The Comedy/Varietè Artists

This is a partial list of the performers scheduled for 2010. More as they are confirmed.

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	A Girl in the Sky Visit website International aerialist, Rebecca Leonard, from A Girl In The Sky Productions is sought after for her strength, grace and humor. Her fusion of theater and aerial arts has fueled her creation of innovative theater and cabaret productions. She has toured with the media acclaimed show “Cognac & Sausages” throughout Canada and to rave reviews in Shanghai. Her aerial performance can be seen in feature films: award winning Chicago and The Tuxedo with Jackie Chan. She choreographs and performs locally and internationally with A Girl In The Sky Productions, Hangtime Presents, Circus Orange, HighStrung, Look up Theatre and Anti-Gravity. Her aerial performances have been featured at events such as Calgary Stampede, Fashion Cares, Just for Laughs Festival, Toronto Film Festival, CNE, and Vancouver Comedy Festival. At home on the ground and in the air, her dynamic performance is sure to entertain.
	Aerialistas Visit website The Aerialistas are the original aerial girl gang! These inventive and skilled artists are dedicated to bringing glamour, excitement and flirty fun to aerial performance. Poppy Daze, Lillian Dish, Viola Sugarlump, Lucy Rose and Opal Divine, will indulge your senses with an act so vibrant it is reminiscent of the 1920 Zeigfeld Follies. Enjoy yourself, as The Aerialistas serve up a heaping slice of sweetness and delight. Powerful Sexy!
	AerLift Visit website AerLift is a spectacular one-of-a-kind yearly show presented by the aerial community to raise funds for organizations working with populations in extreme poverty. All of the performers and staff donate their services in a spirit of love and support. This year show proceeds will benefit The Mountain Fund, an organization working to eliminate poverty, its causes and symptoms, in developing mountain communities throughout the world. Please click on the blue link above this paragraph to see their site and read more about their good work.
	Aileen Wilkie Aileen has been described as one of the most experienced street performers in the world. She's also been described as gentle and charming as well as amazing and anarchic. Another writer used this phrase "[the] sweet charm of Drambuie and the leather voice of a sheep" (that writer liked her). Could it be that all of these descriptives are simultaneously true? We suspect that something special is going to happen when Aileen Wilkie, a Scottish native, makes her way to the 2010 Moisture Festival in Seattle. Oh yeah ... and she juggles, rides a tall unicycle and knows how to handle a crowd. She takes what she does seriously enough to have completed her studies in Paris under Jacques Lecoq, the acknowledged master of teaching the arts of physical theater. Oh my.
	Al Simmons Visit website In the tradition of the great comedy kings, Danny Kaye, Spike Jones and Jimmy Durante comes Al Simmons - a man dedicated to the all but lost art of combining comedy, with song, dance, magic, sight gags and of course bad puns. His costume-and-prop routines have often been the most popular and talked about act in theatres, concert halls, and at folk, children's and other festivals across North America. We’re interested to see just how many props he carries with him to Seattle. He once told me that he had worked out the math as “About seven pounds per laugh.”
Photo by: Fabio Flecha	Allie Cooper Allie Cooper of Santa Cruz, California performs with Lunacy Productions and teaches with the Gravity Arts. This is Allie's first time joining us at the Moisture Festival and we're encouraged by the videos, the photos, and the words on her profile that say "I like to climb things".
Photo credit: Bruce Rohr	Amanda Crockett Visit website Amanda Crockett started clowning alongside her father at age 9, learning the delicate art of making people laugh. Since then, her pursuit of the perfect blend of circus and physical theatre has taken her to venues around the world. Highlight appearances include La Bauta in Venice, Italy, Shanghai's Oriental Arts Center, the Moscow International Circus, the Moisture Festival, Cirque Voila, the Edinburgh Festival, the Tasmanian National Circus Festival and the Krystallpalast Varieté in Leipzig, Germany, where she won the Audience Choice award in the 2009 Newcomers Show. Amanda is a graduate of the Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre and has had the good fortune to train with some amazing teachers from around the globe including Helene Turcotte, Master Lu Yi, Rodleigh Stevens, Avner Eisenburg and Julie Goell. Amanda recently moved to Chicago, IL where she is a company member with Aloft and a cast member in the company’s El Circo Cheapo Cabaret. She is incredibly inspired by the clown’s brilliance and creating work that combines physical comedy with high-level acrobatic, object manipulation and aerial skills. She brings comedic performance to a new level, inspiring movement to pull laughter out of mid air.
	Amanda Huotari Visit website Whether she's being tormented by a box of chocolates, or is tied to the train tracks awaiting her doom, only the audience can save her. At the age of 13, Mandy took her first workshop at Celebration Barn, Maine's international center for original theater, and it has been her creative home ever since. With an acting degree from Emerson College, she also trained at the Lecoq School in Paris and the International School for Comic Acting in Italy. Commedia dell'Arte master Antonio Fava branded her unique comedy, "ferociously sweet". Mandy's is now Executive Director of Celebration Barn and is touring her one woman show, The Soiree, directed by Avner Eisenberg.
	Anesidora Stunning manipulation of physical reality by a mere mortal or are her powers of a higher order? Experts disagree.
photo: John Cornicello	Aviatrix Moisture Festival aerial artists Esther Edelman, Martha Enson, Cathy Sutherland and Carri Andersen are working together to present the truly amazing "triple trap" in the Moisture Festival's first ever Vashon Island shows (see schedule). These women, born to fly, have taken the name Aviatrix.
	Baby Gramps Visit website According to an article in the special issue City of Music in Seattle Metropolitan Magazine, Baby Gramps is acknowledged as one of the top 50 most influential musicians in the last 100 years along with Ray Charles, Jelly Roll Morton, Ernestine Anderson, John Cage, Bill Frisell, Jimi Hendrix, Quincy Jones, The Wailers, The Ventures, Sound Garden, and Pearl Jam. He is credited with making Seattle audiences aware of old blues and novelty songs that the rest of the world has mostly forgotten. Baby Gramps toured England and Ireland a little while back as part of the Rogues Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys CD Concert Tour with Tim Robbins (actor), Martha and Rufus Wainright, Jenny Muldaur (Maria and Geoff's daughter), Lou Reed, The Watersons, Martin Carthy and Eliza, Suzanne Vega, Ralph Steadman, and many other internationally known performers. The Rogues Gallery CD, produced by Johnny Depp and Hal Wilner in connection with The Pirates of the Caribbean film, landed Baby Gramps on the David Letterman Show. Baby Gramps is a high energy humorously entertaining performer with an endless repertoire. He plays an acoustic antique National Steel guitar and sings his own unique arrangements of rags, jazz, & blues songs from the 20's & 30's and many originals with wordplay, humor, and throat singing. And ... he's one of ours, ... always has been.
