Kinetic Theory - Circus Arts Classes

Stephanie Abrams
Head Teacher & Artistic Director
Stephanie has been teaching, directing and choreographing circus and theatre for the past 10 years. Drawing from her own experience training and performing solo and doubles contortion and acrobatics as well as over 20 years in theatre and mime, she has created a unique approach to both circus and physical theatre training and performance.

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Karyne & Sarah Steben
Aerial Teachers
Identical twins, Karyne and Sarah have been performing their whole lives. As daughters of a Canadian TV personality, they were introduced to acting and theatre at a young age. Karyne and Sarah joined Cirque du Soliel at the age of 16 and spent the next 15 years touring and perfecting their doubles trapeze act. Their signature doubles act, the first to feature a foot to foot catch on the swinging trapeze, was a highlight of Cirque du Soliel shows Saltimbanco and O as well as Teatro Zinzanni and numerous festivals. Now Karyne and Sarah share their vast knowledge of aerial performance with the next generation of circus artists.

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Eric Newton
Aerial Teacher
Eric Newton is an accomplished performer, actor & acrobat, with over 20 years of experience in theatre, film and television. Eric currently performs solo, duo and group aerials, ground acrobatics and character driven comic acts as a free lance artist and with Eye of Newt Circus, which he founded in 2002. He has performed across America and internationally with Cirque du Soleil (Quidam); Cirque Eloize (Cirque Orchestre); Neil Goldberg's Cirque Dreams; and Teatro ZinZanni and recently choreographed and performed in the circus interlude in an acclaimed production of Pagliacci at the Seattle Opera, which the Seattle Times declared, “spectacular”! He has also been featured in films including principle role in Ron Howard's The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and he, along with the entire Eye of Newt Circus, did acrobatic stunts for The Polar Express. His innovative shows in Los Angeles and beyond have earned him acclaim (Dramalogue Award) and recent profiles in the LA Weekly, on news shows on KNBC in Los Angeles and KOMO in Seattle

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David Garcia
Costume Designer & Aerial SpecialisT
David is an experienced tissue artist and one of the only men worldwide specializing in aerial contortion. He has performed with AcroSports City Circus, Velocity Circus, Make-A-Circus and the Vau de Vire Society to name a few. He has also been coaching gymnastics and circus arts for the past 8 years and was the head aerial coach and circus program director at AcroSports, one of San Francisco's top circus schools. David is also a renowned costume designer and make-up artist and is known for single handedly "beautifying" the Bay Area circus community.

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Daniel Gutierrez
Rigging & Technical Director
Daniel’s overwhelmingly long incumbency with theater has enabled him to develop a myriad of skills (most of which shall go unheard of and or recognized); nevertheless, his true passion in theater is aerial rigging & aerial acrobatics. He was trained in rigging in the US Coast Guard and has since put his skills to work for many circus and aerial dance troupes including: AcroSports City Circus, Capacitor, Dance Brigade and Sky Dancers. Daniel also serves as the technical director for the Counterpulse Theatre in San Francisco and Shotgun Players in Berkeley.