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Our trainers

Nichola Hall

Nichola Hall has recently returned from South America after eight years of work, travel and study.

She completed a Diploma in Circus Arts and Dance in Argentina and is a qualified yoga teacher, musician and photographer.

Nichola has taught and performed circus, aerial and yoga in Canada, Argentina and Nicaragua, and has developed a fusion of the various disciplines of dance, hola hoop, acrobatics and aerial. She continues to develop her own movement language and unique teaching style that is focused on connecting and experimenting more profoundly with the relationship between body, movement and element.

Nichola has worked with all ages from little kids to adults and has taught circus to various socio economic communities and within not for profit collectives. She has even worked on a project bringing together sailing and aerial dance. She teaches circus and aerial for young people and adults.

Flynn Patrao

Flynn Patrao has a passion for movement and educating others. He teaches students new and creative ways to use their bodies and to safely push the limits of their own experience.

He has been practising Parkour and Freerunning since 2008 and has been involved in the Australian Parkour movement since its beginnings. He has been teaching Parkour since 2012 and with Cameron established the Parkour program at Castlemaine Circus in 2016, which has since tripled in size. They have trained up three Parkour teachers and created a whole Parkour levels system for students.

Flynn is a senior coach at Jets Gymnastics in Bendigo teaching children of all ages and running the school’s gymnastics program. He works for Xteme inc and leads Parkour demonstrations and workshops at schools, festivals and community events in Central Victoria. He is wonderful at teaching all ages and abilities.

Mandy Field

Mandy is a producer, director and multi platform artist. After completing a Graduate Diploma in Performance Making in 2005, Mandy has focused on creating cross-platform outcomes, and producing events and initiatives that reflect local identity and place. She draws on a synthesis of physical theatre, visual theatre and interactive video to create live arts experiences for audiences.

Mandy has trained extensively in Butoh and Dance Theatre with Kazuo, Yoshito Ohno and Min Tanaka in Japan; in Physical Theatre and Circus with the Angry Mime, Spaghetti Circus, Theatre of the Ordinary, Brin Prichard and Simon Adams; and Visual Theatre with Sue Giles and Philipe Genty.

Mandy worked for 3 years as Program Manager with Polyglot Theatre (2007-2010), where she managed lengthy creative developments, festivals tours and seasons at the Melbourne International Arts Festival and Singapore Arts Festival. She has directed and produced large scale outcomes for many festivals including The Village, The Woodford Folk Festival, The Friendship Djerrip Festival and the Castlemaine State Festival. She has worked as artistic director, creative producer, tour manager, event manager, and currently works for CoHealth Arts Generator in FCAC.

Mandy is a co-founder of Castlemaine Circus and established the preschooler circus program.

Cameron MacLeman

Cameron understands the importance of good role modelling and aims to be the role model he would have wanted when he was training at the YMCA.

Cameron has been practising Parkour and Freerunning since 2008 and has been involved in the Australian Parkour movement since its beginnings. He has been teaching Parkour since 2012 and with Flynn established the Parkour program at Castlemaine Circus in 2016, which has since tripled in size. They have trained up three Parkour teachers and created a whole Parkour levels system for students.

Cameron has studied Outdoor Education and is currently a beginner coach at Jets Gymnastics in Bendigo teaching children of all ages. He works for Xteme inc and leads Parkour demonstrations and workshops at schools, festivals and community events in Central Victoria. Cameron is a very approachable and engaging instructor.

Bek Connors

Bek Connors spent her youth at the Westside Circus learning the art of circus. She went on to study a Certificate 4 in Circus Arts at NICA and worked as a circus trainer at the Women’s Circus, The Circus Spot and Carnival Fitness. Her passion for social circus saw her volunteering on an exchange program with Circus Kathmandu in Nepal and Australia. Bek has also studied Nutritional Medicine and as been a curator for art projects.

Bek brings her compassion, friendliness and conscientious leadership to our circus.

Caz Walsh

Caz Walsh has a Bachelor in Circus Arts at the National Institute of Circus Arts specialising in Double Swinging Trapeze and Rolla Bolla and Diplomas in Community Theatre and Film and TV studying directing, acting, etc. She also competed in gymnastics for 8 years and spring-board diving for 3 years!

Caz has performed at most fringe festivals and circus festivals across the country and has been performing since 2006. She has toured with Circus Oz, Dislocate, Circus Quirkus, Pants Down Circus Rock around regional Victoria, Australia and overseas.