	Bellini Twins Visit website Their mother was a trapeze artist in The Bohemian National Circus. She was, as they say, a real swinger. Therefore this next act came to see the light of day as one of nature's most unusual experiments. These twins are from the same mother but have different fathers. Please welcome,,,, the Bellini Twins
	Bill Robison Visit website Bill Robison is a physical comedian.....His performances are a synthesis of outlandish comedy, an elastic face, a penchant for the absurd and a reckless sense of abandon. He has been touring internationally as a solo artist and with the highly acclaimed comedy duo "The Shneedles" with their show "Luggage" They have also performed in numerous comedy festivals and German Variety theaters. Bill has toured extensively as a solo act to fairs and festivals across the US and Canada for over 20 years, where he has been the warm-up act for over 150 concerts including Bill Cosby, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra and many, many more. He is very happy to be back in Seattle and is delighted to be part of the Moisture Festival. Enjoy !
	Booby Trap Players Performing Variety/comedy sketches both new and old, with humorous twists … the Booby Trap Players, no doubt have fun surprises planned for this year’s festival.
	Brent McCoy Visit website For the people who are familiar with Moisture Festival, I have to say ... Brent comes pretty highly recommended: one publication referred to him this way: "charming, sweet and very talented...Bob the Builder meets Avner the Eccentric." and a familiar name in Seattle got our attention when he said this about Brent: "..one of the best integrations of skill, character, and concept that I've ever seen." Rod Kimball of the Flying Karamazov Brothers. His image is one of a hard working blue collar vaudevillian wielding tools. What could possibly go wrong?
	Brittany Walsh Brittany Walsh competed nationally and internationally in gymnastic sports for twelve years before succumbing to the enchantments of the performing arts at the age of seventeen. In 2005, she joined Portland, Oregon's extremely physical theater troupe, Do Jump!. While she continues to perform and travel with Do Jump!, cartwheeling over handtrucks, swinging from hammocks high above audiences, and backflipping off 10-foot tall couches, Brittany is best recognized for her solo hand balancing performances. She performs solo with Wanderlust Circus, Girl Circus, Circus Artemis, and Fist of Dishonor. Brittany has been called one of the best and most unique finale acts of the Pacific Northwest and is certain to leave an audience inspired and mesmerized!
	Bronkar Lee Visit website Internationally acclaimed beatboxer, drummer, juggler, musician, actor, funny man, and circus performer extraordinaire, Bronkar Lee has taken his skills to thousands of colleges, schools, fairs, festivals, corporate events, parties, clubs and theaters around the world. Bronkar's claim to fame is getting hundreds of thousands of Swiss people to beatbox with him using absolutely no words and only one microphone! Bronkar’s been a featured act on NBC's America’s Got Talent, was named 'Mr. Comediality' by San Francisco's Comedy Club House and was nominated forEast Bay Express' Best Entertainer of the year award in 2009. Bronkar combines music, charisma, improvisation and energy like no one else -- making him a rhythmic pioneer in the world of performance!
	Canote Brothers Visit website The Canote Brothers from Seattle, WA, are as renowned for their affable attitudes and humor as they are for their music. Greg on fiddle, and Jere on guitar, and both on banjo ukes, perform zany concerts, play for dances, lead songs and promote a good time! You might know them from their thirteen year stint on NPR radio with Sandy Bradley's Potluck. But here's what a fan and blogger (www.nerdseyeview.com) Pam, said about the mood that the Canote Brothers evoke: ... "Can I tell you how much I adore those wacky Canote Brothers? Can I? In ties that are nearly as wide as their smiles, you head on back in time to an era of high waisted trousers and crank start automobiles and never mind that you're in the basement of a rather swanky and expensive music store, it's all back porch when those boys swing. Golly gee whiz, did they bring the wholesome tunes and the big smiley times."
	Cathy Sutherland Cathy is one of the original Daring Deviante Sisters, a skilled acrobatic duo with an odd sense of humor who brought a new element to the blossoming New Vaudeville scene in the 1980s. Active in several areas of Seattle’s performing arts community, she contributes by singing, dancing, teaching, acting, and performing aerial and land-based acrobatics. Cathy’s acting and comedy skills have enhanced shows she’s performed in with the Flying Karamazov Brothers, Theatre Schmeatre, the UMO ensemble, Printers Devil Theatre and the Royalle Famille DuCaniveaux. She’s also worked with local film makers Greg Lachow and Rob DeVor. Cathy has taught elite – level gymnastics in the Northwest for over 25 years. This Daring Devianté's stunning résumé and curriculum vitaé suggest that she’s an artisté in the fields of Varieté, comedé, dancé, and aerialé as well as a backup singer for one of the sexiest singing ensemblés to ever get their enjoys on a stagé. Add to all of that the fact that Cathy is one of the central organizers of this festival and ... well, if you’ve noticed a spark of bright energy that seems to illuminate and hold together the disparate variety of Varieté shows that make up the Moisture Festival you now know one of the important lighthearted reasons.
	Checkerboard Guy Visit website In one of his more recent blogs, The Checkerboard Guy (AKA David Aiken) quoted Yoda, the Jedi Master: “Do or do not. There is no try.” This is an appropriate reference coming from the "Go anywhere, do anything comic daredevil" Checkerboard Guy who is an active and renowned member of the art form that Moisture Festival celebrates. His many websites (he's consolidating as I write this) tell several remarkable stories of life in the changing lanes of 20th and 21st century street performing, cruise ship performing, symphony performance, stage performance and even a frightening event at a nudist camp show. This will be David's first Moisture Festival performance but we're sure it's going to feel like coming home.
PhotoCredit- MariProvencher	Crockett and Swanson Visit website Shayna Swanson and Amanda Crockett perform their strikingly powerful and unique collaboration on the Aerial Frame. Created in Chicago during the Moisture Festival last year, the act combines the strength and power of Chinese Poles with the grace and classic techniques of Duo Trapeze. Both based in Chicago, Shayna and Amanda can also be seen performing together and apart there and around the world. Their websites can be found at www.amandacrockett.net and http://www.aerialgirl.com/
	Curtis Carlyle Visit website With a style all his own, Curtis fuses world class juggling skills and fresh, innovative comedy. A featured performer with the nationally touring Do Jump! Extremely Physical Theatre, Curtis now performs at corporate & community events, colleges, comedy clubs, fairs and festivals as well as television appearances and goofing around in the backyard. An award winning juggler (at the International Jugglers' Association competition), a snappy dresser (well, that part isn't as well documented yet), and an all around nice guy ... we have to agree with Mike D. of The Beasty Boys who said of Curtis Carlyle "That kid has the funky moves."
	Dangerous DANGEROUS Theatrical Dance & Drag Troupe is really more of a loose association of like minded crimin. . . .uh, creative professionals. We like to think of ourselves as family. Yeah. A family where blood is important, but not as important as loyalty or respect. . . or a good time. Like chillin with a sexy dame dressed in red satin on a Friday night. Or hitting up a local gun show or back alley dice game... all while 'packing' some serious 'heat'. . . . Anyways, we pride ourselves on our fastidious attention to detail. And in always getting the job done. No matter what it takes. That's right. You can count on us. We're beyond Smooth. We're Dangerous
	Delphinia Spit Whitney acquired a fancy for brazen vulnerability in utero, whilst gurgling french with one foot behind her head. After returning from two years of school in Paris, she has honed these abilities and regularly sews wonder into daily life as she accompanies herself irreverently in various pursuits of balance. She also reads while walking, teaches yoga and melts chocolate with her bare hands.
