Our Team

Our Team

Allison Watman, School Administrator; Ben Grinberg, Performance & Artistic Craft Department Head; Nicole Burgio, Acrobatics & Aerials Instructor; Adam Woolley, Aerial Program Department Head; Shana Kennedy, Executive Director; Greg Kennedy, Juggling & Prop-Building Instructor; Susan Deutsch, Movement Instructor; Aidan O’Shea, Acrobatics Instructor; Kyle Driggs, Juggling, Lighting & Costume Instructor

It starts at the top.
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Shana Kennedy

Executive
Director

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Greg Kennedy

Juggling & Prop
Design Instructor

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Amy-schulster

Amy Schulster

Dance
Instructor

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Jesse Kitzen-Abelson

Acrobatics
Instructor

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L M Feldman

Dramaturgy
Instructor

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Jacinta Yelland

Jacinta Yelland

Physical Theatre
Instructor

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Bethany

Tightwire
Instructor

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Joseph Arnold

Joseph Arnold

Alexander Technique
Instructor

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Christine Morano

Aerial
Instructor

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Elliott Gittelsohn

Contortion
Instructor

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Luther Bangert

Juggling & Movement
Instructor

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Sarah Moser

Acrobatics
Instructor

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Program Advisory Committee

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Bim Mason

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Tim Roberts

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Eric Geoffrey

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Daniela Arendadova

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Krin Haglund

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Jedediah Wheeler

Board of Directors

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Kitsie O'Neill

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Brett Mandel

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Kirsti Bracali

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Vanessa Gennarelli

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Julie Goodman

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Kermit Roosevelt III

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Ali Rogers

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Vanessa Thomas Smith

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Tamara Desai

Our diverse team contributes unique talent, insight and perspective from the worlds of theater, circus, and education.

Shana Kennedy

Shana is the Founding Director of the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts, and the Executive Director of Circadium. She trained as an aerialist and a juggler at Circomedia, in England, and performed for many years in both capacities. She began teaching aerial skills in her home and backyard in 2001. In 2006 Air Play was founded as a performance and teaching company; and it evolved in 2008 to the full-fledged PSCA facility. From 2010-2014, Shana accompanied her husband, Greg, on tour with Cirque du Soleil’s Totem, and brought back a wealth of information and ideas from circus schools around the world. She is actively involved with Circus Now and the American Circus Educators Association, and has founded a Directors’ Roundtable of circus school leaders across North America. She is deeply committed to the growing influence of circus artistry and education in the U.S., and to furthering the sector as a whole. 

Greg Kennedy​

Originally trained as an engineer, Greg uses the principles of geometry and physics to create groundbreaking work with original apparatus. As a young juggler he quickly made a name for himself in the juggling community not only by his mastery of traditional juggling technique, but also for creating entirely new forms of manipulation. He is now renowned for his many original contributions to juggling as an art form. Jugglers know him for his award-winning creativity; audiences know him for his entertaining performance, making visual spectacles out of everyday objects. 

After performing around the world, winning numerous juggling awards, and being featured on magazine covers and in viral Youtube videos, Greg spent 5 years as a solo artist with Cirque du Soleil’s Totem. In 2014 he returned to Philadelphia to re-start the creation of new work, and launched the show Theorem.

Amy Schulster

Amy began as a classical ballet dancer, and graduated with a BFA in Dance and Urban Design/Architecture from New York University Tisch School of the Arts. She performed for 10 years in NYC, including a National Geographic documentary, the NYC Fringe Festival, the Eglevsky Ballet, Eidolon Ballet, Ess/DanceWorks, Ballet Ambassadors, Gleich Dances, and TranscenDance Group. In 2014, she accepted a place in the Professional Training Program at the New England Center for Circus Arts. After graduating from Circus School, Amy taught and performed with Frequent Flyers Aerial Dance in Boulder, Colorado, Femmes de Flight in NYC, and Aerial Horizon in San Antonio, TX. At AH, she choreographed, directed, and produced her first full length show, Paper Dolls. In addition to her artistic pursuits, Amy is a Certified Personal Trainer, Corrective Exercise Specialist and Barefoot Training Specialist. She focuses on functional movement, injury prevention, mobility and the career longevity of dancers, aerialists, and acrobats.

Jesse Kitzen-Abelson​

Jesse was a competitive artistic gymnast for over 15 years. He competed collegiately at Temple University where he was a two-year co-captain and consistent pommel horse anchor. After graduation, he went on to coach high performance gymnastics in South Africa for 5 years and represented the country on a world stage. Since returning to the US, he has gone back to his alma mater at Temple to coach the men’s gymnastics team.

