SUPER SATURDAY
8th August 2026
Join us on Saturday 8th August for a day of labs and deeper dives into apparatus.
9am - 10am - Warmups
Dance Warm Up
9am - 10am - Tutor Lee Clayden
Easing you gently into your day, we’ll begin with a floor warm, checking in with where you’re at; sensing and listening, before shifting into encouraging more heat into the body as we move into and around the space. A really fun class of simple led sequences and suggestions for travelling across the floor and through life
VAYU® Aerial Yoga Warmup
9am - 10am - Tutor Lee Clayden
An aerial yoga practice created by Ana Prada, the focus of this class will be to open and connect the body slowly and becoming aware of the breath. The VAYU practice takes the body to a much deeper level. Using the support of the swing we are able to challenge the body moving through various postures, as well as allowing the nervous system to relax, encouraging a letting go into complete surrender Preparing and re-setting the body in a supported, intelligent manner.
Yoga Warmup
9am - 10.00am - Tutor TBC
Yoga warmup TBC
10.15am - 12.45pm - Lab Timeslot #1
'Dissecting Aerial' Flexibility with Carolyn Ailsa + Speaker
10.15am – 12.45pm - Atrium, Space A
Improvers Up
Flexibility and hypermobility practical and discussion with guest speaker Jessica Eccles (TBC).
Vertical Dance Lab with Magalie Lanriot
10.15am - 12.45pm - Space B, Wall
Intermediate Up
This Lab aims to develop dancers’ awareness of their own bodies and their relationship to different surfaces, interchanging and exchanging between the floor and the wall and exploring the sense of depth and orientation, alongside disorientation.
It also offers an opportunity to research new impetus for movement between body, rope, and harness, as we consider gravity, space, distance and time through the falling body.
Low Fly Harness Lab with Lindsey Butcher
10.15am – 12.45pm - Space C, Centre close to exit
All Levels
This low fly lab is a single point harness class in free space that works in and out of contact with the floor using abseil lines and climbing equipment.
Beginning with a movement warm up we’ll then move into the air to visit some of the fundamentals, before introducing new rigging propositions and use guided improvisation tasks to find moments of suspension and flight whilst dancing on the floor.
We’ll work in solos, pairs and groups to explore finding techniques for flying and partnering with momentum and sensitivity, giving and supporting weight and expanding our range of spatial orientation.
Counterweight Lab with Chantal McCormick & Pepe
10.15am - 12.45pm - Space D, Free-Standing Rig
Improver Up
Counterweight flying and dance using side pick-up harnesses.
This lab is suitable for anyone who attended the Explorers and up class from Mon – Fri or has previous side pick experience.
This is a really fun fast-moving class. We will recap some technique to ensure everyone is on the same page before moving on to learn some rep. Although in this lab we won’t be learning the role of the counter-weighter, flyers will still get to be lifted and experience the joys of that.
Towards the end of the lab we’ll move into more creative play to find your own dance as a flyer.
Please wear multiple snug layers around your hips, waist and thighs for your comfort and bring crystallised ginger for the non-spinners among us!
Rope & Fabric Partner Work Lab with Gaia Santuccio
10.15am - 12.45pm - Space E, close to stage
Skilled/Advanced
Partner Work is a lab dedicated to exploring how two bodies can move, communicate, and create together in the air. The aim of this workshop is to deepen the understanding of the principles that allow partners to share weight, intention, and space on the rope or fabric, moving beyond conventional approaches to duo work.
Through guided improvisation tasks, participants will investigate close physical connection and the subtle dialogue that emerges when communication happens only through the body rather than through words. The work encourages curiosity and experimentation, opening space to discover alternative pathways, unexpected solutions, and the generation of new material.
We will explore how to support, guide, listen to, and move with one another safely and creatively, while developing trust between partners. Participants will also experience the apparatus from new perspectives, expanding their awareness of their own body, their partner’s body, and the shared relationship with the apparatus.
The practice invites a heightened sensitivity to connection, presence, and listening, building a physical conversation where movement becomes the language through which we speak.
