Installment Four Meet an Instructor Mark Segal

Mark is a Toronto based aerialist who has been training, teaching and performing aerial and circus since 2001. Mark began his training at the Toronto School of Circus Arts. His background includes nothing that has anything to do with aerial. He went to Sheridan College for animation and illustration and worked in film for four years before accidentally falling into circus. He spent the next ten years making performance and movement his life. Mark’s apparatus of choice is aerial rope or ‘corde lisse’, but he also specializes in partner silks, silks, trapeze, and acro and is making straps and handbalancing a serious part of his life. In addition to his circus experience, Mark is a Canfitpro Certified Personal Trainer. Mark currently performs with and for Suspended Animation Circus, Hercinia, ABS Dance, Circus Orange,  Anandam, Zero Gravity  Circus, and  has started appearing with Les Coquettes (burlesque troupe).

Installment Three Meet the Instructor Alisa Walton

Alisa Walton

Alisa Walton made her stage debut at the age of three as the only little turning top to fall down on her bottom in front of an audience, and a television camera.

Professionally trained at two of Canada’s finest dance schools, the School of Dance, Ottawa and The Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, it was really evident (especially when Miss Franca kept getting her mixed up with Anne Ditchburn) that even though she could dance, she should act.

Things began to look up and after graduating the full time Conservatory Programme of the School Of Physical Theatre (Toronto, Canada, London England). Walton has performed on stages as prestigious as the National Arts Centre and Young People’s Theatre, but also in dangerous places such as stilt dancing on hilltops in the British Virgin Islands.  Once she improvised cold turkey for a group of old school Moscow Circus clowns in a salon in Paris… that was scarier than being 50 feet up in a harness.  Any aspirations to do serious roles have always been dashed by Walton’s infectious ability to send things up.  Her version of the Dying Swan was actually STOLEN by a famous Russian clown. That’s o.k. she’ll send him some corrections, he was doing it wrong… As part of the GEMINI award winning cast of TVO’s long running Series Polka Dot Shorts Walton created the live version of the character Marigold, bringing the beloved rag doll to life for the shows eight seasons.   Polka Dot Shorts continues to air, now in it’s 21^st year!  With some of the same cast she also created the character Socks the Monkey in Corus/Nelvana’s Series Elliot Moose is on the  Loose. This show is also still on the air.

Walton’s circus work includes stilt dancing, and work as a Ringmaster and Lead Clown.  She can perform Aerial bungee, hammock, and is working on mastering German Wheel.

Walton is the Founder and Artistic Director of Crow’s Feet Physical Theatre.  In this role she is keenly aware that she is only as good as the team she works with.

As a physical performer, Walton’s work has been described as Virtuoso…she credits good training and every one of her teachers for this.  Walton is known for her dedication, attention to detail, and exacting expectations of herself and her colleagues.  She also uses her early experience of falling on her bottom in front of lots of people as a metaphor for creating good theatre…

Installment Two MEET AN INSTRUCTOR

Ginette Mohr

Co-Artistic Director of The Quickening Theatre, Ginette has performed with various companies across Canada, including The Stratford Festival, Neptune Theatre, Theatre New Brunswick, Drayton Entertainment, Theatre Aquarius, The Second City, Keystone Theatre, and Monkey Toast (Canadian Comedy Award Winner). She has been nominated for several Dora Awards, and her solo piece, Fish Face, garnered critical acclaim and won the Cultch Theatre Award. Ginette has taught at York University, Young People's Theatre, The Second City, The Living Arts Centre, The Classical Theatre Project and Shakespeare in Action. She holds a B.F.A. from Simon Fraser University and an M.F.A. from York University.

Installment ONE of meet an Instructor:

NATASHA DANCHENKO

Born in Moscow, and having  immigrated to Canada while still a child, Natasha's  early love of dance eventually led to her attending the National Ballet School of Canada and later graduating from School of American Ballet in New York City.

From there Natasha's career included dancing with Stanford City Ballet, American Ballet Company, Royal Swedish Ballet and The Phantom of the Opera.

Since 1999 Natasha has focused on 'dancing in the air' and has been an independent aerial/circus artist specializing in silks, corde lisse, and partenering. Her work, aside from the stage, has been featured in major motion pictures, TV series, Bravo Short films, commercials and magazines. As well as being on Cirque du Soleil talent roster, Natasha's live appearances have included performing for such companies as Microsoft ( Hong Kong ) Molson Indy, GM Canada Tour, Manulife, Skate Canada Awards, MSN/Bell Sympatico, Det Norske Teatre, & Nobel Piece Prize Conference ( Oslo, Norway ) to name but a few.

Natasha's performing career has encompassed Asia, North America and Scandinavia. 

As an instructor in Aerial arts, Pilates, and Aerial Yoga, Natasha has taught classes and workshops to both kids and adults throughout North America and Scandinavia.

In 2012 Natasha founded  an aerial work-in-progress showcase event 'Aer Time', and received a Suzuki Teacher Training Certification in violin.

 lab le jeu

222 Islington Avenue

416-697-3501

contact@bravebody.com

                                                   

  lab le jeu is a  multi-disciplinary training facility in the theatrical arts of corde lisse, bungee, silks, hammock, hoop, dance trapeze, mime, stilt walking, juggling, tumbling, acrobatics/ hand to hand balance,dance, and most importantly"le jeu" the first steps toward theatrical play.   Our aim is to prepare students for entry to Postsecondary Theatre or Circus Schools such as Ecole Nationale de Cirque http://www.ecolenationaledecirque.ca/fr/accueil, Humber College Theatre Performance Programme http://www.humber.ca/program/theatre-performance, and other physically based professional theatre training programmes.

We will be offering a recreational stream in September 2013, allowing for students to build the skills important for choosing a preferred act.  Once their preferences are established they can choose a professional stream of study. 

  

   We're working on our fall schedule, which will include petit jeu! classes for four and five year olds and general circus an introduction to most disciplines for children 6-8 and 8-10 years old.

Classes for older students and adults who prefer to choose an apparatus will also be offered.

 

All of our Instructors are professionally trained working Artists teaching in the disciplines of their specialty.  

The lab is also available for rehearsal rentals.