	Doc & Stumpy Doc And Stumpy celebrate the golden age of the vaudeville and burlesque routines that are often forgotten these days. They have been surprising audiences in Las Vegas and Hollywood with their performances in recent years and this year they'll be a part of the revival of interest in these arts here in Seattle.
photo by: John Cornicello	Doc Sprinsock and the SANCApators Doc Sprinsock and the SANCApators are the fabulously eclectic house band for SANCA, the Seattle circus school. When Fabio Sprinsock was born on a cold, gray Seattle morning, he was so surprised he didn't speak for a year-and-a-half. His parents were sharecroppers eking out a living growing sorghum in the strips of land between the runways at Boeing Field, and his childhood pet was a snapshot of a dog. These humble beginnings naturally led him to leave town at his earliest opportunity. Fabio, or "Doc" as he came to be called after he saved a German tourist from choking in an IHOP, was soon introduced to the marching band at the Oregon Country Fair. He went on to lead that band, and the band for the New Old Time Chautauqua, and when SANCA, the Seattle circus school, needed a band, by golly he was going to lead that one too. Doc called on an elite crew of musicians, and the SANCApators were born. Together they are the best band in their price range, and they play for truth, justice, and whatever goodies are left over after the performance.
	Dr H P Lovecraft Master Magician, Medicine Man, Prestidigitateur, Conjurer, Witch Doctor, Wizard, Alchemist, Herbalist, Secular Humorist, Parapsychologist, Master of Tai Klown yo-yo, Certified Public Oracle, Rain-Maker, Ghost Breaker, Soothsayer, Time-traveler for fun and Prophet. The San Francisco Examiner said "The funniest one-liners in town: he's a cross between W.C. Fields and the Wizard of Oz." That's heady company for a humbug. Better still, he has this quote in his publicity "I HIGHLY recommend your hilarious act as being ideal for pure family fun. Yours is, far and away the FINEST and FUNNIEST .... anywhere. --Knott's Berry Farm. If you are going to be recommended by a berry farm, Knott's is the one you want to be doing it. We're thrilled to have this legendary character join us this year.
	Dr. Calamari & Acrophelia Visit website The good but creepy doctor and his cool-skinned lover are remarkably nimble for those who teeter on the brink of life and death. Dr. Loligo Calamari and Acrophelia (A.K.A Jason Williams and Evelyn Bittner),.members of Circus Contraption, project a surrealist dream as they perform effortless and stylish acrobalancing and macabre dance movement.
	Duo Rose Visit website Duo Rose present a passionate romantic trapeze performance incorporating unique dynamic elements with aerial contortion. Their act never fails to elicit a powerful emotional response overwhelming the audience with the seamless integration and flow of highly technical skills and intense passion. Samuel and Sylvia have worked together for three years to combine their different backgrounds in aerial arts, gymnastics, and contortion in the creation of this dynamic aerial adagio act. They have performed for weddings, festivals and various corporate events as well as larger productions including the Zoppe Family Circus and Dreamcast Entertainment’s 2009 cirque style production, “Taganai.” In February, 2010 they were invited to compete in the International Circus Festival of Albacete, Spain, where they were honored receive the prestigious Critics Choice Award and to perform in the awards gala among the top acts internationally.
	Elizabeth Rose Visit website Elizabeth, an Austin native, co-founded a dance theater company when she was still in college. Realm dance project lives on in Texas while Elizabeth went on to work and train in dance and the aerial arts in New York and out West. She is a member of the spectacular Aerialista troupe as well as being a solo artist . Her aerial work is referred to as having "high sensuality ... stunning articulation ... with emphasis on artistry above spectacle ..." She has recently founded ticktock -- a post-modern circus for contemporary audiences. Elizabeth teaches beginning trapeze, mixed aerial, choreography, yoga and other life skills.
	Eric Apoe Visit website Seattle songwriter Eric Apoe started in the music business as a drummer for Cajun fiddler Doug Kershaw, with whom he toured the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Later signed as a staff writer for Warner-Chappell, his music was championed by Tom Dowd and John Hammond Sr. In Seattle, Apoe has released four albums with his band, They. The third, “Radioation,” is culled from live radio appearances on KEXP and NPR’s KUOW. His previous release, “Dream Asylum,” includes four songs co-produced by Soundgarden/Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron. A solo version of his song, “The Bag” was released on a compilation to benefit Northwest Harvest. The fourth and latest CD “Book Of Puzzles” features some of the band members finest recorded performances as well as several guest performers. Irish piper Tom Creegan on “Times of Trouble, and Mickey Raphael playing hamonica and echo harp on “Old Part Of Town”. Noted violist Joanna Hood, arranged strings for the jazz ballad,“Brokenhearted Blackbird”, and celebrated songwriter and lifetime friend, Ron Davies sings a duet co-write on the last track, “Stranger in Your Own Hometown”. Currently the subject of a documentary-in-progress by film makers Stanford Wilson and James Buchanan, Apoe is readying material for his fourth release. A staple of Seattle’s underground, his music encompasses rock, jazz, folk, classical, and world traditions. With poetic force and humorous paradox, Apoe is a Leonard Cohen for the Age of Unreality.
	Esther Edelman Visit website Esther Edelman of UMO fame is performing at this year's festival with Aviatrix (see the shows at the Vashon Open Space) and as a member of the Flying Caribe Girls (see the list of Burlesque performers). Esther has over 20 years of choreographing, directing, and performance experience that spans international stages and events. She is an Artistic Director and Co-founder of the groundbreaking UMO Ensemble. Esther's passion is aerial arts and some of her choreographic and performance highlights include Ringulon alien acrobats atop the Space Needle, Silkfire fabric piece in the Hotbox at the Museum of Glass, bungee finale for UMO's Millennium Circus, Rapunzel: A Radical Aerial Telling featuring the aerial fabric, and dangling from a crane at the Point Defiance Zoo. Esther strives to create a "fluid mix of circus and aerial arts" that is "elegant and expressive" (Seattle PI). Committed to transcending the limitations of individual forms, Esther has made her mark in combining disciplines such as aerial circus and theatrical narrative to produce truly innovative work.
	Foolz Visit website Two performers: one outwardly calm, the other wound tighter than a spring. If there is a dim-witted innocence about them, it's because their childlike charm permeates their world, placing them in situations where something almost always goes wrong. Veterans of film, television, radio and the stage, Dapper Dane & Woodhead have performed for audiences on six continents. Their new show, "FOOLZ", is a character-driven amalgam of theater, music, comedy and juggling that visually demonstrates the power of cooperation between performers with vastly different dispositions.