Straps Lab with Amelia Thornton & Maisie Mo
1pm - 3.30pm - Space E, close to stage
Intermediate Up
Prerequisites: being able to hold a one arm meat hook.
This 2.5 hour lab will focus on creativity on straps, exploring sequencing and abstracting movement patterns to find different technique. We will look at the use of creative methodology graphs and systematic approaches to generating new aerial vocabulary. This may be particularly useful for people who feel that straps are quite a restrictive discipline/ who feel limited to “traditional” technique and would like to be able to explore more on the discipline.
1.15pm - 3.45pm - Lab Timeslot #2
Cyr Wheel Lab with Beverley Grant
1.15pm - 3.45pm - Space A, Atrium
Improver Up
This longer cyr wheel session is suitable for everyone. For those who are new to Cyr wheel there will be a quick introduction to manipulations, playing games before working together creatively to make our own group sequences. For those who are more experienced we will delve deeper into joining sequences in more interesting ways, looking at creative entries and exits from the wheel and making short sequences.
Vertical Dance Lab with Lindsey Butcher or Lee Clayden TBC
1.15pm - 3.45pm - Space B, Wall
Explorers/Improvers
This is a single point harness class where we work in contact with the wall, meaning your usual dance floor is flipped through 90 degrees. We’ll begin by explaining the aerial rigging and understanding how to use it safely, (single point climbing harness and climbing equipment) before starting to explore the foundations of Vertical Dance technique.
As the class progresses, we’ll move through basic orientation and vocabulary before working towards simple sequencing and jumps.
The vertical dance Intro technique class is for anyone wishing to try vertical dance for the first time and those with a small amount of experience, (less than 10 hours of prior wall time). A reasonable level of fitness, arm strength and core abdominal stability is desirable - that you could hold a plank on the floor for 10 seconds.
Not being able to do this doesn’t preclude you from attending it may just make your journey slightly more challenging.
What to wear
Please wear multiple snug layers around your hips and waist for your comfort. Long sleeved t-shirts are also handy for some moves. We usually work barefoot.
Fabric Lab with Kate Dunne- "Knot my Problem"
1.15pm – 3.45pm - Space C, Centre close to exit
Intermediate Up
Fancy brain bending choreography on fabric? Then this one's for you! Kate’s approach to choreography blends structured and unstructured improvisation, challenging students to explore fluid transitions, shifting directions, and tangley sequences.
Participants will be guided through brain-teasing choreography that encourages personal adaptation and creative expression. Expect a focus on flowy pathways, innovative applications of technical skills, and smooth integration of elements such as simple rolls, supported arm breakers (not as scary as they sound - maybe), and back balances.
Pre-requisites:
✅ Good understanding of aerial silks pathways (a well-developed "fabric brain")
✅ Comfortable with back balance and weight shifts
✅ Good stamina for sustained aerial work
Join Kate for an inspiring session where technique meets artistry, and explore new ways to trust and interact with the silks!
Dance Trapeze Lab with Laila Umeko
1.15pm - 3.45pm - Space D, Free-standing Rig
Intermediate Up
TBC
Rope and Floor Lab with Gaia Santuccio
1.15pm – 3.45pm - Space E, close to stage
Intermediate Up
The focus of this work is to delve into the interplay between rope and ground, expanding our understanding and movement possibilities while working with the apparatus on the floor.
We will investigate our relationship with the ground and explore how the floor can become a partner, both technically and creatively. Through this process, we will observe how proximity to the ground transforms our movement and expands the vocabulary that emerges from our interaction with the rope.
The body becomes the meeting point between floor and air, a space of transition where these two realms influence and inform one another. By working within this in-between state, participants will explore how the qualities of grounded movement can transform the way we approach the rope, and how the rope can in turn reshape movement on the floor.
As part of the workshop, Gaia will share elements of her repertoire through a short choreography that participants will learn and explore together, while also unfolding the creative processes that underpin her personal Floor Rope research.
