as a poi spinner at the age of 12, he quickly grew to love how one can spin and throw objects to create art and tell a story. Kevin started juggling at 19 and never looked back. It took another 6 years before he found his passion for hat juggling. This niche style of juggling lets Kevin express himself more so than any other prop. The joy brought to the audience by Kevin’s hat juggling is unlike any other circus show.

“My love for juggling and flow arts has created the way I look at life. This art form has taught me patience, creativity, and body awareness. I use what I have learned from prop manipulation in my every day life. I would not be the person I am today without it.”

Mazzy Rose

Mazzy Rose began her aerial journey in 2018 after being inspired by performances from Circus Bacchus and Dark Sky Aerial. She began training on silks at Momentum Aerial before taking a break from that apparatus to build strength on lyra. When she returned to silks, corde lisse seemed like a natural evolution to add to her training. She loves the feelings of freedom and empowerment that come with exploring the aerial arts.

Taylor Marie Turner

Taylor Marie is the founder and artistic director for Hydrangea Sky Movement Arts.

Taylor Marie is a performing artist (aerialist, dancer, and musician/singer-songwriter), visual artist (painting, drawing, mixed-media, clothing design), and researcher/writer in sustainable lutherie and plant neurobiology for Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery and Wisdom Tree Institute, in addition to working and performing regularly at Old Town Center for the Arts in Cottonwood, Arizona (home venue for Hydrangea Sky Movement Arts). Taylor has a background in modern dance and ballet and currently performs on aerial silks, lyra, corde lisse, trapeze, and invented apparatus. Taylor has performed as a professional musician and aerialist/dancer, in addition to teaching workshops in aerial silks and partner acrobatics, across the Southwest and in France. Taylor has trained in aerial dance at Frequent Flyers, Altitude Aerials, Scorpius Dance Theatre, Vertical Fix, Illuminar Aerial, and Momentum Aerial.

Colleen Walls

Colleen Walls is a second-degree black belt in Shaolin Kung Fu and a certified instructor at Sacred Mountain of Fighting and Healing Arts. She specializes in the tiger crane 108 system, northern long fist, and tai chi. Colleen is also an active member of Sacred Mountain's lion dance team and has experience performing the head and the tail parts of the Chinese lion. Her passion is giving martial arts demonstrations in front of a live audience, and she has competed and placed at several state and national championships. In 2021, she received the ICMAC Women's Tai Chi Grand Champion award. Colleen enjoys sharing her passion for Chinese martial arts with her community.

CIRQUE CREW

Taylor Marie Turner

Co-Director (Artistic Director), Co-Producer, Rigging Technician, HSMA Founder

Taylor Marie is an aerialist, musician, and visual artist, and the founder and artistic director of Hydrangea Sky Movement Arts.
See Taylor's artist bio for CIRQUE above.

Logan Turner

Co-Director, Co-Producer, Sound, Safety Coordinator

Logan graduated from OCC with an Associates in Music in 2012 and then the Crane School of Music in 2016 with a BA in Music Business. During his time between The Crane School of Music and OCC, Logan studied with many accomplished percussionists in a vast number of different styles and instrumentation. Logan is a classically trained percussionist with a specialty in world percussion. Logan currently dedicates his time outside of his day job to study percussion at a high level and performing with various group in Arizona.

William Eaton

Co-Producer, Sound

William Eaton designs and builds innovative guitars and stringed instruments and is a founder and Director of the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery, in Phoenix, AZ. William’s unique one-of-a-kind stringed instruments have been featured in major museums, books, magazines and art exhibits. A four time GRAMMY nominee Eaton has recorded 19 albums for Canyon Records and tours nationally and internationally. He has also produced and recorded several award winning albums in his Wisdom Tree Studios in Sedona, including: Electric Harp Guitar Group, Ananeah, and Quiet Fire Trio.

In 2015 he received the Arizona Governor’s Arts Award in the ‘artist’ category. Eaton has composed for and performed with the William Eaton Ensemble, Electric Harp Guitar Group, Nouveau West Chamber Orchestra, Nebraska Chamber Orchestra and Amadeus Trio among others.

He has performed and collaborated with R. Carlos Nakai, Will Clipman, Claudia Tulip, Allen Ames, Mary Redhouse, Arvel Bird, Susannah Martin, Edgar Meyer, Anthony Mazzella, Fitzhugh Jenkins, Gary Stroutsos and others.

Along with his wife Christine, William is the co-Director of Old Town Center for the Arts, in Cottonwood, Arizona, since 2005. William has worked towards environmental activism since the 1980’s and is a founder and director of Sustainable Arizona. He is also the founder of Wisdom Tree Institute, an online resource collective that explores the relationship between humans and trees, with a focus on luthiers and artisans who use wood as the primary material for their art and craft.

Jes Palmer

Lead Rigging Technician, Stage Technician

Jes Palmer is a professional aerialist and dancer with Hydrangea Sky Movement Arts, as well as an instructor at Momentum Aerial and a jewelry designer (The Bandit Botanist). Jes was a Rigging Technician for HSMA's recent production, Unfurl, in April 2023.
See Jes's artist bio for CIRQUE above.

James Ball

Head Lighting Designer

James Ball (lighting designer) is the director of choirs and Theatre at Mingus Union High School here in Cottonwood. He has been awarded Northern AZ Theatre teacher of the year and runner-up Yavapai County teacher of the year. His plays and musicals have received multiple state awards and accolades. James started helping at the OTCA in 2009 and he is elated to return for this beautiful show! James was the Head Lighting Designer for HSMA's previous productions of Ephemera and Unfurl.

Stephan Barber

Stage Manager

Stephan Barber has assisted in many live productions at Old Town Center for the Arts, notably aerial dance performances with Hydrangea Sky Movement Arts. Stephan was a Stage Technician during HSMA's production of Ephemera and Stage Manager for their production, Unfurl.

James Ismert

Photographer, Videographer

James Ismert was audio engineer and producer for Anybody Listening? Recording Studio and BREAKER Records for 15 years. Photography and videography are his current passions and he is the official photographer for Hydrangea Sky Movement Arts. James photographed all of HSMA's company headshots and professional photos, and photographed the live production events Ephemera (November 2022), Unfurl (April 2023), and Celebrate Sedona (April 2023) at Sedona Arts Center.