Photo by John Cornicello	Frank Olivier Visit website When he was a kid growing up in Berkeley, California a performance troupe set up on a lot not far from his home. This group had the whiff of counterculture about them and Frank and his friends rode their bikes to their show every single day and ... well, frankly, he caught something. The group was headed up by Major Chumleigh and included an act called The Flaming Zucchini. The boys were thrilled when they came to the realization that those two characters were, in fact, being portrayed by the same mad man, Michael Mielnik (later known to the world as the legendary Reverend Chumleigh). Chumleigh (to his personal shame) had inspired a young boy to turn to a life of juggling. While the straight world lost whatever contribution that young man might have made (we'll never know, but some are nonetheless relieved) the performance world gained one of the funniest juggling acts to ever play a flaming guitar on top of a tall unicycle. Frank developed his unique offbeat brand of humor in San Francisco's comedy clubs. He was soon sharing the bill with Dana Carvey, Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, and others. New York producers spotted his talents, and quickly signed him. He performed his act for the next three years in the Broadway hit show 'Sugar Babies'. Olivier has a growing number of television appearances including The Tonight Show, Comic Strip Live, and shows for PBS, HBO, BBC, Disney and more. He also headlines Las Vegas, comedy and theater festivals, and performs countless corporate shows.
	Fremont Philharmonic Orchestra Originally the Freiberg Philharmonium, the Fremont Philharmonic couldn't get a gig in town, as everyone in the little Alsatian town was in the band. Neighboring villages suspected with so much talent in one place a pact with the devil had been made. When the fire was put out, those wishing to continue playing emigrated to Fremont in the young city of Seattle. But that was a long time ago. The current roster follows: Pam: clarinet, Kim: flute, Joseph: saxaphone, Clayton: euphonium, Salamandir: tuba, Stuart: drums, Steve: guitar, & Kiki: everything else.
	God's Favorite Beefcake Visit website Okay ... I'll tell you what, click on that link above that will take you to their MySpace page where you can hear the music for this strange Circus Contraption connected band and then YOU try to write words about them.
	Godfrey Daniels Visit website Last year Godfrey was invited to Paris where he (and his close and equally silent partner Randy Minkler) were invited to present their act on the world's premier Varietè television show, Le Plus Grand Cabaret du Mond with Patrick Sèbastien. A remarkable sign of recognition and respect for a Seattleite whose most spectacular skill seems to be catching the big red balloon that he tosses. Does none of this make sense to you? Have you never seen Godfrey do his thing? OOoouuuu I wish I was you. He delights us over and over but what a joy to be seeing him for the first time.
	Hacki Ginda Visit website Hacki Ginda is Back! Need we say more?
	Harlequin Hipsters Visit website The Harlequin Hipsters is a collaborative performance collective whose aim is to honor, celebrate, and continue to evolve the rich heritage of American social dance. Through the synthesis and reimagining of social and contemporary dance, clown, circus and Vaudeville disciplines, we craft experiences that invoke in our audiences a spirit of dance, play, and wonder. The members of our group come from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines; from ballet and musical theater to stilt walking and figure skating, swing and hip-hop. Organizations performed and trained with include ACT Theater, Michael Franti and Spearhead, the Moisture Festival, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Northwest Folklife, Teatro Zinzanni, University of Washington, Cornish College of the Arts, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Actors Theater of Louisville, Veronica Mendonca and VAM, SANCA, Potion Dance Company, The Erotic Ball, Dream Science Circus, Circus Contraption and the Oregon Country Fair.
	Hat Trick Visit website What a pleasure to welcome these guys to town! Between them, they have many years in the business ... the business of juggling. We will see some comedy and clowning around but we're also going to see some of the sweetest juggling around. When asked what I should write in this place, they called what they do "high level b.s." ... breathe deep, that's the smell of juggling success.
	Hokum W. Jeebs Visit website Vaudeville was a familiar sight across America until the Great Depression. These traveling troupers have mostly been forgotten and little evidence of their passing can be found. But the tradition lives on in the unlikely and delightful form of Professor Hokum W. Jeebs, a vaudevillian reincarnated. Hokum W. Jeebs is a one-man musical theater. Out of his trunk emerge such eccentric instruments as toy piano, saw, tuba muffler and snorkel. He sings and plays from an amazingly eclectic repertoire that ranges from classical warhorses to obscure popular songs and good old American ragtime. Hokum’s perspective on music is stylish and witty. His wild comic imagination, deadpan delivery and broad knowledge of the vaudeville period, has delighted audiences across the continent and around the world. Wherever he has performed, he has left in his wake a steady stream of giggles, grins and guffaws.
	Horse Crazy Cowgirl Band Visit website As one of their friends mentioned in a letter posted on their website, they do the things that they sing about in their songs. Horse Crazy Cowgirls sing and swing and have good fun on stage and off stage they are likely to be found ridin' and ropin' and ranching along with the tunes they hum. They have a legion of fans among those who live that life and we're pretty darn sure that our Seattle city friends are going to love seeing and hearing them in the context of our vaudeville Varietè shows on a fun night.
	Hot Pink Feathers Visit website "Best of the Bay" dance company Hot Pink Feathers is in it's 10th year of Delighting the World, One Showgirl at a Time. The Feathers spread joy and wonder through their passionate and playful samba burlesque and world cabaret antics. Awarded First Place in Original World Dance twice at San Francisco's Grand Carnaval Parade, these dancing darlings are veterans of Tease-O-Rama (featured dancers in all showcases since 2002) and two-time Miss Exotic World troupe finalists. The Feathers leave glitter and grins in their wake, and by watching them, you risk being hips-notized by their hips! Carnaval SF 2008 Queen Kellita is the Head Feather and she is joined at Moisture Fest by the luminous core Feathers Kerri "Dusty Jewel" Myers and Jennifer Bruce. Hot Pink Feathers extends a warm invitation to YOU to join us in San Francisco for the Grand Carnaval SF Parade on May 30th!
	Iman Lizarazu Visit website Iman Lizarazu is a world-class entertainer, juggler and physical commedian. People who have seen Lizarazu on Bay Area and International stages already know the Santa Cruz resident is a unique performer. As a classically trained ballet dancer, mime and circus clown, she is a jester and a fool, in the best old-world sense of the words. Her background includes a wide range of comic disciplines from circus arts to commedia dell'arte. Also a talented, extremely creative, fine artist, Iman's artwork has been displayed at many local galleries and museums.
	Jack and Jeri Kalvan Visit website Jack & Jeri Kalvan say that the key to a happy marriage is being able to throw things at each other. This dynamic juggling/acrobatic duo has performed their amazing and odd skills (like synchronized flowerpot manipulation) around the world. Their unique skills are sought after by companies and organizations, to inspire their people to work together and become more innovative. Now at their their first Moisture Festival, they are performing a variety of unusual acts, and it’s already clear that they'll fit right in.
	Jan Damm Visit website Jan grew up in central Main and began performing at age twelve juggling at children’s parties and events. He studied clowning with Maine residents (and Moisture Festival semi-regulars) Avner the Eccentric and Julie Goell. Jan earned an economics degree from Bard College in New York where he simultaneously directed that school’s “Surrealist Training Circus”. After further training as a street performer Jan made his way to the San Francisco Bay Area where he studies and works in the lucrative fields of Rola Bola, clowning, juggling, trapeze and other endeavors designed to impress his economics professors.
