Circus Folk Unite - Troupe Bios

Victoria & Lindsa, Signers

Acrobatics, Acrobalance, Aerials

Victoria and Lindsay are laugh machines. They flip, dance, balance, and occasionally try to throw things and catch them again. Contrary to what this Bio may lead you to believe, they are not Siamese twins.

James Hartman, Signer

Juggling, Poi, Fire, Balloons, Acrobalance

James puts weird things up his nose, plays with fire, and is a card-carrying EMT. He was on the CFU message board before he was even a Hampshire student, and now he holds the power.

Tara Jacob, Founder & Former Signer

Acrobatics, Tumbling, Juggling, Club Passing, Poi, Staff, Mini-tramp, Stilting, Unicycling, Contact Juggling, Flying Trapeze, Hula Hoop, Basically Everything

After quitting amateur competitive gymnastics as a kid in New York, Tara went in search of something to fill the three-ring gap in her soul. She stumbled upon the Circus Arts while living in London for a year. There she also discovered The Circus Space, where she filled up on as many trapeze, acrobatics, and juggling classes as she could cram in and went to as many cirque nouveau and street

performances as she could find (and there were a lot). Two years later, back in the States, newly arrived at Hampshire College and her passion for all things circus unabated, Tara spread word that the Circus Folk were Uniting. Jugglers, hand-balancers, actors, musicians, gymnasts, and the curious heeded the call. Constantly surprised by the reciprocal enthusiasm, tireless playfulness and phenomenal progress of her troupe members, Tara ruled CFU with a fingerless-gloved fist and a big smile.

(Tara is back in London for the 2008-2009 academic year!)

Sarah Tundermann, Founding Signer

Fire Spinning, Poi, Acrobatics, Statue, Hula Hoop

Sarah Arrigo

Trampoline, Tumbling, Acrobatics, Future Static Aerialist

A natural New Yorker who had the misfortune of moving to Mushroompoopville, PA at age 8, Sarah is taking a year off from Hampshire. Don't worry, she'll be back in less than a year. Born 80 years too late, Sarah just wants to be a boop boop da boop girl. So during her time off from school, she'll be learning and perfecting the arts of acrobatics, static aerials and cabaret at Circomedia's Circus School in Bristol, UK. Her dream career is to revitalize cities through street art and performance. Sarah identifies very much with birds; her aversion to gravity and facial expressions mirror theirs. During time off from work, circus and school, she spends most of her time drinking coffee and snuggling with her bulimic cat.

Molly McLeod

Stilting, Acrobatics, Tumbling, Staff, Clowning, Media (photography, web, video editing, advertising, PR)

Molly McLeod is a second year student from Seattle. Before coming to Hampshire, she had no prior circus skills or performing experience, but now she can't get enough of it! When not making films, taking pictures, making books, designing graphics and layout, storytelling, printing, and generally being crafty, she enjoys exploring the woods and being a tea connoisseur. She commits random acts of kindness without warning.

Dani Slabaugh

Clowning, Acrobatics, Stilting, Poi, Contact juggling

Dani is new to circus, but has been a clown at heart her entire life. She is enthusiastic about working with children on the summer tour this coming year.

Juliana Frick

Trapeze, Bungee, Other Various Aerials, Acrobatics, Handbalancing, Tumbling

Juliana is a Circus Smirkus outlaw.

Sairuh Lacoff

Clowning, Acrobatics, Stilting, Poi

Sairuh is a fairy of the wind and the sun, and she sings pretty songs when she's not clowning.

Emma Good

Contact Juggling, Poi, Acrobatics

Stephen Morton

Acrobatics, Tumbling, Unicycle, Juggling, Stilting

Aliya Bonar

Acrobatics, Juggling, Stilting, Tumbling

Dina Jacir

Clowning, Acrobatics, Hula Hoop

Nicole McClure

Clowning, Acrobatics, Fire Spinning, Poi

Amy Hoffman

belly dancing

Joe

Acrobatics, Martial Arts, Fire Spinning

Phil

Acrobatics, Martial Arts, Fire Spinning

Sarah Clark, Founding Signer

Contact Juggling, Toss Juggling, Acrobatics, Tumbling, Poi, Staff Hailing from the wild recesses of St. Louis, Missouri, Sarah does her best to act as a living Northeastern envoy of the burgeoning culture that is the Midwest. This fall she will be starting her third year at Hampshire where she is developing her concentration in visual storytelling through animation, sequential art (…comics), illustration, and, what else? Circus. She has been contact juggling for just under a year and has passed on her knowledge of this Bowie-d and ballsy art to many other eager members in the troupe. She is currently spending her summer doing an animation internship in Santa Monica, California where she spends her weekends perfecting her handstands and eating avocados. Despite their friendship, she will never forgive Josie for killing Frank Sinatra. Never.

Jacob Lefton, Former Member

Juggling, Clowning, Acrobatics, Tumbling, Trapeze, Chinese Pole

Josie Earle, Former Member

Juggling, Acrobatics, Tumbling, Clowning

Sarah Weiss, former member Fire Spinning, Staff, Double Staff, Acrobatics, Poi, Stilting

Sarah Weiss feels that the only things better than having a fire spinner in the circus is having a fire spinner who's also an EMT. When not playing the part of a fabulous fir-flinging female, Sarah spends her time knitting, singing a-capella, and pretending to be a real Hampshire student even though she like silly things like science and math that no one really uses anymore. A year-long member of Hampshire's circus troupe, Sarah has been spinning fire for about four years - just keep her aways from large piles of dry bush and everything will be hunky-dory!

Gwyneth Arnold - Starr, Former Member

Acrobatics, Poi, Contact Juggling, Tumbling, Dance

Gwyneth Arnold-Starr is an exciting person with sensitive feet. She wears no shoes in the summer and extra thick socks in the winter. She enjoys a good laugh and loves to give massages. Her specialities include (but are not limited to) performance, circus, singing, dancing, and memorizing arbitrary lines from movies. She is a pagan Jew who will make you chicken soup if you are sick.