Hoop Lab with Jenny Tufts
1.15pm - 3.45pm - Space F
Skilled/Advanced
In this creative lab, we'll explore methods of mining our existing skillsets for new treasures. If you find yourself repeating the same skills over and over and are desperate to find your own aerial voice, this is the place for you! Thoughtfully guided exercises will nudge you out of old patterns, hopefully sparking new ideas that feel fresh with possibility.
Prerequisites: Students should have a strong aerial hoop practice in order to feel comfortable on the apparatus during sustained experimentation.
4.15pm - 6.45pm - Lab Timeslot #3
TBC Lab with TBC
4.15pm – 6.45pm - Space A, Atrium
Improvers Up
TBC
Partner Stretch/Massage with Magalie Lanriot
4.15pm - 6.45pm - Space B, Wall
All Levels
In this warm down session, you’ll be led through simple Tailendaise massage sequences (Shiatsu and Thai), to ease up any pain and soreness in the body.
We will target different areas of the body involved in aerial work e.g. the rotator cuff, the core muscles, the forearms and the lower back/pelvis and work with a partner to encourage greater flexibility, find space in the body, and a practical understanding of how to use these techniques to enhance your training.
Hanging with Awareness with Ana Prada
4.15pm – 6.45pm - Space C, Centre close to exit
Skilled/Advanced
Hanging with Awareness is an Aerial Dance masterclass by Ana Prada, that proposes an in-depth exploration of movement in suspension from a *somatic and conscious perspective*. The class places particular emphasis on breath, as the central organizing principle of movement, using it as a tool to regulate effort, support body weight, and promote fluidity and safety in aerial practice.
Through practices that integrate conscious breathing, the class aims to facilitate *nervous system regulation*, supporting states of presence, calm, and focused attention even under conditions of physical demand. This approach contributes to the reduction of unnecessary muscular tension, the enhancement of proprioceptive awareness, and the development of a more efficient and sustainable relationship with the aerial apparatus.
The somatic dimension of the work encourages an internal listening to the body, allowing practitioners to identify points of support, movement patterns, and physiological and perceptual responses while suspended. Transitions, suspensions, and controlled falls are explored through awareness of weight, internal rhythm, and bodily organization, with particular attention to injury prevention and the long-term sustainability of movement practices.
A pedagogical and experiential space in which sensitivity and integrated technique coexist, fostering a dialogue between strength and softness. Each breath accompanies and informs the gesture, inviting practitioners to engage not only with the aerial apparatus, but also with the present moment as a site of embodied awareness.
Creative Accessibility in Performance
with Erin Ball & Maxime Beauregard
4.15pm - 6.45pm - Space D, Free-standing Rig
All Levels
Co-led by Disabled artists Maxime Beauregard and Erin Ball, this workshop shares the artists’ approach to collaborative creative accessibility which strives to enhance artistic projects while remaining functional. Erin and Maxime will offer information on how artists can integrate these concepts into their own work. Multiple ways to engage with the information will be offered; practical applications, videos, discussions, and more. There will also be optional movement offerings.
♿ Access Notes: This session will be in English with live captioning. There will not be BSL interpretation. All visual material will be described/ is low vision-friendly. We will strive to create a relaxed space. You will not be put on the spot. Everything is optional. You are welcome to move, stim, take breaks as needed, and communicate in ways that work for you. We will give content notices for any intense material or subjects that might require emotional labour and we'll give the option to take a break at that time if anyone is not in the space to take in that information. We will have a formal break halfway through as well.
✅ We will offer an optional check in and these are the prompts:
Name
Pronouns (if you use them and are comfortable sharing)
Access Check In (anything that you need for our time together)
Expectations or questions
Anything else you would like to share
We are excited to work with you! If you have any questions, you can connect with us at kingsoncircusarts@gmail.com
'Dissecting Aerial' Spin-pose-ium (Hoop) Symposium
with TBC
4.15pm - 6.45pm - Space F, Stage
Intermediate Up
TBC
Last Updated on April 20, 2026