	Janet & David Janet McAlpin & David Godsey (Teeny & Tardy) As specialists in Entertainment Law, we at Teeney and Tardy, Esq. have been proudly serving the industry for 25 years. In our offices at a former coffee roasterie on Vashon Island we create performance briefs, written and directed by our Sr. Partner, Aidan Kai McAlpin Godsey. During coffee breaks, we are establishing a new semi-legal precedent on Vashon with the formation of Open Space for Arts & Community where we are happy to be hosting a weekend of Moisture Festival this year. Remember: if you need legal help, call Teeny & Tardy, Esq. - we are here to help you!
	Janna Wächter "Janna Wächter's sweet mezzo-soprano voice" one reviewer said "can be earthy or refined as she sees fit" and this might be an apt description of her contributions to musical and theatrical productions in the Seattle area as well. Whether she is gracing the stage at the Chapel Performance Space during its annual Wayward Music Series, working in and on films or adding her voice to the fun of Fremont's Trolloween celebration, Janna's contributions to the Seattle music community are rich and various. We welcome her warmly to the Moisture Festival this year.
	Jason Webley Visit website The Wikipedia entry on Jason Webley describes his music as a combination of folk, gypsy, and punk. It goes on to say that he quit his day job in the spring of 1998, hopped on a Greyhound bus with the intention of playing in the streets until his money ran out. Good plan ... busking is one of the more successful ways of unburdening one's self of an uncomfortable nest egg. But something went terribly wrong. Jason has now released five full length albums including one that the Seattle Times called "One of the best Seattle CDs of the year". With several collaboration albums as well and a loyal following he may not get to the find out just what happens when all of the money runs out.
	Jeanne Dark Born into a show biz family Jeanne formed her own sense of style as she trained to join the fun. She brought her act into the exploding European Varietè scene. Jeanne's stage sparkle called for something more and she developed several acts that allowed her to show her several talents. Comedy magic, cabaret singer, show MC, producer ... she's come a long way to get wet with the rest of us at this year's Seattle Moisture Festival. Jeanne Dark!
	Joey Pipia Visit website Performing magic for children at the renowned Jewel Box Theater or for adults at famous Magic Castle in Hollywood, Joey Pipia can do it all and he can do it with grace and style. Joey is a very funny magician taking audiences on an amazing journey through time and reality fashioned after the legendary traveling magicians of early vaudeville. Joey masterfully blends comedy, illusions and politics in his magical comedic performance.
	Karen Quest Visit website Karen has lived many incarnations. In previous lives she has juggled clubs and balls, breathed fire and more. In this one she's often a skilled western performer spinning tales, cracking whips, spinning ropes and cracking wise in the cutest cowgirl outfits you've ever seen. But for this year's Moisture Festival she has something new in mind. She's offered no hints ... I personally trust her ... let's see what San Francisco's Karen Quest is bringing north with her this time ...
	Kazüm Visit website Kazüm's mission is to push the boundaries of perceived limitations, inspire ourselves and others to actualize dreams and to create more joy and beauty in the world through the medium of acrobalance, adagio, stunts and imagination. Kazüm has been Portland's premiere acrobalance dance troupe since 2005. Since their inception they have collaborated with many of the most loved and creative groups in Portland's eclectic and dynamic avant-garde music and performing arts scene. Kazüm has established themselves as an integral part of Portland's art community, and continues to define the role of local circus in Portland's future.
	Kerri Kresinski Visit website Kerri has been performing for her entire life. She started dancing at age 3 and never stopped. Although her dancing has a foundation of classical and contemporary training, her style embodies an ethnic/urban feel with a twist of slinky funk. As an acrobat and aerialist she has trained at schools in California and Canada. Kerri has performed in the New Pickle Circus, Mtv’s “My Super Sweet Sixteen”, The Crucible’s Fire Ballet, and shows all over the world. She is a co-founder and performer in San Francisco’s world class, home grown group, Sweet Can Circus. She makes a living performing her aerial tissu and double straps acts, dancing, playing percussion, stilt-walking, hula-hooping, and teaching at the SF Circus Center. Kerri is known for her ability to physicalize emotion in her movement in the air and on the floor.
	Kevin Joyce Visit website Kevin is Creator and Host of the variety show Big Night Out on the Seattle Channel. With his wife Martha Enson he runs EnJoy Productions, which produces live entertainment for corporate and special events, as well as music, videos and leadership training, He was a Co-Founder of UMO Ensemble and a principal performer and Director of Teatro Zinzanni. An avid singer/songwriter, Kevin’s CD Say It is available on CD Baby. His daughter Ruby regularly pins him in wrestling matches. She is 7.
	Lelavision Visit website The name Lela is more than a play on the names of the founders; derived from two Sanskrit terms meaning "creation" and "creative spark", with references to "play," it denotes the spirit of the performance group. The company combines modern and aerial dance, music, theater, and large interactive musical sculptures to create innovative works of awe and whimsy. Their work is about the transfer of energy, the emanations of the soul, and the common denominators of the human experience. Mann and Lamblin work with a synthesis of form, space, movement, and music in a collaboration that draws on the unique contribution of each. Ela Lamblin is a sculptor/musician who is known in Seattle for his past collaborations with the UMO Ensemble. Lamblin's musical instrument/sculptures represent a harmony of sound, form, and movement meant not solely to be looked at and walked around but to be sounded and intimately experimented with. They appeal both to the ear and to the eye and, because they are thematically indicative, to the soul and to the consciousness.
Photo: Mari Provencher	Macha Visit website Amanda Crockett and Shayna Swanson are each working solo at this year's Moisture Festival (see their separate bios on this page) working together they will present a Duo Frame aerial performance. The acts combines the strength and power of Chinese Poles with the grace and classic techniques of duo trapeze. The piece was created and choreographed by Shayna Swanson and Amanda Crockett and it will be our great pleasure to watch them perform it at this year's festival.
	Miss Rose and her Rhythm Percolators Visit website Travel back in time to the earliest days of the Jazz Age with Miss Rose & Her Rhythm Percolators. The Seattle-based quartet faithfully recreates the vintage jazz of the early 1920s to the mid '30s -- the era when this original American music provided a playful soundtrack for the flappers who danced the Charleston and sipped illicit booze in the glitzy underworld of the speakeasy. Miss Rose & Her Rhythm Percolators play well-known popular tunes that have since become part of the great American songbook and dust off forgotten gems from the early jazz era. Audiences delight at the unabashed romance, the playful humor, and the irresistible swing rhythms. Some can't help but dance or sing along. Singer Sunga Rose croons and strums a ukulele while the Percolators -- Ericka Kendall (upright bass), Holly Michelle Eckert (piano/violin), and Carey Rayburn (trumpet/flugelhorn) -- keep time and knock out solos. Miss Rose & Her Rhythm Percolators revive for modern times a wonderful sound from a bygone era.
