CircEsteem has grown to such an amazing program because of the countless hours and limitless energy given by circus professionals, curious volunteers, and excited educators, passing on what they know. Our staff has gone on to tour with circuses as acrobats and clowns, gone to public and private schools bringing circus to their classrooms and started outreach programs of their own.
Maribeth joined CircEsteem in 2004 for its 4th Spring Circus as a stage manager, photographer and costume maker. She toured North and South America doing wardrobe and make up for Blue Man Group and has worked as a costumer and photographer with the Hawaiian Islands Community Circus Unity Project. She has led CircEsteem on tours [...]
Rachel joined CircEsteem in 2009 as an intern and spent six weeks learning why CircEsteem is so great, and how to juggle. She now works as the liaison to the many sites where CircEsteem offers circus programming. Originally from Maryland, Rachel rode an elephant when she was eight and decided right then, she should join [...]
Eric side-stepped into the circus world in the early days of CircEsteem. He started in 2001 with little more then a background in Fine Arts and some juggling skills. Now he can happily add walking on the rolling glob, poi, juggling, and teaching. Eric has almost as much fun learning these new skills [...]
Carlo Gentile, has been teaching circus arts to children and adults since 1994. Before starting to teach, Carlo performed with the Royal Lichtenstein Circus as a clown, juggler, unicyclist and diabolo artist. Carlo is a charter member of the American Youth Circus Organization.
Singing and dancing since age 3, Orlene Gentile started her work as [...]
Anthony Courser graduated from the Dell’ Arte School in Blue Lake, California in 1998 and studied clown under Sue Morrison at the Institute of Canadian Clown in Toronto. He has performed with the Dell’ Arte Players, touring California and Venezuela. Moved to Chicago in 1999 to form the clown company Asylum 137. Since the he has also created pieces of [...]
Elisabeth Gifford has been swinging, flipping and spinning her way through the circus industry since the age of twelve when the late, great Reg Bolton taught her to walk on stilts and have faith in her own abilities. She has a bachelor degree in circus arts from Australia’s National Institute of Circus Arts, where she trained with Arturo [...]
After graduating from University of California- Berkeley with a degree in Anthropology, Tera McBlaine started training at the Circus Center in San Francisco. She focused on Static Trapeze with some Spanish web, Chinese Pole, swinging trapeze and stretching technique. A move to New York came with new opportunities to pick up more skills in silks, hammock [...]
Andy Monson is a Chicago artist who has spent years working in theatre and circus. He holds an acting degree from Roosevelt University where he studied commedia as well as other forms of clowning. His first exposure to circus came from the Gamma Phi Circus of Illinois State University where he studied and later instructed in [...]
Colin focuses heavily upon looking at society from an adolescent android’s perspective of the world, an escapist, who revels in exploring the art of play. Specializing in Advanced uni-cycling and stilt-walking. Whether it be circus, singing, painting, or any number of mixed media, he creates a world of unbridled mischief and desires to amplify students and challenge [...]
Chris discovered CircEsteem in 2007, after studying at Dell Arte International. Since then he has preformed independently and with CircEsteem throughout Chicagoland and beyond. He trains with Wolfgang Bientzle on the gym wheel and in May 2009 he competed in the International Gym Wheel Competition in Switzerland and is ranked 16th in the world. Possessing [...]
Keland has been teaching for 10 years and recently completed two years as a full time Assistant Professor in Theatre and Movement in Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. He has worked as a professional actor on Shakespeare, classical pieces, original devised ensemble creations and contemporary pieces, improvisational theatre, buffoon, and clown work [...]
Claire is a native of St. Louis, Missouri and a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College with a BA in Theatre Arts. Highlights of her training in performance include a year at the British American Drama Academy in London, and summer programs with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and Northwestern University. Following graduation in 1999 [...]
Rackim joined CircEsteem in 2005. His favorite circus skills are lyra, contortion and tight wire. He also loves to dance. In 2009, Rackim participated in Joffrey Ballet’s Summer Intensive Dance program and recently completed a 9-month Professional Track Training Program at the New England Center for Circus Arts in Brattleboro, Vermont. Rackim has traveled and [...]
Nich began his circus career with CircEsteem in spring of 2005. It was here that he first started to learn and perform the wonderful arts of Circus! He also trains under Wolfgang Bientzle on the gym wheel. Nich represented the United States at the International Gym Wheel World Championships in Switzerland in 2009. [...]