L M Feldman

L M Feldman is a Philadelphia-based circus and theater artist whose work is brave, playful, and personal – wrestling with the world we live in, asking questions, challenging norms, and inviting human connection. She freelances as a performer, playwright, collaborator/deviser, artistic consultant, professor, and coach. Her plays and her circus acts have been seen internationally, and she continues to travel around the country performing, teaching, and playwriting. She is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and the New England Center for Circus Arts, and she is passionate about the art of crafting live performance. During the year, she teaches playwriting to undergrads, med students, and adults, and she’s a coach at Circadium, where she teaches artistic craft and writing live performance – focusing on the artistic tools of circus as an expressive art form. When she’s not writing plays, making circus, or teaching, she’s devising collaborative theater & circus with ensembles.

Jacinta Yelland

Jacinta Yelland is an Australian theatre performer and creator based in Philadelphia, USA. Jacinta has collaborated with companies across Australia and America including David Gordon, Quintessence Theatre Group, Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists, Almanac Dance Circus Theatre, Tribe of Fools, Visual Expressions, Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre, Elbow Room Productions, and RealTV. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Devised Performance from The University of the Arts led by award-winning Pig Iron Theatre Company, a Bachelor of Creative Industries: Drama from Queensland University of Technology, has completed the Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre Company Internship and was supported by Arts Queensland to study at \\u00c9cole Philippe Gaulier, Paris. Her projects have been supported by Australia Council for the Arts, Arts Queensland, Network of Ensemble Theaters, and American Australian Association.

Bethany

Bethany attended two years of NECCA’s ProTrack program with a major in Tightwire and a minor in Acrobatic Dance. She’s performed with Bindlestiff Family Cirkus and Time Flies Circus. Bethany also has a B.S. in Sport and Exercise Psychology from West Virginia University, with a minor in Family and Youth Studies. Outside of circus, Bethany enjoys reading, knitting, and visiting her home in West Virginia.

 

Joseph Arnold

Joseph Arnold is a body awareness and movement expert, violinist, and mindfulness geek. While studying violin at conservatory, chronic pain developed in his arms, neck, and back, he discovered the Alexander Technique, a 100-year-old holistic system of body awareness and movement re-education. Out of the dozens of therapies he tried at the time, it was the only one that taught him to relax his muscles while playing violin. Since then he’s discovered the tools to remain balanced when experiencing difficult emotions, dissolve performance anxiety, and find self-acceptance. The Alexander Technique has also deepened his meditative practices. Plus, he’s now 100% pain-free. He’s an assistant teacher at The Philadelphia School for the Alexander Technique, where he graduated in 2012. He also plays violin, teaches violin lessons, and composes music.

Christine Morano

Christine, dancer, aerialist & performer, has performed with dance companies and groups throughout the country such as Thom Lewis Dance Company, Alchemy Dance Company, DanceFusion, Grounded Aerial, Green Chair Dance Group, Frequent Flyers Aerial Dance, Nickerson-Rossi Dance, Altitude Aerials, AJ Harper Dance Project, Brian Sanders’ JUNK and Almanac Dance Circus Theater. She can be seen dancing in The David Mayfield Parade’s Human Cannonball music video with PINK HAIR AFFAIR, and can be found in Bill Hayward’s book Chasing Dragons. She has toured internationally as an aerialist and dancer for Greg Kennedy’s shows Spherus and Theorem. Christine has been coaching aerial since 2009, is a freelance professional aerialist and the founder of MoDa Movement Co.

Christine earned degrees in Biology and Dance from Stockton University, has completed the Professional Training Program at Frequent Flyers Productions Aerial Dance Theater, and has completed dynamic rope teacher training as a part of Born To Fly Aerial Teacher Training. When she’s not performing, Christine loves continuing her education and training in multiple dance and circus disciplines, body mechanics, anatomy and kinesiology as often as possible. She is highly collaborative and is always excited to create with other artists across all mediums. www.ModaMovementCo.com

Elliott Gittelsohn

Elliott Gittelsohn resolved to join the circus at age 12. His training includes an apprenticeship at Circus Smirkus Academy, a degree in clowning from The Clown Conservatory, and training under award-winning Mongolian contortionist, Serchmaa Byamba. Elliott has performed around the world with companies including Capacitor, Sister Magic Productions, MOTH Poetic Circus, Vau de Vire Society, Celebrity Cruises, Kinetic Arts Productions, and Sir Cupcake’s Queer Circus. He has coached contortion, hand balancing, and general circus skills for Time Flies Circus, Philadelphia School of Circus Arts, Levity Circus Collective, Kinetic Arts Center, Circo Caribe, Circus Center, Acrosports, Circus Moves, and Hampshire College. He received a Bachelors in Performing Arts from the LEAP Program and conducted research on the psychological stress-recovery response of circus performers in training versus performance. Elliott was the co-director of Oregon Fringe Festival for 2021 and 2022 seasons, was a junior fashion designer with Joe Dunbar Designs, and co-directed circus adaptations of Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Master’s Spoon River Anthology at Burning Coal Theatre Company. A recent resident of Philadelphia, Elliott enjoys fiber arts, exploring the outdoors with his dog, Toby, and long drives across the country.