Some of her physical skills include:  Double Swinging and Static Trapeze,  Rolla Bolla (Balancing on-top of Metal Cylinders), Toss the Girl, Acrobatics, Tissu, Hoop Diving, Teeterboard and Group Bike. Caz teaches Aerial and Circus with us.

Armstrong Scherlies

Armstrong is a parent to 5 kids under 9. By day he home schools kids (though rarely from home), and in his Armstrong time he’s involved in the male Rites of Passage, the non violent communication community and can often be spotted outside in his garden delighting in seedlings. He is playful and spontaneous by nature, a big kid at heart, and has been known to juggle oranges while shopping. In 2016-17, he enrolled in the 12+ yr Circus Class as the only adult amongst a room full of teenage boys. He learnt hand stands from Ivo and juggling from Eric and performed in the Castlemaine Circus Show 2017.

His first career path had him professionally trained as a masseuse, which has granted him an overly specific vocabulary of the human muscular skeletal system. Just point to your leg and ask him. Armstrong teaches in our Preschooler circus classes and is a member of our board.

Luke O'Connor

Luke O’Connor founded a circus company with his partner Christy Flaws. Asking for Trouble inspires people to laugh, ask questions and put themselves at the centre of their creation. A multi-award winning theatre company using circus, physical theatre and clown to make ambitious, high quality, touring work for young people and their families. Based in Clunes, Asking for Trouble have performed seasons in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, regional Australia, The Netherlands, New Zealand and the UK. Over the last 12 years they have facilitated workshops and directed community shows using Circus and Physical theatre independently and for a variety of organisations including Circus Oz, Westside Circus, The Womens Circus and Footscray Community Arts Centre and the Fairfax festival.

Luke teaches Adults Acro and is one half of our Social Circus program teaching weekly circus classes with the FLO CSC students.

Adam Davis

Adam Davis has joined our team fresh from teaching at NICA, The National Institute of Circus Arts where he taught circus foundations, pole, adagio, tumbling, aerials, juggling and wall trampoline to name a few. He previously coached at Circa in Queensland, High Flying Circus Arts, Gravity Circus Centre in London, Circus House in Manchester and Vulcana Womens Circus.

Over the past 15 years Adam has had a stellar career performing throughout the world with Cirque du Soliel, The Great Moscow Circus, Circa, P&O Cruises, King Kong, Ben 10, Kage Physical Theatre and many more. He is also a stunt man and a rigger. Adam and his wife Jessica run their own circus performance company Adica Arts and are based in Daylesford with their 6 year old son.

Adam established the circus warriors classes for preschoolers. He is now our in house rigger.

Junior trainers

Rita Fortune

Rita has spent many years training in Parkour and Aerial at Castlemaine Circus. She has performed in the Castlemaine Circus End of Year Shows 2017-22 as an Aerial Performer. Rita is also a musician and is in the New Orleans Band as a trombone player and volunteers her time with Freeza, the local council run youth committee organising music events in Castlemaine and surrounds. Rita is a calm, conscientious and trusting trainer to our Parkour students.

Kaeleb Glinski

Kaeleb has been training in Aerial at Castlemaine Circus and Zfit for many years. He has set his own aerial rig in his backyard and taught himself advanced aerial techniques. He has performed silks and straps in two Castlemaine Circus Shows in 2022 and Circus Mania Festival 2022 & 2023. Kaeleb is a focused and thoughtful trainer to our Aerial students both kids and adults alike.

Sam Campbell

Sam, a 17-year-old high school student from Bendigo, has made Castlemaine Circus a big part of her life since she began training with us in 2022, after enjoying the circus classes offered at her primary school since Grade Three, and her three years at Bendigo’s Z Fit Studios (since-closed) as both student and instructor. Sam’s favourite circus specialty is aerial and over the years she has trained in hammock, fly pole, lyra, trapeze and silks. The young students love Sam’s warmth and friendliness.

 

Milou Albrecht

Milou has spent many years training in gymnastics, dance and hip hop. She has been studying Aerial at Castlemaine Circus since 2017. Milou has performed in our Castlemaine Circus End of Year Shows creating and performing Aerial solo and duo pieces and as part of the Castlemaine Circus Aerial Troupe. Milou is an enthusiastic and warm teacher to our circus and aerial students. Milou also volunteers much of her time as a climate justice activist.

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