Sarah Dawn discovered the wonderful world of movement arts 18 years ago, when a good friend made her her first hula-hoop, starting a lovely journey down a rabbit hole of circus arts that has culminated in her aerial career today. Sarah adores the stage, bringing dynamic creativity to her performances, thrilling audiences with her feats of aerial strength and grace. She also has a deep passion for teaching and loves to share with others her aerial knowledge and commitment to physical, mental, and creative growth, inspiring them to lead healthy lives through circus. Sarah began her teaching career 12 years ago, starting with her own studio in West Oakland, Such Great Heights Aerial Arts, and continuing to teach at studios around the Bay Area and Denver, including Kinetic Arts, Trapeze Arts, The Circus Collective, Frequent Flyers, Live Beyond Limit, and others. She also loves traveling and guest teaching, and has shared her aerial passion at circus schools, retreats, and festivals around the country and beyond. Sarah is a 2017 graduate of the Frequent Flyers Aerial Dance Professional Training Program in Boulder, Colorado, specializing in corde lisse and fabric. With a Master’s Degree in Nursing and 17 years of experience as an ER Nurse, Sarah also has a deep understanding of health and wellness, injury assessment and prevention, and advanced first aid, and aims to combine art and science to explore the unique mental and physical effects circus has on the body.
Cosmo Dudley, a native of Denver, Colorado, has been an acrobat since 2008. He has spent that time teaching and exploring circus acrobatics, including tumbling, martial arts tricking, handbalancing, aerial straps, Chinese pole, parkour, and trampoline/trampwall. Cosmo has trained extensively across Canada, China, and Europe, learning from many great circus coaches and movement instructors.
Issac Endo née Koji, is a Boulder grown creator working in the arts. Initially trained as an interpreter of circus and dance, they were invited to become the National Circus School of Montreal’s first student of direction and dramaturgy under the guidance of Howard Richard. Graduating in 2019, their work focuses on environmental/scenic realization and the exploration of objects/spaces. and the ways we can move between the two. Creating props, costumes, scenography, and aparatuses, Issac investigates ways we can inform and shape how people interact with, inhabit, and blur the distinction between performer/spectator and object/subject. Ongoing projects include: the Valby Ruta Project, a film circus collective; Le Academie de Cirque, a Montreal circus studio; A Safer Space, workshops exploring group dynamics and nonverbal communication; Warm Up, an immersive movement jam; and most recently Frequent Flyers Aerial Dance, their home away from home.
Danielle Hendricks spent her childhood climbing fences, trees, balance beams and rooftops in Fresno, California. She holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in both Kinesiology and Dance from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Danielle is a nationally certified Pilates Instructor and has been teaching the Pilates method for twenty-five years, primarily in Denver, but also Boston, Chicago, Martha’s Vineyard, San Francisco, and Clovis, CA. She was lucky enough to perform, teach, and choreograph with Frequent Flyers for 20 years, as well as perform with other dance companies in the Boulder/Denver area. Danielle trained in the art of bungee dance with the “the mother of aerial dance/motivity,” Terry Sendgraff, and has taught bungee dance almost every year at the Aerial Dance Festival since 2005. In 2020, she relocated back to Fresno County, where she continues to teach online Pilates to clients around the country, as well as in-person Pilates and Sculpt classes at CORE. Clovis.
Summer Lacy (she/her/they/them)
As she flies through the air, tumbles from breathtaking heights and glides across the stage with consummate control, Summer Lacy dares her captive audiences to imagine the impossible. Her story is a testament to imagination, perseverance, and determination. Specializing in vertical Aerial Chains, Lyra, Dance Trapeze and Invented apparatus, Summer expresses her mission statement through her art: “Stand up, stand out, and create something beautiful.”
While thriving in her day job as a graphic designer, her long nights training aerial began to pay off, making her previously “impossible” dreams now inevitable. Her appearances on the primetime competition show America’s Got Talent went viral and earned her a national following overnight. Judge Howie Mandel, impressed by her aerial chains and lyra acts, was prompted to describe her as “both dangerous and very original.”
