Teachers

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Juggling, Production, Act development Clown and Founder

Mariano is a physical actor, clown, juggler, director and producer. He is a 10 year veteran of Cirque Du Soleil, and founder of the Trivenchi Social Circus School in Buenos Aires, Argentina that has been open for over 23 years. 

His knowledge and experience facilitate a safe, fun and creative movement space where movers and creatives of all kinds, including aerial artists, acrobats, dancers, hand balancers, jugglers, clowns, fire performers, musicians, visual artists, and flow artists can come together and learn from each other.  Come on over and let’s make some magic! 

Rope, Trapeze, Intro to Aerial, Straps, Conditioning and Founder

 Jodi Reiter is a multi-disciplinary aerialist, dancer, mover and creator that has worked for over two decades as an artist, collaborator and instructor around the world, including a decade in Franco Dragone’s “Le Reve.”  She finds purpose and nourishment through movement on stage, in the classroom as a teacher and student, solo and in community. Jodi seeks to find new movement daily while building a vocabulary guided by strength, consistency, skill, celebration and discipline. She is an enthusiastic cyclist, yogi, meditator, salsa dancer, reader, eater, gardener, mother and partner.  

Juggling

Curtis Carlyle was born in 1980 in a lighthouse in Rhode Island. His  father was a United States Coast Guard engineer and his mother was a  championship rodeo horsewoman. Although he didn’t realize it at the  time, his uncommon family instilled in Curtis a sense of possibility and  discipline; a belief that anything can be mastered with practice; a  recognition of the importance of joy in work.  Curt’s journey as variety artist took off when the Coast Guard  transferred his father’s post to Portland, Oregon – home of the Reed  College juggling club. Under the tutelage of juggling greats Rhys  Thomas, David Lichtenstein, and Charlie Brown, Curt quickly learned the  performance trade and began shaping his infectious personality for the  stage. 

 Gymnastics, Hoop

Coach Harmony grew up as a competitive gymnast and has been coaching recreational and competitive gymnastics for 15+ years. She is currently the head coach of the Platinum and Diamond XCEL team at Vancouver Elite Gymnastics Academy in Camas, WA. 

Fun Facts: She has a 1 year old son, loves cookies, and plays the didgeridoo.

Lyra, Silks, Contortion, Flexibility, Conditioning, Youth Classes

 Achillea’s movement background began with ballet and hot yoga, although nothing has come close to the passion circus arts ignited. After taking her first aerial class, she never looked back. Along the journey, she’s worked on flying trapeze, juggling, clowning, unicycle, and many aerial apparatus. 

Silks, Conditioning, Juggling, Unicycle, Intro to Aerial 

 Quin is a circus artist in Portland, Oregon who trains and performs aerial silks, giraffe unicycle balance, and club juggling 

Aerial Pole, Lyra

 MirCat is a tiny magickal being. She has been teaching Dance, Aerial, and Pole for many years. Her mission on this Earth is to cultivate healing and Self Empowerment through Dance, Circus, and Art. She is passionate about Movement Arts, Mental Health and the connection between the Body and the Mind. Through strengthening our bodies, we also build our mindset and Wellbeing.

She loves connecting with her students and finding new ways to adapt her teaching style to fit their needs. Her classes focus on strength, stability, flexibility, freestyle dance, choreography, and artistic expression through movement. 

Lyra, Silks, Flexibility, Youth Classes

 Melissa began her journey of movement through aerial yoga and from there she realized that she needed to follow it in depth. Three years later she enrolled in a European circus school in Portugal where she studied circus arts for two years, learning technique and contemporary circus. She specializes in aerial hoop and silks. During her time in school she also learned  acrobatics, basic juggling, balancing, ballet and contemporary dance. 

Her journey continued to expand in Europe where she traveled through Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands, visiting circus schools and learning European techniques and expansion of contemporary circus. 

Trapeze, Rope, Silks, Lyra

Katie began training aerial in 2016, after being completely enchanted by the Odysseo Cavalia horse vaulting and aerial show. She enrolled in aerial classes immediately and hasn't stopped since. She has had the privilege of training under many respected mentors in the circus world. Katie creates and performs regularly on trapeze, silks, lyra, and rope. She has a passion for all things movement, but has a particular passion for static trapeze.

Fun fact: At age 6, she was recruited by a gymnastics coach to train for the Olympics. She declined in favor of piano lessons. ;) 

Silks, Lyra, Flexibility

With six years of pole dancing and five years training Lyra and Silks, Talor brings passion and experience to every class, encouraging creativity, body awareness, and confidence. Students can expect a supportive atmosphere as Talor guides them through conditioning, flexibility training, and flow. 

