About me.

I’m Jess Allen, an aerialist from rural West Wales. I’m a coach, performer and maker with a background in dance, aerial harness and performance art. I teach aerial rope and sling. I perform rope, sling and harness. I make film, live, durational, 1:1 and site-based performance work.

Helo!

Jess ydw i - I’m Jess.

I teach and perform rope and sling with a focus on dynamic technique and ground-to-air movement. I also have a decade of experience as an aerial harness performer (counterweight/bungee) in touring outdoor shows with inclusive (disabled/nondisabled) companies.

I have an MA in dance making and performance and PhD in performance art. I’ve made work across disciplines/media with a particular focus on film, site-based durational and 1:1 performance.

Yn wreiddiol o Aberystwyth, dw i’n siarad Cymraeg fel ail iaith. I grew up in Aberystwyth and I’m Welsh speaking.

You can read more about my coaching philosophy, performance practice, training, qualifications and work history below.

As a teacher & coach, I like to make aerial accessible & playful: allowing everyone to explore their own unique physicality; nurturing confidence, wellbeing & connection.

My coaching practice.

I believe in growing an aerial practice that nourishes the soul.

Too often what once started off as a joyful source of exploration, pleasure and play can become a source of frustration, self-criticism or even fear when we get serious about the skills we want - or think we should have.

My passion and mission as an aerial coach is to help my students develop a robust and sustainable practice - tailored to them and their needs - that allows them to refine technique, work towards dream skills, explore movement, grow vocabulary, train consistently while retaining a sense of the joy that typically drew us to aerial in the first place.

I coach online and in person. I’m also part of the team of coaches for Circus Mobility’s Parish membership.

You can read more about my background and training below.

As a performer & maker I like to make work that challenges the superhuman spectacle of circus; that is intimate, fallible & funny.

My performance practice.

I’m an aerialist and movement artist who creates performance and film, often using aerial apparatus (rope, sling, harness) in curious juxtaposition to sites, spaces, objects and bodies. I see aerial as contact dance with apparatus in vertical space. So while I’m a skilled aerialist who makes technical or traditional acts, I'm also a contemporary performance artist who likes playing with aerial in unorthodox ways. I have an idiosyncratic movement quality and often work with task-based scores or pedestrian gestures.

I worked as harness performer in outdoor touring shows for over a decade. I have a PhD in activist performance and a background in site-specific movement practice. I make film, site-based, durational and 1:1 performance work.

My background is in dance and site-based performance. So I see aerial as contact dance in vertical space that allows us to explore our unique physicality in relation to the apparatus, surfaces, gravity in new ways.

My background and training.

I trained as a contemporary dancer after a first PhD in biology. My training was rooted in improvisation, site-based performance and somatic practice.

So I see aerial as dance in vertical space that allows us to explore and expand our physicality; from acrobatic skill, to restorative experiential movement.

I worked as an aerial performer (harness/counterweight/bungee) for inclusive companies Blue Eyed Soul and EVERYBODY Dance from 2009-23. I first did rope at a Circus Maniacs intensive in Bristol and instantly fell in love with this apparatus. After a long hiatus while I was completing my PhD, touring with EVERYBODY and training in aerial yoga, I returned to aerial circus training full time in 2019 with coaching and teacher training in dynamic rope from Allie Cooper (US) and Alex Allan (UK), dynamic sling with Camille Swift (US) and coaching mentorship from Jessica John (US). 

Aerial is important to my health. I have an autoimmune inflammatory condition - psoriatic arthritis - and aerial plays a huge role in keeping me mobile and well.

Aerial and wellbeing.

Diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis - an aggressive and debilitating autoimmune disease that affects joints and spine - during my dance training in my late 20s, I was told I would become permanently disabled. But, reading about the side effects of medication I was offered, I resolved to find other ways to manage the disease progression. I returned to full time dance training and by also managing sleep, diet and stress, I went into remission, where it mostly remains (with some occasional flare ups).

Aerial and dance have played a deeply significant role in maintaining my health, strength and mobility and so I feel especially passionate about their potential to support others’ wellbeing too, including mental health.

Since 2022 I’ve been working with Deri Morgan of the Amethyst project at Small World Theatre to develop Uplifting Aerial, aerial sessions specially devised to support young people in CAMHS experiencing mental health challenges and referred as part of their prescribing. Originally funded through the award-winning Arts Boost programme (Hywel Dda Health Board/Arts Council Wales), the Uplifting Aerial sessions have now become an established part of the Amethyst programme for a core group of young people and we continue to develop the methodology with their input.

Relevant training, qualifications & CPD.

Download my CV

I have public liability insurance up to £10 million through my Equity membership.