BRATTLEBORO — The New England Center for Circus Arts will present its first end-of-year production, As One, with five shows June 7 through 9 at the NECCA trapezium in Brattleboro.
The 11 members of the ProTrack year 2 program will present the acts they have developed within an ensemble circus show featuring high flying aerials, daring acrobatics and theatrical interludes.
The show is co-directed by Sandra Feusi (Cirque du Soleil/Circus Knie) and Jamie Hodgson (Girls on Trapeze/ProTrack Director).
Levi Helton, a trampoline acrobat who moved from Hawaii to train full-time at NECCA, explained the inspiration of the show between practices on the trampoline.
“Our show As One is the culmination of two years working and growing and encouraging each other,” Helton said in a news release. “We created a special kind of energy within our group that has allowed us all to elevate our individual skills as well as the group skills.”
Co-director Sandra Feusi is originally from Switzerland and moved to Brattleboro to coach at NECCA after a career touring Europe and Asia and top awards at Cirque de Demain and Monte Carlo competitions.
“I have always been drawn towards a collaborative process when directing or choreographing a show,” Feusi said. “Here at NECCA, we have an arsenal of incredible coaches, motivated, creative, hardworking students, and an outstanding team of administrators. And we have this beautiful town that has supported us . . . and each show that has been created here is a testament to that.”
NECCA is a leading circus arts education center whose professional program graduates have gone on to perform at such renowned companies as Cirque du Soleil, 7 Fingers, Circa, and Big Apple Circus.
ProTrack Performer Brooke Locke decided to train at NECCA after she realized that all her home studio coaches had learned here.
“I wanted to make the leap to professional,” she said, “and NECCA was the full-time high level training program I needed.”
Locke said she is excited to perform what she has accomplished in her time at NECCA, and to share what helped her push through the hard work.
“As One means exactly what we are,” Locke says. “ProTrack is a team, a family. If one person is going through a rough time, we all do what we can to help them through, as one. When someone has successes we celebrate them, as one. We are always there for one another.”
Performances will include trapeze, aerial silks, circus pole, cyr wheel, trampoline, hand-balancing, and other arts.