Avi Wolf Borouchoff  

June| Straps, Jazz, Deep Stretch

Avi Wolf Borouchoff began dancing at the bright age of eighteen after being inspired by Pilobolus Dance Theater. Becoming heavily involved in the theater program at Milwaukee High School of the Arts, Avi fell in love with dance after one of his mentors encouraged him to enroll in a Jazz class. He now holds a BFA in dance from Temple University and is eager to submerge himself into the world of performing arts. He has performed in NYC with Gunnar Montana Productions, as well as Montreal with Montreal Completement Cirque. Avi is a regular performer at Fabrika Fishtown in Philadelphia. Avi specializes in Aerial Straps but has heightened awareness of silks, rope and partner acrobatics. With a background in competitive cross-country, gymnastics, and swim, Avi wastes very little time in developing a unique blend of athleticism and dance.

Caroline Calouche 
June | Trapeze & Silks
 

Caroline Calouche,  has taught contemporary dance, Pilates, Gyrokinesis and ballet at UNC Charlotte, Winthrop University, The Belmont School of Ballet, Gaston Dance Theatre and The School of North Carolina Dance Theatre. Her dance and fitness teaching background has allowed her to become a sought after aerial dance instructor. Not only has Caroline developed a safe method and syllabus of teaching Aerial Silk, Sling, Trapeze, Lyra, Corde Lisse and Spanish Web, she is able to teach students how to incorporate floor work with their apparatus to seamlessly move from the ground up and back again. With her strong anatomy and physiology background, Caroline focuses on proper alignment in the air and on the ground to prevent injury and promote efficient movement. Caroline’s aerial and dance training is diverse. In the air, she has worked with Juliana Hane, Nicole Merman, Elsie and Serenity Smith, Christine van Loo, Caroline Wright, Jamie Hodgson, Tanya Burka, Cheetah Platt, Kevin O’Connor, Allie Cooper, Nancy Smith and Susan Murphy. While on the ground, Caroline’s influential teachers range from Leah Cox (Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company), Elizabeth Corbett (Forsythe Composition), Libby Farr (Ballet), Andrew Harwood (Contact Improvisation), Fernando Bujones (Ballet), Elizabeth Gillaspy (Ballet), Susan Douglas Roberts (Contemporary), Brenda Daniels (Modern Dance) to name a few on an endless list of amazing teachers!

Skyla Caldwell 
June & July | Ballet
 

Skyla Caldwell, A.R.A.D. trained at the Charlotte School of Ballet under Gay Porter Speer and The Point Park Conservatory in Pittsburgh, PA as a scholarship student under the direction of Robert Munoz. Skyla has danced for NCDT as an apprentice under Salvatore Aiello and Jerry Kumery. Caldwell has also danced at the National Ballet of Cuba under Laura Alonzo in Havana, Cuba, and is associated with the Royal Academy of London. Caldwell has danced with the Moving Poets Theater of Dance for the last eight years and is currently serving as the Ballet Mistress of the Union County Youth Ballet.

Ashley Carter 
July | contemporary dance, ChoreoLab
 

Ashley Carter is passionate about her work as a dancer, teacher and choreographer, both internationally as well as in the U.S.  Primarily trained in New York, she has studied and worked in many different styles from ballet to lyrical, modern, tap, hip-hop, contemporary, and musical theatre.  She has had the opportunity to perform and/or choreograph at venues such as Jacob's Pillow, Teatro Madrid, Battery Dance Festival, The Barrow Street Theater, SummerStage, The Highline Ballroom, Webster Hall, and BB Kings. Ashley is also on faculty at Ballet Academy East, and Ellison Ballet in New York, various schools in Mexico and Spain; former faculty at Peridance, and has taught at Broadway Dance Center, Steps on Broadway, and Ballet Arts in New York City, the Barcelona Jazz Dance Festival, Lines Dance Center in San Francisco, Tony Williams Dance Center and Green St Studios in Boston; Punahou, University of Hawaii, Kailua Dance Academy and the Mid-Pacific Institute in Hawaii, Bender Performing Arts in Phoenix, and Tarrytown Dance in Austin.  Most recently she has worked with Michele Assaf, teaching for Broadway Teaches Kids.
 

Read Ashley's full bio here. 

Cornell Freeney

July | German Wheel

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Cornell Freeney joined CircEsteem & The Chicago Youth Circus at the age of thirteen in search of excitement. He first took interest in tumbling and mini-trampoline. In 2005, Cornell started to train on the German Wheel. Preparing for The World Championships in Wheel Gymnastics, Cornell practiced every day before and after school. After two years of training, he competed in Salzburg, Austria. There he placed 7th all around, 6th in spiral, and 2nd in vault. Winning four gold medals, Cornell has also shown success in national competitions. 

Upon graduating from High School in 2008, he started his career in German Wheel on ice, performing for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. Understanding the importance of education, later that year, he enrolled into Illinois State University. Along with earning a degree in elementary education, he was able to grow his circus skills through Illinois State's Gamma Phi Circus program. 

Since graduating, Cornell has been coaching circus acts and performing on and at various stages and arenas.

Rachel Hipszer 
July | handbalancing, Silks, stilt walking
 

Rachel Hipszer grew up in Hershey, PA where she was a competitive gymnast, finding aerial arts in 2008. In 2011 she moved to Columbia, SC to pursue a degree in Marine Science and Statistics. While in college, she was accepted into a local circus troupe, performing with them for 5 years. In 2016 she was accepted into NECCA's intensive program and moved to Brattleboro, Vermont focusing on hand-balancing and aerial fabric. Since then, she has stayed in Brattleboro, coaching and performing with troupes such as Nimble Arts, Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, Boston Circus Guild, and Wunderle's Big Top Adventures.

Michelle Mazzarella 
June & July | Contemporary Dance, Hanbalancing, ChoreoLab, Silks, juggling, Jazz & Hip-hop

Michelle Mazzarella is an 'artistic chameleon' who thrives in roles both on stage and offstage.  She is a choreographer, aerialist, dancer, producer, director and educator. She started her career dancing around the living room performing for friends and family, but quickly graduated to more professional training opportunities. After finding her feet on the ground, she turned her focus to the air, and was accepted to the ProTrack training program at the New England Center for the Arts, focusing on aerial sling and cyr wheel. Michelle lives to tell stories through movement and pull her audience in to her world through musicality, texture, and human connection.

Carolina  Quirós Otárola

June & July | Lyra, Silks, Acrobatics, Deep Stretch

Carolina  Quirós Otárola began her dance life at age 6 at the Conservatory of Castella in Costa Rica taking classes in ballet and creative movement. She graduated from this institution in 2005 with a Bachelor in Media Education and a Medium Art Technician with an emphasis in Dance- Ballet and Piano. She graduated from the School of Dance at the National University of Costa Rica.  She has danced professionally with the National Dance Company of El Salvador and "Metamorfosis" directed by Sol Carballo Bolaños, where she developed as a dancer and aerialist. She now lives in Mooresville with her husband and two children. ​