Alumni Cabaret Contributors

Chelsea graduated from NECCA’s Intensive Professional Training Program in 2017. Aerial fabric is her first love, though she is a well rounded aerialist, performing on rope, trapeze, cloud swing, sling and spanish web. As a singer- songwriter, pianist and multi-instrumentalist, Chelsea loves to collaborate with musicians. Chelsea spent 8 years managing her own business teaching circus arts in Bellingham, WA, directed the all volunteer monthly variety show, Vaudevillingham, for 6 years and performed in countless productions with the Bellingham Circus Guild. Chelsea has performed with The Tall House Arts Consortium, The Bellingham Circus Guild, Lookout Arts Quarry, New Old Time Chautauqua, The Beery House Shows and in collaboration with musicians from Seattle to San Francisco. Festival season finds her at The Subdued Stringband Jamboree, Summer Meltdown, Sh’Bang, Circus on the Water, Circus Campout, Happy Little Farms Show, Anacortes Arts Festival and more.

Jay is a NECCA ProTrack graduate based in Aotearoa (New Zealand) with a background in dance, music, and fine arts. He has performed with internationally renowned circus company The Dust Palace, as well as many other arts companies within Aotearoa, including the world recognised World of Wearable Arts. He specialises in Duo Trapeze and Aerial Straps, and has choreographed many large pieces as well. Further contributions include co-founding an award-winning circus theatre company, Manubrium Circus Theatre, and co-directing Aotearoa’s premiere youth circus company HighJinx, which has also received awards for fusing circus arts and film, and a postgraduate degree from The University of Auckland where he has also guest lectured.

Violet Defiant // creator, writer, performer, educator // swinging trapezist, hand balancer, static trapezist, partner acrobat, object manipulator. Violet is a multidisciplinary circus artist, specializing in acrobatic and lyric storytelling. She graduated from NECCA’s ProTrack program in 2022, and has been creating and touring with the queer, rural circus collective Big Teeth Performance Collective since. In Goodbye Party The Show, Violet used her technique as a foot juggler and trapeze artist to tell stories about climate catastrophe with grit and heart. You can find her online @violetdefiantcircus.

Abigail (she/her) is a circus artist and stage manager from Madison, WI. She recently graduated from NECCA’s protrack program. Where she majored in Lyra and minored in… boxes? Abigail enjoys playing with concepts that are unusual or that make her giggle and is in the constant pursuit of spinning fast enough to break the sound barrier. When not training circus, she can be found stage managing and giving chatty performers the “hook look”. Abigail has been awarded “Outstanding Student Employee of the Year” for stage management. Still wondering what the “hook look” is? Hire her and find out.

Ben is a nonbinary circus performer from Brattleboro, Vermont. They started attending NECCA as a child and were quickly drawn towards hand balancing, hula hooping, and acrobatics. They toured with Circus Smirkus for three years and have since gone on to perform with AIDA Cruises, Cirque Imagination, Cirque Us, Cirq Motif, Confetti Cabaret, Metta Theatre, Nimble Arts, The Boston Circus Guild, and Wunderle's Big Top Adventures. Ben won the 2019 Windham County's Got Talent competition and in 2021 they moved to London where they perform and teach across the UK and Europe specializing in circus theatre.

Sophie grew up in Brattleboro, Vermont where she discovered NECCA at a young age. She spent much of her childhood in the air, and enjoyed performing with NECCA each summer. She has continued her training at Esh Circus Arts, and began her journey as an instructor there. She has been teaching at Esh for nine years, and is now a Senior Coach. Sophie credits circus with her ability to express herself openly and creatively, and believes that it is the best way in which to meet incredible and diverse people. Sophie has also taught at Commonwealth Circus Center, Circus Smirkus, and NECCA.

Brooke was drawn to the Chinese pole when she realized how grounded the apparatus was making it the closest circus discipline to her first love dance. She studied Chinese pole in the protrack program with the one and only Sandra Fuesi. Since then she has been sailing the seas performing with the 7 fingers for Duel Reality. She has loved getting to revisit her act that she created in her second year of the program.

Locksley is a 2021 graduate of the New England Center for Circus arts professional program Protrack, where she majored in tight wire and minored in bungee trapeze. She also has experience in partner acrobatics as a base, and in aerial hoop both solo and duo. Locksley is currently living in Northern Ontario on the largest fresh water island in the world. Since graduating she now trains exclusively outside which has been quite an adventure

Originally from New Orleans but currently calling Vermont home, Rachel is a magnetic performer specializing in aerial rope. After earning a degree in Theatre Arts from Boston University, Rachel went on to train at the New England Center for Circus Arts, graduating in 2019. Recently, Rachel has performed on Virgin Voyages with the 7 Fingers and Kaleidoscope Entertainment, and looks forward to performing her rope number on tour with Cirque Dreams, Holidaze this holiday season. Find out more about her work at rachelmrees.com and Instagram at @rachel_rees

Bailey is a Los Angeles-based circus artist specializing in baton twirling and dance trapeze. After a childhood of competitive twirling, dance, and theater, she turned to NECCA for professional circus arts training. Bailey has performed her work across the country, from festivals in the San Diego and Las Vegas to classic symphony halls with Troupe Vertigo. She is also a passionate coach, and loves helping her students of all ages find their individuality and personal strength through circus.