Competition | Judges

Welcome your 2024 Judging Panel

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Rebecca Starr

Rebecca Starr is the Assistant to the Director for the ProTrack Professional Training Program at the New England Center for Circus Arts (NECCA) in beautiful Brattleboro, Vermont. She specializes in Aerial Hoop, Contortion, and Pole. Rebecca started her career right here in California in the early 2000s and has since toured the world, performing in tented shows, theatre productions, special events, galas, and more. Rebecca was an integral part of the emerging world of Pole Fitness in the early 2010s; she competed, performed, and judged internationally for several years. She has traveled the globe as a master instructor, leading workshops and residencies at circus schools, aerial studios, and pole studios. From 2016, she coached and choreographed for the Circus Smirkus Big Top Tour, and from 2020 to 2022, she served as the Head of Aerial Arts at Circadium School of Contemporary Circus in Philadelphia. Rebecca is thrilled to join the West Coast Aerial Arts Festival this year and continue inspiring the next generation of artists.

Juliana Nieves

San Francisco Circus Center’s first-ever Head of School, Juliana Neves is a dancer, aerial acrobat, choreographer and teacher. She has a masters in Cultural Anthropology. Until 2020, she was a teacher/coach and part of the artistic direction and creative team of Circus Juventas in Saint Paul – MN – USA. In 2016, she was the invited director guest artist of the “Panama Area” – Aerial Dance Festival. In 2014, She was the Artistic Coordinator/Casting Director and Acrobatic Choreographer for the opening and closing ceremonies of the FIFA World Cup Brazil. Between 2003 – 2015, she was part of Belgium dance collective ‘les ballets C de la B,’ under direction of the renowned director Alain Platel. In 2013, Juliana directs her contemporary circus/dance creation ‘Jump or Fall’ under the company she co-found with Felipe Mafasoli in Belgium: Are you in Town Productions. In 2006 she represents Cirque du Soleil to launch their first Brazilian tour and in 2003, Juliana represents Cirque du Soleil at the International Circus Festival in Recife in Brazil. Juliana was the first artist from São Paulo to join Cirque du Soleil in 1998. She was in the original cast of the show “Dralion” where she was a soloist and one of the main characters. Juliana has taught her workshops and Master Classes in several countries such as Brazil, China, Italy, Holland, Belgium Germany,, Slovenia, Austria, France, USA, Panama and Costa Rica. During the pandemic Juliana lived in Brazil and founded a Circus School in the city of Tibau do Sul – RN

Kevin Holland

A local professional from Long Beach, Kevin judged the most recent 2023 West Coast Aerial Arts Festival, and we are happy to see him again this year.   He is the head choreographer for Nathalie Gauthier’s Le Petit Cirque, an aerialist, dancer, and educator specializing in artistic act creation. He has taught many aerial workshops and created acts for students of all ages for a decade.  In fact, as a performing artist who graduated with a BFA in Dance at the California State Long Beach, Kevin has performed, among others, his aerial chains number on the national US tour for Vampire Circus, and for Terry Beeman’s Mental Head Circus. He also has danced for DIAVOLO: Architecture in Motion – TRUST show throughout Los Angeles county, and his own choreography has been commissioned by dance companies throughout California. He loves to combine his aerial and dance knowledge together to make work that is not only visually impactful but also meaningful.  His specialty includes artistic act creation on any aerial apparatus with original sequences and choreography.  He grew up training aerial since the age of 14 and started dancing in college.

While in college he had the chance to do harness work for a Dixie Consumer Products national commercial, and perform his chains act in Terry Beeman’s Mental Head Circus. He also performed for the Chase Center’s groundbreaking ceremony, choreographed by Cirque du Soleil’s Ben Potvin. Kevin’s dance choreography throughout college was also selected to be performed in the American College Dance Association Gala.

Vivian Tam

Vivian is a Seattle-based aerialist, keeping busy in the circus scene wearing all sorts of creative hats and making sure those lashes stay larger than life. Vivian’s first introduction to circus training was an adult recreational aerial class at Hollywood Aerial Arts at the Vanguard. Since then, Vivian has performed worldwide and onboard AIDA cruise. Locally in Seattle, Vivian is a seasoned aerialist in resident independent theater, such as Land of the Sweets: The Burlesque Nutcracker and Bohemia. She is the new producer of Suite Lounge’s aerial shows and is costume designer for the School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts (SANCA).
 
Alongside her performing career, Vivian has dedicated herself to education and coaching in the circus arts. She began her teaching journey at SANCA in 2009 and subsequently managed a successful home studio for a decade. Currently, Vivian offers private instruction and workshops, tailoring her approach to meet the needs of diverse learners. In 2018, she founded Chrysalis Circus, a production company committed to enhancing community access to circus arts. Chrysalis Circus also provides comprehensive artistic and technical support to both professional artists and students.
 
This will be Vivian’s first time judging at West Coast Aerial Arts and she couldn’t be more excited to be back in SoCal, where she started her career. Vivian has a BA in Studio Arts from UC Irvine.

Lora Kapelczak

Lora Kapelczak is a professional aerial, and circus trainer Aerial Director at the San Diego Circus Center. A graduate from École National de Cirque as a trainer in circus arts. Lora is a full-time trainer that specializes in aerial pedagogy that builds on individual strengths and leveling up one’s weaknesses. She has built syllabi for a variety of aerial apparatuses that meet the needs of students that want a pathway to professional performance. Her extensive education in different massage modalities, kinesiology, personal training, and dance gives Lora a clear understanding of how many different bodies move and why challenges may arise including methods of progressions for each individual skill as well as defining the strength, skill, and level of the student.

Lora has been teaching and performing in the aerial arts for several years. Her love for aerial began while training in spin pole and a guest teacher came to teach aerial silks. Once her feet left the ground with the fabrics in her hand, she was quickly drawn to ALL THINGS AERIAL such as Dance Trapeze, Lyra, Sling, Rope, Straps, Aerial Pole and more. Her love of all things circus has also brought her to specialize in Clown, Cyr Wheel, and Rolling Globe. She has trained numerous artists who have continued to work with Cirque Du Soleil, 7 Fingers, Cirque Dreams, Cirque Mechanics, Cirus Bella, Virgin Voyages, International Casting Agency, MSC Cruises, AIDA Cruises, and accepted to higher education schools including École National de Cirque, École de Cirque de Québec, École Nationale des Arts du Cirque de Rosny-sous-Bois, Codarts, CNAC etc.

Helen Day

Helen is originally from the UK. She started her performing arts career as a dancer, and following a job in a show that featured lots of aerialists, she decided to try it for herself. She got the bug! She went on to work extensively across the cabaret, corporate and festival circuit, including presenting solo work and the renowned Glastonbury Festival Big Top across multiple seasons. In 2015 she left the UK to join Cirque du Soleil, with whom she toured the world for four years in ‘Toruk’, based on ‘Avatar’. Now settled in Los Angeles, Helen works as an actress and aerial arts coach. As an actress, film credits include Tim Burton’s ‘Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children’, recent family feature ‘Stinky Summer’, ‘Abduction Runs in the Family’, and ‘The Girl in the Backseat’. TV credits include ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’, ‘Days of our Lives’, ‘A La Carte’ and Henson Productions’ ‘Math Party’. She has also worked in video games. Helen coaches at Believe Aerial Studios in Culver City, specializing in rope and silks. More about Helen: www.helendayactress.com

Interested in taking private lessons with one of our esteemed judges?