 

Luther Bangert

Luther Bangert was born and raised in the farmlands of the USA in a small town near the banks of the Mississippi river. Always taken with the unusual and enchanted, he developed a fascination with juggling at the age of 19. It ran deep, carrying him into the rich world of circus. Years of personal practice and development later, performing and traveling have led him to find other juggling, circus and movement communities around the world.

To Luther juggling is a wondrous means of transferring spirit and sense to objects while exploring relationships with them both physically and philosophically. He performs both technically and fantastically, drawing on his movement experience, fusing the patterns of juggling with the organic movement of the body to flesh out fresh expression and depth.

Luther has performed with the Great Bombay Circus in India, has a degree in philosophy, holds a Guinness World Record for “Most Things Juggled Whilst Sword Swallowing”, and has performed in twenty countries across four continents in the last nine years. Most recently he has premiered his contemporary show ‘Distillations.’

Sarah Moser

Sarah has craved being upside down and moving her body ever since she can remember! Growing up a competitive gymnast, Sarah then coached gymnastics to all ages before starting her training in Standing Acrobatics and Hand to Hand in 2011. She has been totally enamored by the movement practices ever since, as there is always another skill, a new challenge, and more creativity to be unlocked. In 2013, she began teaching partner acrobatics at festivals and in 2017, started teaching in the Philadelphia community. She believes that handstands and acro are the ultimate physical art, as they give space for creation, play, continuous growth, partnership, and development of trust in self and others. Also trained as an educator, Sarah teaches to the needs of each student, utilizing their strengths and learning styles. She also focuses on building blocks and progressions, emphasizing technique and nuance to enhance advancement as an artist.

 

Bim Mason

A pioneer in the physical-theatre scene of the UK since the 1970s, Bim Mason is the Founder and Artistic Director of Circomedia. http://www.circomedia.com

Bim trained with Jacques Lecoq and Desmond Jones.  A professional performer since 1978 with pioneering circus-theatre groups Kaboodle and his own Mummer & Dada. He has also acted with the Bristol Old Vic Company and toured three solo physical comedy shows to events such as the London International Mime Festival. Of the many physical theatre shows he has directed, three have received Fringe First Awards at Edinburgh – with Talking Pictures (1989) and with Relects Revenge (1995 & 1997). In 1999 he founded Dark Horse, which won the Herald Angel Award in 2000.

Other directing work includes Welfare State International, Peepolykus, Macadam Theatre, Wall Street Theatre, Green Ginger Microtheatre, solo mimes and large scale international projects. Bim has taught courses in Jerusalem, Rio de Janeiro and British universities. He was one of the original teachers at Fool Time 1986-1993. His writing work includes the book Street Theatre (Routledge 1992).

Tim Roberts

Director of Higher Education, National Centre for Circus Arts (UK), & Vice-President of the Fédération Européene des Ecoles de Cirque Professionelles https://www.nationalcircus.org.uk

Tim was a professional juggler and comedian in Europe who then became involved in the growing higher education sector of circus schools in France.  Tim’s contribution to the art form is also recognised internationally through his involvement with the European Federation of Professional Circus Schools (FEDEC) where he held the role of President for six years. With FEDEC he is involved in creating a pan-European teacher training programme for Circus Arts as well as lobbying for increased mobility opportunities for all those involved with the arts; from students to teachers, through to artistic directors, educational directors and administrators.

Eric Geoffrey

Eric is decidedly passionate about the tight wire, slack lining, the flying trapeze, riding his unicycle, playing the ukulele, trekking, and balancing rocks, often in various creative combinations. When he grows up he aspires to be a member of Kiva’s pirate ship monkey crew (preferably 1st mate).

Kitsie O'Neill

Kitsie Lundell O’Neill first became fascinated by circus arts during her junior year at Moore College of Art & Design. Her Thesis focused on using traditional circus characters as a visual narrative to discuss individual and cultural identity.  She took a sample aerial class in Shana Kennedy’s backyard for a fun stress-reliever during her Thesis development- and she was hooked.  In the meantime, she graduated with a dual major in Fine Arts Photography and Graphic Design from Moore. After 5 years working in the corporate design world, Kitsie took the exhilarating circus leap and began working at the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts in 2008.  She currently serves as the school’s General Manager.

