Queens, New York

I am a flying trapeze artist and animator currently based in Rochester, NY. Ultimately, I want to create art that combines the physical artistry of circus with more traditional art styles.

During the residency, Ella worked on an amalgamation of animation, performance art, and circus all wrapped up into a short film.

Brooklyn based artist from San Diego

Troy is a circus and performance artist based in Brooklyn, NY. Informed by a background in gymnastics, musical theatre, dance, and philosophy, their art seeks to challenge and inspire audiences.

Troy worked on their first major individual project while at Hupstate, a two act solo show.

New York City

Linda to spent the beautiful week weaving dance, aerial silks, Shakespeare and the sounds of nature together.

Photo by Jenni-Kate Deshon

From Santa Barbara, CA; resident of NYC since 2005

A self-described, yet not-so-serious “classically trained vocalist rescued from the clutches of the opera world,” Heather came to circus after a career in classical music (but also dreamt of running away with the circus at age 7). Now, as a circus artist and teacher trained primarily in aerial silks and corde lisse, she enjoys fusing aerial movement with singing, and exploring multi-disciplinary collaborations that allow room for more varied theatrical narratives than traditional opera.

Heather worked on a multi-section piece using aerial, singing, and movement sensor devices that explores the constraints of a life in a Western classical art form, and how breaking away can often lead to freeing your creativity.

Photo by Michael Schulze Photography

Joni is from High Point, NC and Queen grew up between St. Croix and Baltimore, MD. Both are based in Brooklyn, NY.

Twin Eclipse is NYC’s Premiere Black Aerialist Duo. Twin Eclipse creates circus pieces that clearly represent their love for African culture, Black culture, and the resilience of African and Indigenous people here in the USA. The artwork revolves around ancestral celebration and cultural struggles with the goal of providing healing to the past traumas of these cultures while presenting them to a wider audience in a way that is both visually inspiring and full of historical context that is more easily digestible.

Twin Eclipse manifested a black ancestral celebration piece which will incorporate dance, live music, acrobatics, and aerial.

Rochester, NY

Katherine Marino is a physical theater artist based in Rochester, NY where she creates original multi-disciplinary performances incorporating contemporary dance, clowning, and theater. She is known and loved in her community for her big hair, her unique movement style, and her hat juggling and clowning work, including her solo clown show titled A Show with Cookies. In addition to writing and performing, Marino finds great joy in teaching classes and workshops in contact improvisation, physical theater, and clown.

During the HupState residency Marino continued to develop ideas from her 2022 hat juggling act, "Locks," researching the use of her hair as a prop and mask and incorporating this research into her hat juggling vocabulary.

Photo by Avi Pryntz-Nadworny

From Brooklyn via Kansas City.

Kaitlin Gould is an actor, writer, and aerial performer, who received her MFA in Acting from East 15 Acting School in East London. She has been creating her own work since graduating, including her play 'Mirrors' and her short film 'Expectations' which won best cinematography at Toronto Feedback Female Festival. With a strong focus on mental health, she seeks to tell bold stories that create a dialogue and incite change.

During the residency Kaitlin will be developing a new play that's storytelling centers around aerial and circus arts.

From New York City.

I am a circus artist, primarily with the Cyr wheel. I also have hi-tech LED versions of many of my props that are notoriously hard to photograph. I 'was' also a photographer in days gone by, so I would like to combine these talents to create something new.

I plan to photograph LED circus arts.

From Buffalo, New York.

Rebecca is an aerialist known for her powerful flow and bold style. Aerial hoop is her main apparatus of choice but she also practices hula hoop, juggling, and pole arts. She considers herself a lifelong learner in all aspects of life.

Rebecca plans to use her time in residency to create performance art inspired by her life with mental illness.

From New York City.

I am an Aerialist/Dancer/Performer based in New York City. I create art to tell stories and connect with the shared humanity of audience members. I create work that feels like an authentic extension of my inner landscape, looking to reach out and access other peoples’ inner worlds with themes relating to the human condition.

I plan on creating an aerial/dance solo exploring the themes of grief and loss.

From New York City and New Jersey.

We are in collaboration exploring the intersectionalities of our disciplines, styles, and techniques, creating a piece exploring storytelling using our physical movement and the incorporation of our journey with American Sign Language (ASL).

We are developing a story focused on the theme of connection through combining our backgrounds in dance, gymnastics, aerial acrobatics, and circus.

From Brooklyn, New York

Tara’s 20 year circus performance career delights in exploring the movement potential and the deep inner workings of the human body. From teaching and performing at Club Med Resorts, to touring with Celebrity Cruiselines, to gigging all over New York City with companies such as Cirquetacular Entertainment, the Love Show, and the House of Yes, Tara art has touched the lives of many. She hopes to bring her audiences along with her on this journey and leave them with the joy of remembering their wholeness.

I am planning to create a new contortion work exploring the interrelated themes of rape culture and climate change. How the violence and suppression of the feminine mirrors our culture’s lack of care for the ecology of our planet.

Photo credit Michael Blaze.