American Circus Educators Magazine Spring 2017 (Issue 1, Vol 9) | Page 8

“I am the executive director of the
Philadelphia school of Circus Arts and
the new circus school Circadium. I've
been involved with circus for over 25
years. I learned to unicycle and juggle
when I was a kid. I went to Circomedia
in the UK in 1995-1996 and learned
trapeze and tightrope walking and all
of those wonderful things. When I came
back, I did freelance performing and
started teaching in early 2000. I didn't
get involved with AYCO and ACE until the
last couple of years because from 2010 to
2013 my husband and kids and I went on
the road with the Cirque du Soleil show
Totem. So we were traveling all over
the world for four years. When we got
back, it was time for me to step in and get
involved. The organization has grown to
a wonderful place where we have Amy
Cohen as the executive director—and
so many great things are going on in this
sector—and I have been so happy to be
part of it.”
— Shana Kennedy
ADAM WOOLLEY
Safety Program Committee Chair
Adam is a hand balancing and
rope coach who has trained and
taught all over the US over the
past 9 years. He graduated from
the first pro-track class at the
New England Center for Circus
Arts in 2007, and continued
his training in Chicago and San
Francisco before moving to NYC
in 2010 and starting a career as a
full time coach. He has coached
aerials and hand balancing for Circus
Warehouse, NECCA, and his own
private studio, Circus Edge. He is
currently the Head Coach at the
Philadelphia School of Circus Arts,
safety program manager for ACE,
and the managing director and co-
founder of Circus Now, a non-profit
organization dedicated to supporting
the evolution of circus arts in the
United States.
TARA JACOB
Hup Squad Coordinator/Youth
Committee Liaison
Tara first fell in love with the fun,
creativity, and community she found
in the circus as a teenager at The
Circus Space in London, and went
on to found the Circus Folk Unite!
collective at Hampshire College.
She then completed the 2012-2013
pro-track program at the New
England Center for the Circus Arts.
Now she is an instructor at SHOW
Circus Studio in Easthampton, MA!
She is also the AYCO Hup Squad
action team liason, coordinating
the AYCO CircusIsMyLife youth blog
with a bunch of fierce and fantastic
teenagers from across the country.
MARIBETH JOY
Treasurer
This month marks the end of Maribeth's
seven year term on our board. We are
incredibly grateful for her dedication
to AYCO and investment in the national
dialogue about youth and social circus.
She has been, and continues to be, a
beacon of light and inspiration for youth
and social circus communities around
the globe.
Maribeth joined CircEsteem in 2004
as a volunteer juggling instructor not
realizing that she would spend the
next 10 years of her life dedicated
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to CircEsteem’s mission of uniting
youth from diverse backgrounds
and building self-esteem and mutual
respect through the circus arts. As
the Executive Director until 2016,
her vision and commitment to social
circus has been instrumental in
CircEsteem’s growth and success.
SHANA KENNEDY
Member
Shana is the Founding Director of
the Philadelphia School of Circus
Arts, and the Executive Director of
Circadium. She trained as an aerialist
and a juggler at Circomedia, in
England, and performed for many
years in both capacities. She began
teaching aerial skills in her home and
backyard in 2001. In 2006 Air Play
was founded as a performance and
teaching company; it evolved in 2008
to the full-fledged PSCA facility.
She is deeply committed to the
growing presence of circus artistry
and education in the U.S., and to
furthering the sector as a whole.
JEN AGANS
Member
Jen Agans, Ph.D., is a research
scientist at Cornell University, where
she works to build synergy between
youth development research and
practice. She grew up in youth
circus, training with Jackie and Rick
Davis beginning in middle school,
touring with Circus Smirkus in 2004,
and coaching at the Silver Lining
Circus Camp from 2005 to 2009
before serving as camp director
from 2010 to 2014. Jen has been a
member of AYCO since 2001, only
missed one AYCO festival (2007), and
has been bringing her research and
evaluation perspective to AYCO/ACE
conferences since 2010.
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