The inaugural PRO Talks launched with a discussion about the melding of science/tech and circus.

What can you do to make your show stand out? Use the world of science and technology to augment the performance experience! Now that STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) has become STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math), the time for exploring the possibilities between the arts and tech world has come. Moderator Nadine Johnson and guests discuss the implications that tech in circus has in education, funding and show marketability.

Moderator

Nadine Johnson  works globally as a creative professional with focus on human-centered design through colour and material, innovation, and sustainable technology. Her life in movement arts includes circus, meditation and yoga. She holds degrees in Design and Engineering.

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Panelists

Craig Quat is a renowned theorist and practitioner of inclusive social circus pedagogy.
He investigates the properties of juggling and searches for ways to make it more accessible to more people. In attempting to do so he created a discipline known as Functional Juggling, which formulates an equation of the sensory experience of juggling based on the relationships it allows us to form with space and time. Craig’s ideas make up the foundational philosophies of Functional Juggling and have inspired a new generation of educators to dream bigger and imagine more, than ever before.

Greg Kennedy (founder of Circadium & PSCA) is an internationally-renowned modern juggler, who performed as The Scientist in Cirque du Soleil’s show Totem from 2010-2014.  He has won gold medals at the International Jugglers Association Championship twice, appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and performed on five different continents.  He is currently presenting several different shows at venues around the world – details here.

Naël Jammal started circus at the age of 11. He trained at l’École Nationale de Cirque de Châtellerault (France) for three years from 2001 to 2004 and at the world renowned National Circus School (ENC) of Montreal for four years from 2004 to 2008. After 7 years of intense training in circus art, his artistic qualities allow him to create a touching, poetic universe at the frontier of dance, theater and contemporary circus. He was soon noticed by the Montreal based company The 7 Fingers in which he performed during many years in shows like Traces, La Vie, PSY and the four Tony Awards® winner, Pippin the Musical on Broadway. During his carrier, Naël had the opportunity to work for the world leading circus companies such as Cirque Éloize, Cirque du Soleil and most recently for the french company Cirque Le Roux. As an active artist and creator, in parallel of performing on stage, he started since 2016 a research project integrating new technology in circus arts, called CirK 2.2. This research, which was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, is a sound/movement based project with the intention of creating a universe where the artist and the circus discipline are an integral part of the musical creation.

This PRO Talk took place on April 24th, 2021. Access recording here.

Nadine Johnson

Designer, Engineer -United States

Nadine Johnson works globally as a creative professional with focus on human-centered design through colour and material, innovation, and sustainable technology. Her life in movement arts includes circus, meditation and yoga. She holds degrees in Design and Engineering.