Bridging the Gap: The Inaugural Circus Science Symposium Holds Answers for Evidence-Based Performance
The circus community navigates a unique challenge: performing at the elite level of professional athletes while often lacking the specialized sports science data available to traditional Olympians or professional sports teams. On April 26th, we will bring that lens and focus to circus in an accessible virtual format.
The Circus Science Symposium is a virtual event designed to increase access to high-level research and translate it into the practical tools needed by clinicians, coaches, and artists alike. It’s a full-day convergence of movement science, biomechanics, and the circus arts.
The Symposium is an evolution of the monthly Circus Smart Speaker Series, which has spent the last three years fostering a community of curious, science-minded practitioners. Driven by a growing demand for circus-specific knowledge around biomechanics, education, and the most up-to-date circus science, this event is the direct result of our community asking for more.
The programming for the day is meticulously curated to cover the full spectrum of an artist’s career. Attendees can expect deep dives into:
Specialized Biomechanics: Understanding the unique musculoskeletal demands of aerial and acrobatic disciplines and using comparisons to elite sport to reframe how we think about circus movement.
Hypermobility and the Pelvic Floor: Hypermobility is a growing area of rapidly evolving science. We’ll learn what the science says now and how it relates to the pelvic floor.
Tendon Resilience and Loading: the high-impact landings, repetitive gripping, and end range demands of circus skills require more than just rest. Learn to translate the latest recovery research into practical loading protocols, moving beyond passive care to build the functional durability needed for training and performance.
Flexibility Science: Modern flexibility science has moved beyond basic protocols to target neural adaptation and tissue tolerance. Learn a roadmap based on the current research for clinicians and elite coaches to optimize range-of-motion gains for themselves and their athletes with high-mobility goals.
The Performance Edge: Evidence-based insights into nutrition and sports psychology tailored for the environment of the stage, for high performance, optimizing conditions to improve the body’s ability to build skills, and recovery.
The Artist’s Voice: Moving beyond the lab, the symposium features veteran performers sharing lived experiences on recovery, their experience with healthcare, and the journey of returning to training after time away or an injury.
The speaker roster features leaders in sports, performing arts, and science. These are authors, clinical researchers, educators,and industry veterans who specialize in high level science and medicine. Importantly, the format prioritizes dialogue: each lecture and panel concludes with an open Q&A, ensuring that the complex science discussed is immediately clarified for real-world application.
Beyond the lectures, the Virtual Exhibit Hall serves as a global marketplace for professional development. Attendees can connect with international non-profits and businesses dedicated to the circus industry, providing a rare networking opportunity for those looking to build a sustainable career in coaching, therapy, or performance.
Choose Your Experience
Recognizing the global nature of the circus community, the Circus Science Symposium is designed for flexibility across time zones:
Live Engagement: Join the full day in Pacific Time to participate in live Q&A and community discussions.
Tailored Access: Tickets are available for single sessions, half-day blocks, or the full-day experience.
On-Demand Learning: Select tickets include access to recordings, allowing you to catch sessions you missed or revisit complex technical lectures at your own pace, no matter where in the world you are based.
The Circus Science Symposium represents the moment where circus practice finally receives the high-level scientific attention it deserves. Whether you are looking to refine your coaching cues, enhance your clinical outcomes, or extend your own performance career, this is the room where the future of circus science is being written.
Registration is now open. Secure your spot to join the leaders bridging the gap between sports science and the magic of the circus.
As founder and owner of The Circus Doc, Dr. Scherb has presented continuing education programming for circus educators and healthcare professionals on the unique physical demands and challenges of working with circus artists.
Her bestselling book Applied Anatomy of Aerial Arts was the first to address the biomechanics and physical demands involved in circus training.
Dr. Scherb lives in Seattle, WA where she owns Pure Motion Physical Therapy. Her clinic is dedicated to working with professional and recreational circus artists. As a board member of Seattle Dance and Performing Arts Medicine, she participates in free healthcare clinics for performing arts in the Pacific Northwest and educational programming to expand knowledge around performing arts medicine. Dr. Scherb is also an active board member of the American Youth Circus Organization/American Circus Educators.
Editor's Note: At StageLync, an international platform for the performing arts, we celebrate the diversity of our writers' backgrounds. We recognize and support their choice to use either American or British English in their articles, respecting their individual preferences and origins. This policy allows us to embrace a wide range of linguistic expressions, enriching our content and reflecting the global nature of our community.
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