Workshops
We offer an ever changing schedule of workshops from elite visiting instructors from around the world and our own local homegrown talent!
Read more about our current workshop offerings below. Scroll down for the sign up widget. (Widget not loading? Try our MindBody page directly here. Works best on desktop.)
Ginger Snaps
Ginger Snaps, the Tastiest Tease in Texas, is a long time burlesque performer, aerialist, and enthusiastic shenanigan instigator! She has been voted the "Best Burlesque Performer" in Austin by the Austin Chronicle reader's poll every year since 2016 because she is fortunate to live and perform in a city as weird as she is. She has been seen on stages and screens around the world and is an avid fat-activist and founder of the Aerials for Plus Sized Bodies program and accompanying professional development workshops. Ginger loves to spend time in the ocean looking at sea creatures and has been an honorary mermaid ever since a whale shark forced her to ride it!
Managing Stage Fright: Move Past Fear to Connect With Your Audience
Do you love to perform but struggle to manage stage fright/anxiety? Then this workshop is for you!
Most performers, in any genre, experience anxiety about performing and this workshop is appropriate for any type of performer, on the stage or in the air!
Prerequisites: None
What to Bring/Wear:
Dress in comfortable clothes you can move in and bring a pen/ paper if you'd like to take any notes.
There are no shoes allowed on the floor of the studio we are in so bring socks if you'd like.
Friday, April 19, 2024
6:30pm - 7:45pm
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Jenny Kim Thiem
Jenny is a German-American quadruple threat performer: a singer, dancer, actress, and acrobat! Trained in classical ballet from age of 4, she studied dance at the Mid-Pacific Institute School of the Arts, followed by a degree in Musical Theatre Performance from the Academy of Stage Arts in Oberursel, Germany.
She brings more than 15 years of professional international performance experience as both a singer and dancer, and has performed as a circus artist and contortionist both as a soloist and with Duo Gravity. Her specialty is her “singing aerialist” act, which combines aerial acrobatics with live vocals, including several of her own original numbers.
Want more one on one time? Book Jenny for a private lesson. Contact the Front Desk for availability and to schedule!
Are you a singer who’s always wondered if it’s possible to sing upside-down? Have you ever been inspired to combine your passion for singing and aerial training? Jenny will draw on her years of performance experience to teach you the basics of combining live vocals while moving skillfully through your choreography. This workshop is designed to share technical and artistic knowledge and to explore the possibilities of singing live while performing aerial acrobatic choreography on various aerial apparatuses.
Prerequisites:
Best for intermediate students in any apparatus; experienced beginners with a strong basic knowledge and familiarity with their apparatus are also welcome.
Must be able to run full sequences in the air confidently and safely.
Must know chosen lyrics by heart
Must be open to changing or restructuring music and choreography
What to Bring/Wear: Fitting attire for your apparatus, no jewelry. If you own a headset mic please bring it for demo purposes.
Friday, May 10, 2024
6:00pm - 7:30pm
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Jamiza Dar
Jamiza can now be found involving himself with circuses all around Central Texas and beyond, studying cyr wheel and the aerial arts, and performing in events for the San Antonio Zoo, Luminaria, and Sea World of Texas, to name a few. They are an instructor and company member at both The Aerium and Cirque Aria, two San Antonio circus schools that emerged in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. They still performs music, most often with their band Royal Flush and The Jacks of All Trades, and they play Monster Hunter way more often than they should (they have the Fatalis armor to prove it).
Jamiza is available for private lessons while he’s in town too! Contact our Front Desk team to schedule!
Cyr Wheel: Basics of the Spin (Two Day Workshop)
No prior cyr experience required! This workshop will begin to explore the basic foundational movements of cyr wheel. You will begin to learn the waltz and center spin, the two most common spins within the wheel, as well as manipulations from outside the wheel. No, you won’t roll over your fingers!
Wheels will be provided as needed for participants whose heights are between 4’ 10” - 5’ 11”. Students who are shorter than 4’ 10” or taller than 5’ 11” may still participate, but may experience difficulty with some techniques.
NOTE: To ensure that all participants have access to appropriate equipment, enrollment is based on height. See below and make sure you sign up for an appropriate height group.
Students may also provide their own cyr wheel, if they have access to one. All outside equipment is subject to inspection and approval; to begin this process, please fill out the Personal Equipment Use Request Form.