Since then, Summer has been seen internationally with the Dzul Dance Company, Constellation Moving Company, and Hideaway Circus, among many others. She was a featured performer in Circus Abyssinia’s acclaimed 2018 exhibition “Ethiopian Dreams,” as well as the hit off-Broadway variety show La Soirée making her mark in the New York City theater scene. Her passion for performing is rivaled only by her love of educating the next generation of circus stars. With deep knowledge of aerial technique, creative movement and act creation, Summer unlocks the next level of physical artistry in her students with a supportive, encouraging, practical approach that makes the extraordinary achievable. Her online training, “The Prosperous Performer,” focuses on mindset, branding and marketing, as well as building, selling and performing a one-of-a-kind act that reflects the student’s personality and abilities, furthering Summer’s mission to inspire with the power of art.
Valerie Morris has been a dancer since 1980 and became an aerial dancer in 1996 with Frequent Flyers Aerial Dance. She has previously had the pleasure of performing with Movement Laboratories, Lancaster Ballet, CU Dance Department, Boulder Ballet, Wellington Circus Trust, Empress Stiltdance, Borrillo Entertainment, and AeroTerra Aerial Dance. She holds several roles at Frequent Flyers including teacher, choreographer and performer. Ms. Morris secret life as a scientist keeps her busy during the day, using stable isotopes to unlock the secrets of global climate change.
Ariana Papousek is primarily a self-taught aerialist. Fusing her background of competitive gymnastics with traditional circus, Ariana has created a unique and dynamic style of movement that has gained a lot of attention. Her early years of work as a competitive/rhythmic gymnast cultivated proper technique, body awareness, and creativity. Ariana’s intention is to inspire confidence, courage, and grace while ensuring that each student feels comfortable and empowered. Ariana has graced the stage for many large events and bands such as Elephant Revival Red Rocks, Shpongle Red Rocks, String Cheese Incident, Quixotic, Envision Festival, Burning Man, Sonic Bloom, Hulaween, Arise Festival, and more.
Casey Pottle is a lover of movement with a passion for sharing it with others. A dedicated dancer, Casey has trained for many years in ballet and contemporary dance since she was a teenager. After graduating from college having studied dance abroad in London, Casey discovered aerial arts and fell in love. She has almost a decade of aerial dance experience both teaching and performing primarily on aerial loops, silks, and sling. Her current passion is combining her love of aerial dance with dance technique through choreography. Casey teaches at several studios in the Denver/Boulder area, as well as performs in multiple aerial dance shows and productions throughout the year, including at the annual Denver Fringe Festival. Casey currently dances professionally with Denver Aerial Dance Collective.
Nancy Smith originally wanted to be an astronaut or a racecar driver and instead she became the founder & artistic director of Frequent Flyers® Productions since its inception in 1988 and the Aerial Dance Festival since 1999. She teaches Aerial Release Technique (A.R.T.) around the US. Her work with Frequent Flyers has been presented in Boston, Baltimore, California, Louisiana, Virginia, Montreal, Utah, the Bahamas, throughout Colorado, and at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. She has received numerous awards including “Living Legend of Dance in Colorado” and “Women Who Light the Community” among others. She is a Lecturer for CU Boulder’s Dance Dept. Ms. Smith also co-wrote the first book on the history / theory of Aerial Dance with Jayne Bernasconi.
Anastasia Timina first discovered aerial in 2011 as a physical outlet, but quickly fell in love with its creative possibilities. She committed to circus as a career in 2013 and has since performed in shows and taught in studios across the country. She is now the Rigging Manager, Pro-Training Program Coach, Professional Performance Company Member, and multi-apparatus Instructor for Frequent Flyers. Anastasia’s movement style is dark and dramatic, a mixture of slow hypnotic movement and fast dynamic sequences. Her emphasis is on fascinating shapes and clean lines all while upholding the illusion of defying gravity. She approaches teaching skills through the incremental progressions of a martial artist, informed by kinesthetics and anatomy. Anastasia enjoys, teaches, and performs all forms of aerial, but specializes in rope. She completed the Aerial Teacher Training Program in January of 2016 and since has been working as a coach to help others discover their potential to fly.
Artoor Voskanian
Since discovering aerial arts in 2015, Artoor has been honing and fine-tuning his technique and presence in the air. He became dedicated to fully immersing himself in his training, learning as much as he could from a multitude of coaches across the country. Although having an all-around foundation across the traditional aerial disciplines, Artoor’s focus is his work on the Aerial Hoop. As a Coach, Artoor is excited to share his depth of knowledge of aerial technique. His mission is to help his students understand the apparatus as an extension of their bodies and not just a piece of equipment. He has spent his time carefully understanding finesse and style in addition to possessing a solid technical foundation. His students can expect to better understand how their bodies move off the ground.
