November 5 – 6, 2026

Making Aerial Performances We Love

With Susan Murphy and Rabun James

What compels us to make performance pieces? What inspires and moves us in the process of act creation? How can authentic emotions be shaped so that our audience leaves with the lingering images of our work? This is accomplished through intention, connecting with feelings, nuanced gestures, stillness, and performance presence. Using Authentic Movement and the language of Laban Movement Analysis, we will find fresh, true gestures and ways to partner with the apparatus so that it appears we are “dancing in the air.” While the work will be done using dance trapeze, the concepts will apply to any performance.

In this workshop, we will teach a combination on the dance trapeze, as well as give you the opportunity to create your own “small dance.” We will give attention to transitioning with grace and ease—with fluid transitions—from one movement moment to another. You will leave with the tools to add layer, nuance, and grace to all of your circus performances.

PS: Want discounts on multiple workshops (plus some other cool things)?! Get a Vermont Circus Festival Pass for 10% off all workshops!

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More Details

When:

  • Thursday | 2:00 – 5:00 pm
  • Friday | 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Where:
The Cotton Mill
Cotton Mill Hill
Brattleboro, Vermont

Cost:
$195

Prerequisites:
Students should be comfortable with getting on and off of a low trapeze and simple negotiations of the bar and ropes.

Ages:
12 & up or by permission of instructor

About the Coaches

Susan Murphy moved to Berkeley, California in 1976 for a Master’s In Modern Dance from Mills College and discovered aerial dance with a pioneer, Terry Sendgraff. After moving to NYC, she become a licensed massage therapist and a Certified Movement Analyst from the Laban Institute of Movement Studies. She taught and performed aerial dance, culminating in a performance at Lincoln Center in 1987. In 1990, Susan married Don Carson, a photographer, and moved to California where they began taking art/nature photos, with Susan as the model, in the wilderness of California and the Southwest.

in 1999 they moved to Athens, GA, where they envisioned and founded Canopy Studio, a home for aerial dance. In 2009, they moved to the coast of Georgia and built a small studio where Susan taught, gave retreats, and produced aerial performances. In 2021, Susan became the Recipient of the Governor’s Individual Award in the Arts and Humanities for the State of Georgia. Over the last 30 years, Susan and Don have continued their photography/journaling/human form in nature project, culminating recently in the book “Spirit Chasers: A 30 Year Passion With the Human Form in Nature”.

Rabun Neves began her aerial career studying under Susan Murphy when Canopy opened in 2002. A year later, Rabun joined the Repertory Company and has never stopped exploring. Training mostly at Canopy but also at Nimble Arts, LEAP, Frequent Flyers, San Diego Circus Center, and NECCA, she works on all things trapeze (dance, circus, flying, and swinging), as well as aerial fabrics, hula hoops, and invented equipment. Rabun teaches adult trapeze and duo trapeze classes at Canopy. Studying dance and movement arts from the age of 3, Rabun loves teaching others how to dance in the air and make the movement their own. She has served Canopy Studio in multiple capacities since its creation—student, performer, teacher, board member, and board president. Rabun and her husband/trapeze partner James Neves are bringing up their own aspiring trapeze artists—daughters Tyus and Deborah. Rabun is also a pharmacist and owns Hodgson’s Pharmacy. In her spare time, she enjoys creating costumes, sewing, traveling, exploring

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