Aerial Dance and Circus Teacher - Movement Consultancy
"We've heard rave reviews about your classes, well done, you're a great asset to the programme!"
- Beth King, Head of Participation and Outreach, National Centre for Circus Arts
- Chelsee Healey, celebrity participant, Get Your Act Together, ITV
Katie has a wealth of experience in teaching circus to all ages, from absolute beginner to professional, from taster sessions to physical movement, stunts and circus consultancy. She teaches in London's top circus schools, and runs her own social enterprise delivering circus workshops from Kingston-upon-Thames. Katie's speciality is aerial silks, also teaching aerial hoop, trapeze, rope, harness & wire work, tightrope, stilt walking, acrobatics, acrobalance and juggling.
Circus Tutor, Mentor and Choreographer
Circus Acts
Wynken AW23 Campaign
Katie was Performance Specialist for a circus themed kids fashion shoot for Wynken.
She provided guidance in securing a London-based studio suitable for shooting circus, all of the circus equipment and tuition and direction throughout the shoot.
Art Director - Rachel Caulfield.
Photographer - Mark Shearwood.
Circus consultancy for ITV celebrity talent show.
Circus consultancy for ITV celebrity talent show.
Stilts
Channel 4 Random Acts 2019
Katie was movement director / stilt specialist for short film, Stilts, created for Channel 4 Random Acts by Greatcoat Films, and directed by Dylan Holmes Williams.
Katie taught actors how to walk on dura stilts, advised production on safety and movement, supervised stilt walking on set and played a stilt patient role herself.
Circus tuition for feature film.
The Aeronauts
Amazon Original 2018
Katie was one of the aerial coaches teaching actress, Felicity Jones, to move around the hot air balloon prop whilst delivering her character's speech. Thanks to Fly-Fit London for having me on the team.
Circus consultancy for ITV celebrity talent show.
Get Your Act Together
ITV 2015
Two weeks only to prepare for a silks performance in front of a live studio audience, recorded for television.
Katie taught actress Chelsee Healey how to perform a silks act for an ITV television series, and mentored her throughout the production process, looking after posture, past injuries, injury prevention, aerial technique, circus safety and performance.
Katie choreographed a Bond themed silks act to Skyfall, for ITV's Get Your Act Together, aired February 2015.
This involved working to the movement briefing of the TV show's creative director, and advising the television programme on how to stage a celebrity beginner at silks, in a variety performance competition setting.
Circus tuition for Sony Entertainment.
The Walk Promo Video with Caspar Lee
Sony 2015
Katie taught YouTube sensation, Caspar Lee, to walk along a tightrope to promote the 3D circus film, The Walk, to young audiences.
Caspar has 5 million subscribers and was a great sport in taking on the challenge to walk across a high wire in just one lesson.
Katie trained Caspar on a low tightrope at Aircraft Circus, then took him on a higher wire where he managed to cross it twice unassisted.
Aerial tuition for The Wolf Of Wall Street Immersive Theatre Show
The Wolf of Wall Street
Stratton Oakmont Productions 2019
Katie taught the actors aerial safety and technique on aerial hoop and hand loop.
Circus consultancy for Sisters Grimm Dance-Theatre Company.
Voices of the Amazon
Sisters Grimm 2016 - 17
Katie was circus consultant for the production by Sisters Grimm. Katie helped to cast the performers for the show's trailer, arranged rehearsal studios and provided aerial equipment for rehearsals and the trailer shoot.
The dance musical features two aerial mermaids who were coached by Katie. She choreographed the opening aerial sequence to work with the imagery and narrative of the show, to work with the costumes, and the dancers who had never trained aerial skills before the creation of Voices of the Amazon.
Image by Johan Persson
The Winter's Tale
Guildford Shakespeare Company 2016
Katie taught actress, Selma Brook, to perform a short piece on trapeze to open the sheep shearing scene in the play by Shakespeare..
Director, Caroline Devlin, set Bohemia in India and used different styles of Indian dance throughout the play. Katie drew upon these styles to choreograph the trapeze routine, so that it sat cohesively within the larger dance scene that it introduced.
Selma started as a complete novice, having never been on a trapeze before. By opening night, after a few sessions over a three week period, she was comfortable performing the sequence in full costume
Katie used her knowledge of London and Surrey based aerial training spaces to find regular training sessions to fit around Selma's core rehearsals.
Circus consultancy for the Guildford Shakespeare company.
Circus consultancy for Les Enfants Terribles Immersive Theatre Company.
Alice Underground
Waterloo Vaults 2015 & 2017
Katie taught four actors in Les Enfants Terribles' adventurous production of the well loved novel, Alice in Wonderland, how to perform aerial hoop.
The actors were guided in how to work safely as aerialists and taught tricks on aerial hoop. Katie worked in a short time to choreograph individual pieces for the actors to play the character of the Dodo, ensuring that the routines could be adapted to different audiences, were safe and could be performed regularly by performers new to aerial work.
Katie taught the actors how to maintain their bodies during a long theatre run with thorough warm-ups, specific stretches and conditioning exercises.
Circus consultancy for Theatre Royal Bath.
The Tempest
Theatre Royal Bath 2013
Katie was the physical performance consultant for Theatre Royal Bath's production of The Tempest, teaching actors how to walk on stilts, and jump and roll safely.
Aerial Staycation with Flying Fantastic
Next course 19th - 23rd October 2020, Peckham Studio
An intensive short course designed for people to spend a week training aerial rather than working their usual 9-5.
Suitable for people with experience in aerial training, who want to be guided through how to refine technique, how to train more effectively and how to create their own act.
Formerly The Circus Space, where Katie started her teacher training as an assistant to the youth programme at the age of eighteen.
Katie teaches the highest level silks class for adult evening students, level 1 rope and aerial conditioning for adults and BTEC students.
The National Centre for Circus Arts was formerly known as The Circus Space. Katie began assisting the Youth Programme when she was 18, then returned as a cover teacher in 2011. Show now teaches evening aerial classes.
Teaching juggling to young children at the Royal Albert Hall London.
Pre-KOOZA Cirque du Soleil event
Private event for children at the Royal Alber Hall.
At Hook Library for the Rose Theatre Kingston, in association with Circus Suburbia.
Katie founded the social enterprise in 2010. Circus Suburbia delivers weekly adult and youth circus classes, and workshops for community groups, private parties and town centre events.
At Hook Library, for the Rose Theatre Kingston, in association with Circus Suburbia.
In the Swamp Circus big top.
Katie led Circus Suburbia workshops at the theatre in conjunction with circus show The Snow Gorilla, and for Easter holiday activities, for ages 5-18.
Available at Aircraft Circus, The Hangar Arts Centre, Woolwich, London. Technique, act development, vocabulary.
At Aircraft Circus, Katie taught Intermediate & Advanced level silks to adult evening students, and silks taster session, 2011-2013
Katie is a freelance teacher on the full time circus training course at Aircraft Circus, teaching silks and flexibility.
Katie choreographed and performed alongside her silks students at the O2 Arena
At the Opening Ceremony for WorldSkills
Freelance Circus Teacher
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Tuition for theatre
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Act development
Top London Circus Schools
NATIONAL CENTRE FOR CIRCUS ARTS
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Diploma course Aerial teacher,
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Hoop Specific Level 3 teacher on adult evening programme,
FLYING FANTASTIC
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Developed and delivered the Aerial Staycation - a week long course for hobby aerialists.
AIRCRAFT CIRCUS
Circus in Formal Education
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Aerial tutor for the Diploma at the National Centre for Circus Arts.
Contact 07984017223 katiehardwick@hotmail.com