Poi

 Adam Hernandez began his flow arts and circus journey 6 years ago after experiencing the magic of watching fire performers at Oregon Country Fair. He has since been to multiple flow arts festivals and prop-based movement classes in order to achieve a better understanding of the essence of flow, simple teaching techniques as well as challenging tricks, and how to better integrate movement in an expressive way. He practices spinning poi, double staves, juggling, and contact staff primarily but you will see him pick up and try new props regularly. Additionally he is licensed as a Chiropractor in Oregon and hopes to highlight concepts that will allow for an understanding of anatomy and regional interdependence in relation to movement practices and how to keep one’s body well-tuned. 

Silks
Senora Loop is an experienced aerial coach and performer specializing in aerial silks, aerial hoop, and flying trapeze. Senora began her aerial journey nearly a decade ago in her hometown of Bloomington, Indiana, and has spent the last 10 years traveling the country teaching and performing aerial arts. She believes that aerial is for everyBODY, and prides herself on being an inclusive, supporting, and passionate coach for those of all ages, orientations, and skill levels. Take a class with Senora and learn to challenge your limits in a safe and supporting environment, redefine your idea of "possible", and grow your skill, strength, and confidence. 

Rope, Silks, Strap Loops, Hand Balancing, Contortion
Jordie Campbell is an interdisciplinary circus performer, coach, and curious explorer of all things movement. She performs and creates original work both on and off the ground specializing in aerial silks, rope, strap loops, and a signature blend of ground movement influenced by years of dance, acrobatics, hand balancing, and contortion training. With over ten years of performance experience she has trained and performed with an array of apparatus on a variety of stages from cabaret shows to full length productions. Jordie is passionate about collaboration between people and also between styles and interests. From movies to music and art she draws inspiration from many sources to create movement uniquely her own and strives to encourage the same in others.

Olivia Fry discovered their passion for aerial acrobatics in 2019 at the age of 29 and has been dedicated since! Currently specializing in Aerial Hammock and Lyra, Olivia not only strides for personal growth but also eagerly supports their fellow artists in their journey through the aerial arts.  

Izzy entered the circus world in 2019 by way of the hula hoop and has since expanded her disciplines to include juggling, multi-hoops, fire spinning, aerial silks, straps, and primarily aerial rope. She has had the pleasure of training in various parts of the world with several exceptional aerial coaches, and is currently between years of professional circus school in Spain. Izzy appreciates the sense of collaboration and community within the circus world and loves to share that passion with others.

Alex grew up in Utah with a history in rock climbing, weightlifting, and gymnastics and when she moved out to Oregon she started discovering a love for movement she had never known before, starting in pole dance and quickly growing with aerial. Alex is so happy to have found this expansive community here in Portland. As a newcomer to aerial and circus she is extremely excited to be a part of this, and about what she's learning and she can't wait to share that journey with more people.

Monica is passionate about healing through movement, and helping people discover how to connect with their bodies to find that. She started her journey with weightlifting and yoga, but her true passion emerged when she found aerial silks. Now an exercise science student and soon-to-be certified personal trainer, she believes that movement is for everyone and that it's all about finding what feels right for your body. 

Sena's movement background began at age 14 with an Okinawan form of karate. While also extremely passionate about theatre performance, Sena found that aerial was the perfect blend of powerful movement and theatricality. Her preferred apparatus is anything involving a bar, but dance trapeze is her true love. 

Logan initially developed an interest in performance through an acrobatic gymnastics program at his high school. During college, however, he took a detour into the outdoor recreation industry, and spent a few years in Boise as a trip guide - introducing folks to nature through activities such as backpacking, snow caving, skiing, and climbing.

By chance, after college Logan worked at a hybrid climbing gym/ aerial studio and was exposed to circus arts for the first time. Discovering aerial (straps specifically) revitalized his desire to learn movement as a tool for expression, and since moving to Portland a year ago, he's been focusing on redeveloping acrobatic skills while learning new circus ones such as straps, handstands, and flexibility/contortion.

Emily Merollis is a movement artist who has been exploring, teaching and performing multiple disciplines for about 10 years. A lifelong athlete and former competitive swimmer, she discovered her true passion when she first encountered aerial arts. Her specialties include hoop, fabric, sling, and ground acrobatics. Emily is passionate about merging experimental theater with circus and is inspired by the collaborative spirit of circus artists.