Prerequisites: None!
These are three opportunities to take this two day workshop this spring!
Friday April 12 & Saturday April 13
Friday May 10 & Saturday May 11
Friday May 31 & Saturday June 1
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Xochitl Sosa
Born in Oakland, CA Xochitl Sosa grew up sandwiched between the urban culture of the bay area and the fertile soils of the redwoods. Exposure to circus at a young age gave Xochitl a purpose. Opening opportunities, circus taught her how to balance life and direct her duality into art.
These experiences that shaped her upbringing construct the narrative of her choreography. Specializing in aerial dance, she has been a highlighted artist and coach in the circus community since 2007. Her original work has won such praise as an Isadora Duncan Award and she has worked as an artist most notably with Cirque du Soleil, Acrobatic Conundrum and Zaccho Dance Theater.
Xochitl recognizes circus arts as a limitless vehicle for storytelling. Its intensity and risk call for trust, communication, vulnerability, and presence. As Founder and Artistic Director of Cirque Vida, a new contemporary circus company, Xochitl merges disciplines in an innovative way to highlight human experiences. Recognizing the need for diverse narratives, Xochitl is committed to collaborating and creating space for BIPOC and LGBTQ artists to bring their stories to the stage.
Dance Trapeze: Exploring the Ropes
This workshop explores different skills using the ropes. We will look at ways to mount and wrap the trapeze to make shapes and use ropes to find transitions.
Prerequisites:
Intermediate Trapeze or higher
Comfortable inverting in the ropes, comfortable with hooking foot on ropes, can maintain control of the trapeze.
Tuesday, May 28, 2024
5:30pm - 7:00pm
This workshop will work on duo straps skills. We will learn spinning sequences as well as some loop straps sequences. We will learn skills that have both some traditional base flyer poses and some skills for like sized partnerships.
You do not need a partner to attend, but if you’d like to bring one, each of you should sign up for a spot!
Prerequisites:
Comfortable with short-arm inversions, able to hold a straddle upside down.
Comfortable in a one arm hang.
Ability to spin.
Solo straps experience is suggested but not necessary.
Tuesday, May 28, 2024
7:30pm - 9:00pm
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Miss Kim Lee
Kim Lee (she/her) is a creative, twisted dominant who currently lives in Austin, TX. She has been a domme for over 15 years and a rope enthusiast for the last eight years.
Her rope journey has been an incredible process of self-discovery through self-suspension, rope bottoming, and rope topping.
She is co-founder of The Empty Space, which is an alternatives tudio in Austin and she has been a leader for the local group Austin Rope Slingers, online community Self-Tie Tuesday, and NARIX (North American Rope Innovation eXchange).
She loves being in control and creative, and views kink as a great way to explore the marriage of these two passions.
Introduction to Self-Tying with Rope
This workshop will have two main components:
Self-Tying 101
We will go over everything from the very beginning including what type of rope to buy, what safety measures you should take, and why self-tying is fun in the first place. The second half of this class will demonstrate a few beginner techniques in rope that will give you the basics to pursue any other beginner level ties.
One Rope Self-Ties
No matter what kind of flavor you would like to add into your play, one rope can get the job done. We will explore all these different elements of rope play in this class through both demonstration and tie-along exercises.
Prerequisites: None
What to Bring/Wear: Please wear a bodysuit or tight workout shirt and tight shorts or leggings. Rope will be provided
Sunday, June 2, 2024
1pm - 4:30pm
This workshop will have two main components:
Rope 101
This class is for folks who are interested in beginning their rope journey but have no idea where to start. We will go over everything from what type of rope to buy, what safety measures you should take, and why tying is fun in the first place. The second half of this class will demonstrate a few beginner techniques in rope and a single column tie that will give you the basics to pursue any other beginner level education.
Building the Rope Toolbox
After learning a single column tie, the biggest question is “Where do I go from here?” We will focus on both lab time and play time for two different rope experiences you can have with your partner: sensory play and body manipulation.
Prerequisites: None
What to Bring/Wear: For anyone planning on tying - comfortable clothes you can move your body around in, For anyone planning on being tied - bodysuit or tight workout shirt and tight shorts or leggings. Rope will be provided.
Saturday, July 13, 2024
1:00pm - 4:30pm