vanessa fae is a circus artist of 13 years who weaves expressive movement and feats of flexibility through vibrant storytelling. She has performed a mix of aerial and ground acrobatic and fire arts across various US states as well as internationally on two other continents, and she has taught adults and children circus arts across four states.
Her circus performance credits include Edinburgh Fringe Fest, Electric Forest, Sonic Bloom, Spring Awakening, North Coast Music Festival, Bastille Days (Milwaukee), and Florida Flow Fest, and venues she has performed at include LIV (Miami), Sound Bar (Chicago), and the Evanston History Center. Aside from her ensemble circus-school shows, collaborators have included Pyrotechniq, React Presents, The Carnival of Curiosity and Chaos, Lux Lumis, Angels Entertainment, and CircX.
A 2016 graduate of the Aloft Loft Professional Training Program majoring in aerial rope, coached by owner Shayna
Swanson, and minoring in dance trapeze, with concentrations in contortion, hoop juggling, and tightwire, vanessa has since continued studies in rope with over a half dozen international aerialists, as well as in contortion and handbalancing with various coaches, followed by extended mentoring and studies in rope self-tie/suspension. Concurrent with circus, vanessa also began separate and ongoing training in street-dance styles liquid, digits, tutting, and waving. Prior to those, she trained acting, movement, and voice at Chicago’s Act One Studios, where she also performed scripted theatre. She previously performed long-form improv comedy at iO Chicago with house team Emperor and trained and performed at the renowned Second City Chicago Conservatory and The Annoyance Theatre.
A Miami native, vanessa studied classical piano for seven years as a child, later dabbling in theatre, film photography, computer art, guitar, steel drum, dance, and poi before performing throughout college, from long-form improv with The Apprentice Group, to sketch and long- and short-form improv with Theatre Strike Force, to sketch and scripted theatre productions, to ensemble opera. She was initially a BFA at the University of Florida, where she completed varied art studio and history coursework. vanessa is a native Spanish speaker with a moderate understanding of French and Italian who also works as a bilingual copyeditor.