Brett Mandel

Brett is a lifelong Philadelphian, very active in city politics and culture. He was most recently the Executive Director of a non-profit organization working to help finance local public school districts.  Previously, he was Executive Director of a Philadelphia citizens’ organization promoting tax, government, and ethics reform.  He was Director of Financial and Policy Analysis under former City Controller Jonathan Saidel, and had a few other roles in local government. He has written two books on baseball and one book on Philadelphia government. 

Kirsti Bracali

Kirsti Bracali is an architect turned project manager who works with cultural non-profits to manage their construction and exhibit projects. Museum, Theatre and cultural non-profits often hire consultants for the specialized expertise they need to oversee the design and construction phases rather than search for a short term employee. Kirsti builds the team, establishes the budget and monitors the overall schedule. She will oversee grant compliance and has applied for State RACP grants for clients. She enjoys breaking down a complex process into manageable tasks so that all stakeholders can participate in realizing the project success. 

Kirsti’s three children have all participated in classes or camps at the Philadelphia Circus School. Her oldest daughter, Mia, loves aerials and now has a silk and a rope hanging (securely) in their yard. Circus has been great for building strength and confidence while providing an outlet for her creativity.

Vanessa Gennarelli

Vanessa Gennarelli is the Chief Operating Officer at Raise.dev, a venture-backed technology platform focused on helping professional developers advance their careers. An instructional designer by training, Vanessa has worked with Mozilla, Scratch, littleBits, Flat World Knowledge, Stellar.org, and Guru to develop content that teaches and delights customers. As the Senior Director at GitHub Education, she led a cross-functional team and a line of business for a company that was acquired by Microsoft. She has her Master’s from Harvard in Technology, Innovation and Education, is a former Research Intern at the MIT Media Lab, and graduate of the LEAD program at Stanford Business School.

Julie Goodman

Julie Goodman is an Associate Professor at Drexel University, where she conducts research and teaches courses in arts advocacy, cultural policy, and organizational strategy. She was previously Executive Vice President for the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance.

She also works on consulting projects with arts organizations and artists such as Spiral Q and Fleisher Art Memorial. Goodman is a board member of the Association of Arts Administration Educators (AAAE), Citizens for the Arts in Pennsylvania, Tribe of Fools, and the Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation. She currently serves as Chair of the Mayor’s Cultural Advisory Council for the Philadelphia Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy. Julie earned a BA in Public Policy from Duke University and an MFA in Dance from Temple University. She is a former member of Trapezius Aerial Dance Company who has also performed with Leah Stein Dance Company, and developed choreography for Dancefusion’s fusion2. Her research examines arts advocacy and the value of arts and culture to individuals and communities. Recent publications include articles in the Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society and the American Journal of Arts Management, as well as the international urban studies website Metropolitics.

Kermit Roosevelt III

Kermit Roosevelt grew up in Washington DC and attended Harvard University and Yale Law School. After graduation, he clerked for Judge Stephen F. Williams on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and Justice David H. Souter on the Supreme Court. After practicing law for two years in Chicago with the firm of Mayer, Brown, he came to Philadelphia in 2002 to begin teaching constitutional law at Penn. He discovered PSCA in 2013, while looking for summer camps for his then-five year-old daughter, fell instantly in love with it, and has taken classes with his daughter steadily since then.

Ali Rogers

Ali Rogers is a translation professional with over five years of industry experience translating everything from doctoral dissertations in chemistry to haute couture advertising copy. She is a member in good standing with the American Translator’s Association and has translated for large international corporations, NGOs, international organizations, and the French Embassy to the United States, among others. Since earning her MA in French translation and interpretation from the Monterey Institute of International Studies in 2014, she has continued to reinvent herself both personally and professionally. 

Despite spending her college years attending classes in Ringling family mansions in Sarasota, Florida, Ali’s circus journey did not begin in earnest until she wandered into an aerial fitness class in Atlanta in 2015. She was immediately smitten and went on to attend circus schools all over the United States and Europe. Her travels often take her to Ireland, where she has a number of contacts with leading circus professionals and artists, including the Fidget Feet aerial dance company and Taking Flight, an aerial studio in Dublin. Although she is a relative newcomer to this world, she is committed to advancing the profile of circus as an artistic discipline in its own right.

Vanessa Thomas Smith

Vanessa Thomas Smith was born and raised in Philadelphia. She graduated from Temple University with a BFA in Dance performance and education. She was a performer for three years at Walt Disney World, dancer and administrator with The Philadelphia Dance Company (PHLADANCO) for a total of 16 years, and toured with American circuses from 1979 -1998. She was the First African American Female Ringmaster in American circus history. She is currently the Business Manager for Your Part-Time Controller, LLC, an accounting firm specializing in nonprofits with offices in Philadelphia, Washington, DC, New York City, Houston and Phoenix. She continues to teach ballet and Zumba 4 times / week.