Performance, Training and Rigging
Aerial Acrobatics, Dance and Circus In and Around the Nation's Capital
This website is a project of Washington DC aerial performance artists Ann Behrends and Sara Deull with the support of Jonathan Deull.
We are proud to part of an emerging community of aerial performers, students and teachers in the Washington DC area, and have put together this site as a resource and directory.
We can be reached by email at info@airbornedc.org or by telephone at 202 232-4138.
Special thanks to Baltimore-based Air Dance Bernasconi for the use of many of the photographs on these pages.
AirBorne DC! News
Getting AirBorne! at the INTERSECTIONS Festival 2011
Getting AirBorne! is a world premiere collaboration among diverse high-flying aerial artists exploring the intersections between dance and circus, poetry and comedy, youth and age, America and South Africa, and ultimately the ground and the air. It will be presented in two performances at the Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington, DC on March 5, 2011 as part of INTERSECTIONS: A New America Arts Festival.
Performance information and tickets are available at: www.intersectionsdc.org.
The production brings together a collection of very diverse approaches to aerial performance and presents them in a fun, engaging and family-friendly hour-long show. Our journey begins with the premise that “All of us want to fly” and ends with the realization that “All of us CAN fly.” Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the youth empowerment programs of the Zip Zap Circus School for Social Change in South Africa and Washington, DC. (www.zipzapcircususa.org)
To create the program we have invited colleagues from the Washington and Baltimore area aerial performance community to present notable existing and new works ranging from circus-style feats of daring, to groundbreaking conceptual contemporary aerial dance, to clowning and comedy. These performances will be woven together by the clown work of Baltimore-based aerial actor Mara Neimanis, who swill be our guide through the fast-moving proceedings. The show includes:
• Sorcerer, an excerpt from Liturgies. A rare and compelling recreation of a pioneering aerial dance piece created in the 1960’s by modern dance innovator Alwin Nikolais. Performed by Jayne Bernasconi with special permission of the Nikolais Louis Foundation for Dance.
• Suspension of Disbelief. A modern circus-style duo trapeze act by Sara Deull and Mark Harding, performed to lively South African rhythms.
• Sibling Rivalry. A fun and frenetic trio on fabric featuring 3 girls ("sisters") in a spirited and humorous argument/competition among themselves to see who can top whom, to a rewritten version of "Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better." Performed by Robin Berry, Raquel Hernandez-Sevier and 10-year-old Isabella Carstensen.
• Sonata. A lyrical look at the lyra choreographed for three performers by Ann Behrends to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.
• Expanding Circumstances. Choreographed by Jayne Bernsaconi and performed by Jayne and Guido DiSalvo, this whimsical piece uses bungee and harness to play with the connection between being “grounded” and being “airborne.”
• The River. Washington aerial duo Arachne Aerial Arts (Andrea Burkholder and Sharon Witting) connect air and water, flowing, soaring, spinning and diving on a unique aerial hammock, accompanied by video.
• Finding Forever. Five performers use unconventional movements and props from daily life to explore the idea of living forever joyously in the afterlife. Choreographed by Nina Charity with music by Mike Snow and The Mills Brothers.
• Unsung Rung. Physical comedy on trapeze and freestanding ladder performed by Moira Lee, in which our plucky, determined and eventually triumphant hero wrestles with how to reach a trapeze that is just out of reach.
For more information about the production, contact Ann Behrends (twogoodknees@gmail.com, 240.888.2180) or Jonathan Deull (jdeull@clarktransfer.com, 202.256.9207).
Aerial Rigging Workshops
Jonathan Deull and Delbert Hall conduct hands-on aerial rigging workshops for professional theatrical riggers, coaches, choreographers, facility managers and performers.
Workshops focus on rigging principles and practices, with a major emphasis on safety and risk management
For information, contact: info@airbornedc.org Click here or on the image to see photos from some of our workshops.
AirBorne! Mardi Gras
For the third year in a row, AirBorne! DC performers provided spectacular entertainment for the gala Louisiana Alive celebration at the Washington DC Hilton. Click here or on the image for some photos.
Arts on Foot Takes to the Air -- Again!
DC's annual Arts on Foot street festival got a lift this year with crowdstopping performances by AirBorne artists Ann Behrends, Jayne Bernasconi, Lizzie Cavenaugh-Broad, Nina Charity, Guido DiSalvo , LeeAnn Lenhart, Jessica Mislevy, and Carey Nagoda.
AirBorne! Celebrates Earth Day 2008
On Saturday, April 26, 2008, AirBorne! DC aerialists Ann Berends and Sara Deull performed suspended from the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge over Washington, DC's Anacostia River as part of the Anacostia Watershed Society's Earth Day Rally and Celebration.
Jayne Bernasconi Recreates Aerial History
On September 29, 2007 Jayne Bernasconi recreated Alwin Nikolais' Sorceror, one of the first aerial modern dance pieces (originally choreographed in the 1960s) as part of the Art of the Solo Show at the Baltimore Museum of Art. More information is available at www.theartofthesolo.org.
Aerial Dance Company Makes Waves:
One Fell Swoop at the Baltimore Museum of Art
Air Dance Bernasconi's recent show at the Baltimore Museum of Art had an underwater theme focusing on climate change and environmental stewardship. For more information: www.airdancebern.com
AirBorne DC! Performance Dazzles Kennedy Center Crowd
AirBorne DC! aerialists Ann Behrends, Sara Deull, Blair Lee, Moira Lee, Stephen Lee and Tiffany Race provided a dynamic opening for the 22nd Annual DC Mayor's Arts Awards at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall on March 19, 2007. Choreographed by Ann Behrends to the music of Benny Goodman and his Orchestra, the five-minute piece was webcast live as part of the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage program and can be viewed online at the Millennium Stage website or by following link: www.tinyurl.com/28st45.
© 2008 Ann Behrends and Sara Deull, all rights reserved.