Circus Showcase 2017 CIRCOSIS: LEFT BRAIN, RIGHT BRAIN

This June, the phenomenal imagination, athleticism and humour of Australia's next generation of circus talents will be on show when the National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA) presents Circosis: Left Brain, Right Brain, a two-part production of elite-level circus. Set in a world where obsession is the norm, the graduate showcase performances range from the poignant and evocative, to the flamboyant and outright absurd.

The twenty-three NICA circus artists have spent the last three years honing their circus and performance skills, guided by world-class trainers. They present spectacular solo acts such as aerial ladder, cloudswing, Chinese pole, hoop diving, trapeze, rolla bolla, rotating ring, tissu and roue Cyr.

Performers include Melbourne's Elise Nicole Jaworowski, a seasoned performer on aerial rope whose background includes studying criminal law in Japan and working on Norwegian cruise ships and Australian film sets; NYC-born circus, actor and stunt specialist Taylor Krasne, whose experience includes performing in Tim Robbins' The Actors' Gang in Los Angeles and harness work at Madison Square Garden for the rock band PHISH; Emily Gare's poetic rotating ring routine, which sees her trapped inside a bomb shelter; Jeff Young who juggles while playing Beethoven's Fifth Symphony on the piano; Jack Wilde whose ladder-walking act as a Las-Vegas-style performer exuberantly captures the razzle dazzle of golden age circus; and Katie Martin, who fell in love with Chinese pole acrobatics at the age of eight (after seeing Cirque du Soleil's show Saltimbanco), and is currently completing her PADI Dive Master Ticket, aspiring to become a scuba diver in water-based circus shows.

Circosis: Left Brain, Right Brain is directed by acclaimed circus and physical theatre artist, and Artistic Director of Dislocate, Kate Fryer. An accomplished writer and director, Fryer has directed large-scale outdoor spectaculars for The Melbourne Commonwealth Games, The Valladolid and Mas Nou festivals in Spain; worked with companies including Circus Oz, Circa, The Malthouse, The Victorian Opera, Legs On The Wall, and The Australian Shakespeare Company, and has been the assistant director of the Moomba Parade since 2013.

NICA is Australia's Centre of Excellence for training in contemporary circus arts. It is one of eight national arts training institutes and offers Australia's only Bachelor of Circus Arts. Graduates of NICA have gone on to pursue exciting careers both locally and internationally and have contributed to the development of Melbourne's vibrant circus arts industry.

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