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 and site-based performance work.

Helo!

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 and durational performance.

Yn wreiddiol o Aberystwyth, dw i’n siarad Cymraeg fel ail iaith.

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 see aerial as contact dance with apparatus in vertical space.

I’m an aerialist who makes technical acts on rope or sling. But I'm also a performance artist who likes playing with aerial apparatus (rope, sling, harness) in relation to objects, walls, floors and other bodies in curious ways. 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, durational and 1:1 performance work.

My background is in dance and site-based performance. So I see aerial as 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 - & aerial plays a huge role in keeping me mobile & well.

Aerial and wellbeing.

Relevant training & qualifications.

  • RopeLab Teacher Training (Alex Allan and PJ Perry 2024-5)

  • Lumbopelvic Foundations + Scapulothoracic Foundations (Kate St Clair, 2024)

  • Circus Mobility Inversion Conversion Method (Jessica John, 2023)

  • Menopause 2.0 - Training Menopausal Athletes (Dr Stacy Sims, 2023-24)

  • Neurodynamics in Performing Arts (Dr Jen Crane, Cirque Physio, 2022)

  • Instructor Boost 3.0 - Elevating Circus Instruction Through Science (Dr Emily Scherb, The Circus Doc, 2022)

  • Consent, Motivation and Alternative Approaches to Circus Pedagogy (Adam Woolley, Proud Coach, 2022)

  • Circus Mobility Cardinal - 6 Month Aerial Coaching Mentorship (Jessica John, 2022-23)

  • Dynamic Rope Teacher Training (Alex Allan, 2020)

  • AeroZen Aerial Yoga Teacher Training (Amy Linda Miller, 2018) 

  • High Performance Rigging Fundamentals (Brian Donaldson HP Rigging, Circomedia, Bristol 2013)

  • Circus Maniacs Summer Intensive (Rope - Jonathan Priest, Bristol 2009)

  • PhD Tracktivism: walking and talking in rural landscapes as eco-activist performance (University of Manchester 2018)

  • MA Dance Making and Performance (Dist) (Coventry University 2010)

  • FdA Dance Theatre Performance (University of Plymouth/Bristol Dance Centre 2008)

  • One Year Full Time Programme (Rubicon Dance, Cardiff 2006)

Download my CV

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