In addition to being the Marketing Director at the Sky Candy Aerial and Circus Arts Studio in Austin, Texas, Joanna Wright is also a teacher and performer of aerial and circus arts.
Sky Candy is a circus arts studio dedicated to helping Austinites find their wings! They exist to foster a safe and supportive community for learning, performance and collaboration in the aerial and circus arts.
Sky Candy is not the typical dance studio that we highlight. For starters, they are a circus studio, which sets us apart in quite a few ways! Similarly to a dance studio, they hold regular classes in which their students learn to use their bodies in new and exciting ways, but unlike other dance studios, they encourage their students to get airborne! They pride themselves on having a culture of inclusion, which means that no-one will be turned away because of their age, weight or fitness level. They believe that the circus arts should be open to everyone, and their amazing students prove every day with their successes that this is true!
Does your child want to run away and join the circus? Now they can, with Sky Candy’s Spring Break Camp! Children ages 6 to 14 are invited to come fly, juggle, tumble, and play with them as they explore the fun and challenging world of the circus arts. Sky Candy’s Spring Break Camp includes a morning and afternoon aerial and circus camp. The circus arts are a great way for kids to gain strength, flexibility, coordination, and self-confidence. Camp will be held from March 16th through the March 20th, 2015, Monday through Friday, from 9am to 3pm, with a Saturday 10am performance. This session welcomes kids aged 6 to 14 who have at least completed Kindergarten. All levels of students are welcome. They will split up in groups by age and skill level to ensure everyone learns something new and challenging.
Any time one of Sky Candy’s students has a break-through or achieves a goal, it’s the most amazing feeling. This moment has come in many different forms for Joanna’s different students, but whether it’s doing their first performance, conquering a drop that has scared them for months, or just climbing to the top of the silks, Joanna is always thrilled to share her students’ successes with them.
Joanna believes that one of the biggest mistakes any athlete, whether dancer or aerialist, can make is to get sucked into an overly competitive atmosphere, or to create such an atmosphere at their studio. She doesn’t want us to get her wrong, she says a little healthy competition between friends can be a great thing to push everyone to new heights, but she believes that when an athlete starts practicing their craft simply in order to be better than someone else, or to be “good enough” to join a certain group, then at that moment they begin training for the wrong reasons. According to Joanna, “Every physical practice is a journey, and every person’s physical practice will be different, so why compare yours to someone else’s?”
As an organization, Sky Candy’s big goal for this next year is to move into a bigger space. Their studio is currently quite small, and while they are doing the best they can with what they have, they are looking forward to having a space with more /studios, dedicated lounges and rehearsal rooms, and, every aerialist’s dream, higher ceilings!
Sky Candy founder and executive director Winnie Hsia began her aerial journey six years ago in Austin at a studio where most of the other students were trained dancers. As someone with no physical background, Winnie discovered that her aerial journey would be very different from that of her classmates, and she founded Sky Candy with the intention that everyone, regardless of their prior training or physical condition, would be able to pursue their aerial training in a welcoming, encouraging environment.
In addition to being a teaching studio, Sky Candy is also a performance company! They produce one big theatrical production every year, and their Studio Company puts on a variety of smaller circus shows throughout the year. They are also available for hire for events and private parties.
If you are looking for some unusual, crowd-pleasing entertainment for your next event, Sky Candy’s troupe of highly trained, professional aerialists will guarantee a show your guests will never forget! Whether you’re looking for spotlight aerial acts, ambient aerial entertainment, aerial bartending, or an aerial photo-booth, Sky Candy is ready to fill all of your aerial entertainment needs!
A “Spotlight Aerial Act” refers to a stand-alone aerial act choreographed to music, usually between four and seven minutes in length. This act can be a solo, a duet, or a group number. If you are planning to have one or more points during your event where your guests’ attention will be directed toward and focused solely on the aerialists, a Spotlight Aerial Act is a good choice.
“Ambient Aerial Entertainment” refers to slow, sustained aerial movements that an aerialist performs for a set of fifteen to twenty minutes, usually to music played by a band or DJ. If you want to have aerial entertainment as a feature of your event but will not be directing your guests’ attention to the aerialists at any given time, Ambient Aerial Entertainment is a good choice.
“Aerial Bartending” is an exciting option for beverage service at adult events. Sky Candy’s aerialists will pour champagne or other alcoholic beverages for your guests while suspended from an aerial apparatus! All Sky Candy aerial bartenders are TABC certified.
Last, but definitely not least, let your guests soar with Sky Candy’s unique “Aerial Photo Booth!” Event participants will learn a few basic poses on an aerial apparatus, and will have their picture taken by a professional photographer!
Whatever your choice of performances, be assured that Sky Candy adheres to only the highest standards of rigging and safety and all of their aerialists carry Performers Insurance to protect the venue and sponsors from liability.
Sky Candy has performed for many top companies. Their clients include, but are not limited to Apple, Microsoft, Whole Foods Market, the City of Austin, Yelp, Tuaca, Easter Seals.
Please post a comment if you have had any experience with Sky Candy Aerial and Circus Arts Studio of Joanna Wright.
You can learn more about Sky Candy Aerial and Circus Arts Studio on their website, skycandyaustin.com. In addition, you can contact them at (512) 800-4998 or e-mail them at info@skycandyaustin.com for all general inquiries.