	Moeppi Ginda Visit website As a young man Moeppi (a German nickname for Myron) left his home in Muenster, Germany to join his father in the family craft ... making people laugh. Moeppi's father, Hacki Ginda (see his bio on this page) was famous in Berlin for his onstage work and for the fact that he owned the well known Chamaeleon Varietè Theater. Moeppi immediately plugged in, working backstage and stepping on stage at every opportunity. He hadn't yet developed the skills that he now shows but he was, from the beginning, fearless. Hacki was (is) noted for his ability and willingness to improvise and otherwise create chaos for those working with him onstage. With no more direction than "Follow me" Moeppi stepped out night after night and found his character in front of delighted audiences. Moeppi performed last year at the Mositure Festival without his dad but he looks forward to this year's collaboration. By the way, his son, Diemo, now 3 1/2 years old is already a stage veteran. This won't be the end of Ginda fun on stage at Moisture Fest and other new world venues as well as those in Muenster and other parts of the old world.
	Mr. Spin Visit website This will be his first year at Seattle's Moisture Festival. Mr. Spin is noted in the world of juggling performance for ... wait, let me let Reg Bolton say it: "The legendary Mr. Spin from Adelaide, Australia draws us in to his show, where in 20 minutes of high octane silliness, we can lose sight of the pure skill and hard work behind say, the 2 full metal baseball bats, spinning like propeller devil sticks on one hand each." We are all looking forward to this.
	Mud Bay Jugglers Visit website Masters of levity is several senses of the term. Mudbay has brought their innovative approach to juggling for over 25 years now. They’ve passed some of their knowledge and experience on while passing clubs. They work to music or in silence but you won’t miss the message. See what happens when drama, choreography and juggling create a flashpoint with the complex world of music. Still, as one member put it, "Even after 20 years, our best times are when the clubs just float in the air and we're not thinking about anything but the fun we're having with the people around us."
	NANDA Visit website The NANDA experience is a high-energy, unrelenting blast of action and excited humor. You will be enraptured by this dynamic show, a tidal wave of acrobatics, dance, juggling and crazy Kung Fu acro-fighting, which is tightly woven into an electrifying sonic soundscape. These four artists’ unique blend of skill acts and hilarious antics will reward again and again with their innovative approach to pure entertainment.
Photo by Michelle Bates	Peculiärs Connoisseurs of the peculiar. Seekers of odd musical gems of a bygone era. Fastidious dressers. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Peculiärs.
	Poppy Daze Visit website Poppy Daze (Lara Lee Rasberry) performs locally, nationally and internationally on a variety of aerial apparatus, including her signature anchor. She is the founder and director of the Aerialistas. Considered a pioneer in the rapidly-growing Seattle circus arts community, Lara has been teaching classes in trapeze, rope, fabric, hoop and invented apparatus for ten years. She and her fellow aerialists put on "aerLift" a yearly fundraiser for organizations working to help populations in extreme poverty. Lara is honored to be joining the renowned "Sweatie-Pies" this year at Moisture Festival. She is also working on a solo project, "Nonpareil."
	Quynbi Visit website Quynbi is a Seattle-based aerial silks artist, dancer, visual artist and licensed skydiver. Her passion for the arts has been with her since childhood. She began dancing, modeling and acting at age 3, and has explored many forms of artistic expression. She has shown her paintings, collages and drawings in Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle. She was a tattoo artist for a year. She has been the front woman for two punk bands, The Parking Lots and Nylon Bitch, and a craft/fashion vendor for craft sales and boutiques across the country. She self-published an internationally distributed fanzine, The Social Loaf, in her teenage years. However, it is in her work as a performance artist that she feels she has found her true calling. Her latest adventure is exploring the world of skydiving. She currently holds an A license issued by the United States Parachute Association. Appropriately, she is pursuing the discipline of freestyle skydiving, which is a freefall dance starting 13,000 feet above ground, and shares many qualities with her work as an aerial silks artist. She has always dreamt of flying, and now she is learning how. Watch out for Quynbi as she soars to new heights!
	Raspyni Brothers Visit website As one of the most sought after acts on the corporate entertainment scene, they appear annually at over 100 events across America and internationally. Since 1982 their intelligent mayhem has earned them two International Juggling Championships, multiple appearances on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson and Jay Leno, and a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.
	Red Wine Sisters Visit website From Santa Cruz, California, the Red Wine Sisters were spotted by Moisture Festival organizers while performing at an events entitled: Keep Santa Cruz Weird. They seemed to be helping greatly with that goal. Paula Bliss and Pipa Piñon have played music and shared wine together for over 20 years. You're invited here to share the pleasure of longtime friendship. Enjoy.
	Reid Belstock Visit website Reid Belstock began juggling at the age of 15, as a way of overcoming gross and fine motor skill impairment. Following high school, Reid went off to study with Ringling Brothers, and Barnum and Bailey Circus Clown College, where he learned the fine art of Slapstick and Physical Comedy. From that time, Reid has performed across the United States, Canada, South America, Europe, China and Japan . He has performed in almost every venue that exists, from Theaters, Theme Parks, Cruise Ships, Casinos, Colleges, Conventions, Street Performing Festivals, Comedy Clubs, and Hotel Review Shows.
	Rhys Thomas JuggleMania Visit website Whether walking up a stairway of blades, gliding along a slack rope, juggling pins, spinning crockery on sticks (for no known reason) or offering other circus-style feats Rhys Thomas’ climb-up, lay-down, stand-up comedy reassures us that he’s too smart to fall, drop, cut, or otherwise turn this charming performance into the catastrophe that he is continually skirting.
photo by: John Cornicello	Ricochet Visit website RICOCHET is the duet project of Cohdi Harrell and Laura Stokes. Weaving delicate metaphor with jaw dropping spectacle, Ricochet is known for their distinct combination of poetic acrobatics and bizarrely charming character. Coming from rigorous backgrounds of classical and contemporary dance, aerial acrobatics, martial arts, and the commitment to experimentation and improvisation, Cohdi and Laura have created a unique flavor of performance, often falling through the cracks of genre. Since founding their collaboration in 2006 in the high desert of New Mexico, they have relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area, where they travel regionally and internationally performing their full length works and conducting workshops.
	Rob Torres Visit website Whether he's changing his clothes, setting the table, or just sitting down, Rob Torres has a unique way of finding absurdity in everyday tasks. His award winning international comedy has made Rob one of the foremost visual comedians in the world today. From New York City to Tokyo, Australia to England’s Blackpool, Singapore to Puebla, Mexico Rob seems determined to live up to his the description that has attached itself to him … Rob Torres: International Man of Mirth!
	Ron W. Bailey There are many people whose hard work and creativity makes the Moisture Festival happen but there is one without whom it wouldn't have been an option. Ron W. Bailey is an entertainer, band leader, singer, songwriter, and a Maker. He makes things happen. His visit to one of Berlin's two Comedy/Varietè festivals in the 1990s inspired this unique contribution to Seattle's musical and theatrical landscape. Ron's romance with Seattle began ... but wait ... let me allow Seattle songsmith Jim Page to tell it: "Anyway, in '74 along comes Rose and The Dirt Boys - they're out of Oklahoma and they just moved right in and made themselves at home. You could do that here in those days, it was that generous. Well, one of the brains of the dirt boys was Ron Bailey, or RB as they called him. A compact little Scotts Okie with a great voice and an unstoppable mind for invention. He began collecting talented friends. He became kind of a magnet around which a lot of interesting people revolved. When The Dirt Boys broke up RB went on to the Dynamic Logs - a band that was larger or smaller depending on the circumstances. And that's when things began to get real theatrical. Anyway, making long stories shorter ... The Royal Famille Du Caniveaux was born somewhere in there, involving strange shadowy figures in Spain and Paris and New York, and they all started going to the Oregon Country Fair. So did a lot of jugglers and magicians and dancers and singers and all the rest. The Flying Karamazov Brothers, Tom Noddy, Faith Petric. So It was a natural progression if you look at it that way. It just had to happen. And where else [but Seattle] could it have been?" Ron ... Seattle and the Varietè performers you've brought to this pretty city thank you.
