Author Archives: Circus Smirkus
Lindsay Culbert-Olds
Lindsay Culbert-Olds, Big Top Tour trouper 2006-2009 2020 Smirkus Camp Coach Lindsay Culbert-Olds discovered the circus at Circus Smirkus Summer Camp and joined the Big Top Tour for the 2006-2009 summer tours. She trained at New England Center for Circus Arts in Brattleboro, VT, before she moved to Montreal and was accepted into the National Circus School. Since graduating in 2014, Lindsay has performed all over the world for shows including Midnight Circus (Chicago), Circus Monti (Switzerland), Cirque Bouffon (Germany), Strut & Fret (Australia), and Cirque du Soleil (Shanghai).
Natalie Abell
Natalie Abell, Aerials and Handstands Coach Natalie Abell has a penchant for doing things a little different. From biomedical device inventor, to LEGO engineer, to singer, to circus performer and instructor, her passion for following curiosity has led to paths she never thought possible. Natalie has shown students (adults and youth alike) the possibility and excitement of finding something unexpected within. She has performed and instructed circus internationally. Explosive power and playfulness with finesse exemplify Natalie Abell’s artistic work and life mission. She has been creating and performing work for 7 years including full length shows, innovative aerial apparatus, and…
Jon Roitman
Jon Roitman, Acro and Juggling Coach Jon Roitman has a background as an international circus performer and coach, specializing in club passing, banquine and Russian bar. He is a graduate of the Montreal National Circus School, and has performed with various circus companies in seventeen countries across six continents. A Smirkus camper himself from 1999-2002, he coached for Smirkus Advanced Camp in 2016, and has been a coach-on-tour with the Circus Smirkus Big Top Tour from 2017-2019. Jon is the artistic director and head coach of the Flying Gravity Circus, a non-profit youth circus performance and education organization based in…
Joy Powers
Joy Powers Clown Coach Session: Intermediate & Advanced Camp Joy Powers is a Smirkus Residency Artist, and has also coached at Smirkus Camp. She first became interested in circus and clowning after seeing Circus Smirkus at age 13. After attending Smirkus Camp, she auditioned for the Circus Smirkus Tour, in which she performed in the summers of 2006 and 2007. Joy then toured the country as a clown with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. She is a co-creator and performer of The Piccolini Trio, and is a Clown Doctor with Laughter League at Boston Children’s Hospital. She is also featured in…
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter Circus Smirkus affirms its commitment to diversity, equality, and inclusion on an ongoing basis with the following words, shared in our hiring process, in our employee handbooks, and with our participants: “At Circus Smirkus, we believe in a circus culture that seeks out and celebrates all types of peoples, cultures, and skills to showcase the multifaceted triumph of human abilities. It is fundamental to our values to welcome employees, participants, and audience members of all backgrounds with the curiosity, respect, and awe human diversity inspires.” Racism and hate have no place in our ring, our community, or…
Virtual Season 2020
Get your circus fix this summer through Smirk-o-Vision, Circus Smirkus’ online entertainment series. With exclusive online events through the summer, you can gather the family around the laptop and delight in the joy and wonder of a virtual Circus Smirkus experience, right in your own living room. See our full schedule, where you can purchase tickets to all remaining events! Thursday, July 16 at 7PM: Inside the Circus: Behind the Music Thursday, July 30 at 7PM: Inside the Circus: Beyond the Pie with Circus Chefs Thursday, August 6 at 7PM: Inside the Circus: Backstage at HQ Saturday, August 15 at 7PM: Smirk-o-Vision Grand Finale Thank…
How Clowns Zoom
Looking for a laugh? Try this video. These clowns have learned so much about clowning around while social distancing…in fact they get together regularly to share a few tricks. You’re welcome.
Keeping Coronavirus Out of the Ring
Dear friends, Everyone at Circus Smirkus is busily preparing for the opening of our Smirkus Camp and Big Top Tour seasons in June. However, like many of you, we are also keeping a close eye on the news around COVID-19. At this point, and based on the information currently available, we plan for our 2020 season to run as scheduled. We realize that it takes a certain amount of optimism and the can-do spirit of the circus to think that way as the uncertainty of the world swirls around us. We will continue to closely monitor all developments in this…
Rachel Schiffer
Rachel Schiffer, Big Top Tour trouper 1995-2004 Rachel Schiffer caught the circus bug when she was only seven years old and has been circussing in some way shape or form ever since. Rachel began as a gymnast and then toured with Circus Smirkus as a wire walker, aerialist and acrobatic flyer (’95-’04). After studying religious performance, dance and biology at Middlebury College she turned her full focus back to circus arts and performed extensively throughout the US with both traditional and contemporary circus companies such as The Midnight Circus and Zoppé Circus. In 2011, Rachel’s circus world shifted to Europe after…
Julie Marshall
Julie Marshall, Aerial Coach Sessions: Advanced Camp Julie Marshall made her stage debut at age 12 as “silent townsperson #7” in a children’s theatre production of Tom Sawyer in Memphis Tennessee, and her career has done nothing but improve since then. Julie studied performance at School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and has had intensive training in aerial hoop, aerial fabric, and contortion. She teaches aerial hoop, duo hoop, aerial fabric, act creation, and flexibility, and is also a very nice person. You can see her website here: www.juliemarshalldoesthings.com