	Run For Your Life! Visit website Run For Your Life!'s mission is to make people laugh. Their abstract comedy has no malice or agenda, and their satirical dances point up universal human (or non-human) foibles.
photo: Timothy Aguero	SANCA Visit website The School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts (SANCA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the mental and physical health of children of all ages, and is dedicated to serving students from all economic backgrounds by offering tuition scholarships. Seattle's premier circus school was founded by Executive Director Jo Montgomery and Program Director Chuck Johnson. By day Jo is a pediatric nurse practitioner, but at night moonlights as a circus arts instructor. Like many pediatric care providers, Jo noticed an alarming increase in the rates of childhood obesity and started the school as a creative and practical way to address the problem. Chuck's interest in circus began at age 10 when his grandparents took him to a circus show in Portland. Soon after that he taught himself to juggle and began gymnastics training. As an adult Chuck helped found the Cascade Youth Circus and has been involved professionally in circus, gymnastics coaching, stunt work and rigging. SANCA opened its doors in January 2004 with 5 students and a trampoline, but is now home to two trampolines, trapeze rigs, vertical ropes, a tumbl-trak, tight wires, unicycles, German Wheels, a million juggling balls, and lots of circus fun! The school offers classes in acrobatics, circus arts, aerial training, hoop, juggling and trampoline and even has a circus band for those more musically inclined. With over 500 students of ALL ages, and a satellite program on Vashon Island, SANCA proves that it's never too late to join the circus!
	sara sparrow sara sparrow came to modern circus through a background in gymnastics, music, theater, and visual art. In addition to her ongoing romance with the trapeze, she is one half of 'levity', a quirky duo acrobatic collaboration, and a performer with the Tallhouse Arts Consortium in Olympia. miss sparrow has also collaborated and performed with the Aerialistas and Ricochet.
	Shayna Swanson Visit website Shayna Swanson has created and performed "truly heart-felt and creative" (Chicago Reader) aerial works for over 13 years. After attending Circus Maniacs (Bristol, England), intensively studing aerial hoop, trapeze and rope, Shayna returned to the States, to perform and teach with The Midnight Circus, Circus Smirkus, Cirque de la Mer, Zyngara, New Vision Cirque, Circesteem, The Lyric Opera, The Big Aerial Show, Cirque du Soleil, Cirque Voila and many corporate clients. In 2005 she received the Glenn P Davis Scholarship to the Aerial Dance Festival, rewarded every year for excellence in aerial choreography. That same year Shayna formed her own company "Aloft Aerial Dance" and, with a grant from the City of Chicago, produced the critically acclaimed full-length show "Rolling Blackouts". In 2006 her choreography was selected into the repertory of Thodos Dance Chicago and featured in the Best of Dance Chicago Showcase. That same year she was named a "Mover and Shaker" of the Chicago dance scene. Her work was also presented at the International Circus Performer's Gathering in Brattleboro, Vermont, and at many Chicago dance festivals. Shayna formed the Aloft Loft in April 2006 to provide a supportive and vibrant community training space for physical artists of all sorts. In the first year of its existence Shayna produced four full-length shows and interactive performance parties at the Aloft Loft. In the last year she was the aerial director for Willow Creek Church's massive "Imagine Christmas" production, performed in aerial hoop in Hong Kong and stilts in Shanghai, and thrilled thousands at events all over America!
	Simon Chaban Visit website Trained in Russian acrobatics since the age of six, Simon is a master performer in the circus ring or a cabaret stage. Born and raised in San Francisco, he chose staff manipulation as his primary art form, working in high level circus skills to develop an act entirely his own. Grounded in impeccable technique, inspired by music and movement, Simon has commanded the rapt attention of audiences across the United States and Europe. He performed with the America’s Got Talent, Paris Variety “Le Plus Grand Cabaret”, Switzerland’s Circus Monti, The Crucible’s Fire Ballet, and Pickle Family Circus. When not performing, Simon passes on his knowledge of acrobatics, teaching them that with dedication, nothing is impossible.
	Simon Neale Visit website Simon cuts an elegant figure as he hosts Moisture Festival shows in his Utilikilt and East End, London accent (modified to allow Americans to understand). Simon's sense of comedy harkens back to Music Hall and to the British traditions of "Panto". Relax, you're someplace else now.
	Smerdyakov Karamazov The brilliant vaudevillian, Ed Wynn, once said "A comedian is not a man who says funny things. A comedian is one who says things funny." As, variously, a solo performer (Samwise, Juggler Intraordinaire,) a founding-partner in the hilarious Laughing Moon Theater, and then one of the quartets and quintet called The Flying Karamazov Brothers, Smerdyakov (a.k.a. Sam Williams) had nightly views of laughing faces as he gamboled across stages offering his oddly twisted but clearly friendly point of view on events around him. Sam still lives in his hometown of Seattle and, when persuaded now and again to act as presenter or performer, he reminds us anew of that core attribute of a comedian of which Ed Wynn spoke. It's not an act, he thinks that way.
	Smirk! Visit website Physical comedian and maniacal goofball Reid Belstock and innovative juggling ace and straight man Warren Hammond have teamed up to bring you their hilarious and incredible new show, Smirk! Described as "A nicely matched pair of performers with a deep bag of tricks," by Juggle Magazine, their juggling and slapstick antics explode off the stage to fill the largest auditorium. Their work has earned them the 2009 IJA Silver Medal for ensemble work, as well as the Boulder Circus Arts Award in 2008.
	Sunga Rose Visit website Sunga was raised on a diet of musical theater, 70s folk revival, funk and the Beatles. In other words, she has been genre-confused since childhood. Then she heard Mildred Bailey and her life was changed forever. Since then she has immersed herself in the music, fashion, and culture of the Jazz Age. Major influences are the aforementioned Miss Bailey, Lee Morse, Annette Hanshaw, Connee Boswell, Ruth Etting, Bing Crosby, and the wonderful Cliff Edwards (aka Ukulele Ike). These days she is thrilled to be strumming her beautiful Paddlele made by Joel Eckhaus of Earnest Instruments. She also has a vintage 1930s concert ukulele by Echo-Uke. Sunga Rose, in addition to her solo performances at this festival is the leader of a musical group performing together here, their name is Miss Rose and her Rhythm Percolators.
	Sweaty Pies The Sweaty Pies are a tasty treat being prepared by some of Seattle's premier aerial artists especially for the first year of Georgetown Moisture Festival shows. Working with the unique and challenging "triple trap" (trapeze) they are planning a theatrical and artistic piece that will give us an idea of the multitasking that circus performers accept as a part of that lifestyle. We can't wait.
	Tamara the Trapeze Lady Visit website Tamara "The Trapeze Lady's mother was a belly dancer in the 1970's. That settled many things for little Tammy. Shiny, glittery, shimmering and sensual became an important part of her career plan. Oh yeah, and applause. Did I mention the applause? Little Tammy grew up, moved to the big city (Seattle) and soon joined the underground performance art scene. While dancing at a club one night, she ran into the chains left in the ceiling by the D.J. the night before and found improvisational aerial bliss. An entranced (or perhaps concerned) observer suggested she take a class and introduced her to Seattle actor, choreographer and aerial dance entrepeneur; Robert Davidson. The path was now illuminated and Tamara "The Trapeze Lady" was born. Her aerial education took her to the San Fransisco Circus Center, Boulder Colorado's Aerial Dance Festival, the Montreal Circus Center, and myriad workshops with noted and illustrious aerial visitors to Seattle including Eric Newton, Shayna Swanson, Terry Crane and Duo Madrona. Tamara "The Trapeze Lady" has appeared in the U.S., Canada, Spain, Italy, Amsterdam, and Thailand where she holds the proud title "Cat Lady Of Lading Island". She has been in shows gracing the stage with Dita Von Tease, Satan's Angel and Catherine D'elish and has appeared in several movies and books. She began producing variety events in 1995. An abridged history includes; The Fallen Women Follies 1995-2005 and award winning sold out shows at Seattle's Fringe Festival in 2001 • Burlesque Behind the Pink Door 2001-2004 • Without A Net aerial dance exhibition 2003 and 2004 • Columbia City Cabaret 2005 to present • Moisture Festival burlesque organizer team member 2009 to present. Tamara resides in Seattle and trains and teaches at Versatile Arts adult aerial gym. She can be seen on Sundays in the Pink Door dining room dangling above your dinner and hosting and performing monthly at her Columbia City Cabaret.
	Terry Crane Visit website Having languished long enough in higher education, Terry Crane finally surrendered to restless urges that lead him to walk calmly away with the circus at the tender age of 20. Since then, his thirst for movement and performance mentoring has been a zigzag constellation of off the beaten path destinations, taking him to the San Francisco Circus Center, Montreal's National Circus School (of Cirque du Soleil fame), and the Beijing International Acrobatics School. He has now performed in over 15 countries, on 3 continents, and been featured on TV 4.5 times. He is a longtime practitioner of capoeira, contact improvisation, hip hop dance, physical theater, and tree climbing. He infuses his work with these influences as well as his own fiercely unique style. Terry loves the sublime experience of circus performance, and daring to reach across the fourth wall to share with all his audiences.
	The Cabiri Visit website The Cabiri is a Seattle-based aerial dance troupe, specialize in 'performative mythology', theatrical depiction of tales from folklore and mythology. Utilizing modern and aerial dance, stilt walking, physical theatre, and puppetry, The Cabiri transcend the human form and dance outside of time. Members of the troupe also teach ongoing aerial dance classes at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center in West Seattle. Don't miss "Carpathian Dawn," their upcoming full length theatrical production, premiering April 24, 2010 at the Auburn Performing Arts Center, and featuring choreography by Sam Alvarez, Catherine Cabeen, and Jill Leversee.
	Three Left Feet! Visit website Seattle favorites (and internationally known) aerialists Rachel Nehmer & Ben Wendel of Duo Madrona have been working together with the fabulous aerialist Terry Crane (see separate bio under his name) to put together an acrobatic piece "on the ground!" They've worked this out specifically for the Moisture Festival. Knowing the level of skill and the sense of humor of these artists has us looking forward to a fun and interesting piece of theater.
	Tom Noddy Visit website Tom has done something unique in show business ... he created a new kind of act. When Tom Noddy first took his performance of Bubble Magic onto the Tonight Show in the early 80s (the first of 3 such performances on that show) Johnny Carson was able to say "He's doing something unlike anything we've ever seen." He used the attention gained by those appearances to initiate a series of "Bubble Festivals" at science centers across America and now in several European cities (he says that he knows a good bit about the physics of soap films but admits and he's funnier than he is smart). This has resulted in work for him and now for several other entertainers who've followed in his footsteps. Tom has recently returned from events built around his act in Scandinavian countries and great success on German stages and television shows. He's delighted to be gathering in Seattle with the collection of odd people who make up the peer group of a guy who blows bubbles for a living.
	Trixie Little & the Evil Hate Monkey Visit website Baltimore's Trixie Little and The Evil Hate Monkey are an award-winning, acrobatic burlesque superduo who have been making fun sexy and sexy fun since 2002. Described as "smart, funny and dumb in all the best ways", this talented twosome has flipped-n-stripped on "The Gong Show with Dave Attel," have opened for John Waters, are the winners of the 2006 Exotic World Best Burlesque Duo trophy and are regular late night fixtures in New York City, Baltimore and beyond.
	Velones Visit website The Velones: Martha Enson (founding member of UMO Ensemble and former performer and director with Teatro Zinzanni) and Cathy Sutherland (of the Du Caniveaux and the Aerialistas) have performed together in Mexico, Spain, and throughout the US. Now, direct from the streets of Barcelona comes this new vertical power act. Venga!
	Vivian Tam Visit website Vivian Tam, once known as Maxine Meringue while she performed with The Aerialistas, Seattle's original girl gang, is now offering a solo program that features a stunning performance with the tissu. The Seattle Times recently raved about a performance of Vivian's in these terms "an elegant aerial act, twisting and pretzeling her way up a bolt of silk". We are pleased to have Vivian return to our stage this year and we're sure that our audiences will find the grace and beauty of her performance to be special.
	Wang Hong Wang Hong’s name translates into English as “rainbow” and the spectrum of talents that she employs in her performance are as beautiful and delicate as that ephemeral play of light. She was raised in the cold, far northeast province of Jain on China’s border with the Soviet Union. At 10 years of age she started training as a gymnast but began her performance career as a dancer. She worked in North America with the famed Tandy Beal Dance Theater company and the New Pickle Circus under Tandy's direction and with the Cirque du Soleil company. Wang Hong has toured as an acrobat, a juggler and an antipodist (foot balancer): her presentation of an act employing those skills in the delicate manipulation of parasols has won for her the Gold Medal at the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain, the most prestigious award in the world of circus. Grace and strength combined in a performance unlike any you've ever seen.
photo by John Cornicello	zoom ----- Moisture Festival Volunteer Staff Visit website This is a cropped photo of a small fraction of the many volunteers that worked together to staff the Moisture Festival a few years back. Some of these friends will be back this year, some can't and will be missed. Other new friends will join us and work for the pleasure of being a part of this joyous event and a contributor to the laughter that is the real engine that makes this thing move. It's not clear to us how many in the audience recognize the fact but the organizers and the experienced performers know that the applause is shared with these partners. Thank you.