With a mix of sadness and deep gratitude, Circus Center announces that Felicity Hesed has stepped down from her position as Artistic Director. During her two years in the role, Felicity embraced the vision for our school and produced two years of artistic development opportunities (i.e., shows!) that were ambitious, diverse, and entertaining for audiences. “Working with the students, staff, and community at Circus Center has been an incredible honor and joy!” says Felicity.  “It has been inspiring to help Circus Center’s students grow as performing artists. Personally, I have learned an ..read more

  In Memoriam. Patrick Lee Osbon, May 1st 1951-July 26th 2022. by Sara Toby Moore. Patrick Osbon was a visionary leader, a true renaissance man and the greatest friend imaginable. During his years as Circus Center’s Executive Director he built what was then known as the San Francisco School of Circus Arts into a world-class performing arts training center, yet that was only one part of a beautifully lived life. He’s had many interesting careers, including leadership of the San Francisco Mime Troupe and the New Pickle Circus and as a lauded executive recruiter with Bay Area entrepr ..read more

It's time to get excited about the fall class schedule in our Adult Training program! Teachers are lining up to teach, and the administrative team has come up with a couple of tweaks to our process for Full Session Enrollment that we are psyched to roll out for the Fall 2022 session.   (In case you're not familiar, full session enrollment means you pay upfront and are guaranteed a spot in the same class each week of the session. Session enrollment has been a part of Circus Center's culture and approach to circus training for many years, because we know that a regular, consistent training ..read more

We are delaying the release of the summer adult class schedule and the opening of registration for the summer term by one week. New dates:   Schedule release: Friday, May 20 Summer term opens for drop-in registration: Tuesday, May 24, 10am (Reminder, both staff and students need more flexibility during the summer months, so all classes are offered on a drop-in basis only.)   We apologize for the delay – but please read the following message from our Executive Director, and we hope you'll understand!   Hello circus family,   Well, folks, it finally happened to me – for th ..read more

As a circus school, we have maintained an extra-cautious stance on COVID throughout this pandemic. We've done this for the protection of our entire community, especially the most vulnerable. We also continue to modify our policies to reflect government policy and community standards.   The COVID public health emergency, first declared by the federal government in 2020, ends today. This means that COVID-19 is now being treated like any other respiratory illness.   As of today, we have sold services to patrons through the summer (e.g., summer camp) with a vaccination requirement in pl ..read more

We are excited to host a reception before TRYBE’s Saturday matinee performance to celebrate the new book “Training is Bitter: Reflections on Life, Effort, and Acrobatics With Master Trainer Lu Yi'' written by Lu Yi with Devin Holt.  Join us in Circus Center’s Theater on March 11 from 12:30-1:45pm for a book reading and opportunities to get signed copies. Lu Yi will be there as well if he is feeling up for it.  Stay for TRYBE afterwards to see the evolution of what Lu Yi started when he formed the Youth Circus 30 years ago.   Training is Bitter: Reflections on Life, Effort, and ..read more

  Today, the Board of Directors of Circus Center—the West Coast’s premier circus school—announced the appointment of Juliana Neves (she/her) as the institution’s first-ever Head of School. With an extensive 30-year history working in the circus arts, Neves will collaborate with Executive Director Barry Kendall and the school's staff and leadership team to build and implement an innovative vision for Circus Center’s training programs and performances, further securing the institution’s position as a leader in American circus arts training. Neves will begin her tenure as Head of School on ..read more

Dear Circus Center Community, As we begin this new year of 2023, I enjoy reminiscing about the fabulous shows we did in 2022.     We kicked off 2022 by highlighting the beautiful art of Mongolian contortion in Delkhii, our co-production with the Mongolian Contortion Center. We brought in Jeff Raz of Cirque du Soleil and the Pickle Family Circus to direct our San Francisco Youth Circus show, Circus at the End of the World. We had two Sideshow Cabarets for students to create and present new acts: San Francisco’s Got Talent and My Body My Circus, which was also a fundraiser for repro ..read more

Circus Center is changing our policies around risk mitigation measures against COVID-19. These changes will take place in two phases.   Phase One: Partial Lifting of Mask Mandate Starting on Monday, August 8, 2022, masks will be optional, but strongly recommended, during the following times: Monday-Friday, 6pm-close Saturday and Sunday, all day Masks will still be required from open-6pm, Monday-Friday. We reserve the right to fully reimpose a mask mandate if 1) SFDPH or SFUSD requires masks again, or 2) Circus Center experiences significant community spread, especially among our staff ..read more

As part of our ongoing commitment to providing our teachers and staff with competitive and equitable pay, Circus Center makes an annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for all of our staff at the start of each fiscal year. All of our fundraising goes to support our equity goals, like our scholarship fund, so in order to increase wages, we must increase the costs of our services.   Our last price increase was one year ago, and our next price increase will take effect on Saturday, May 28, 2022. At that time, the new prices will be:   Adult In-Person Classes Single Drop-In Class: $42 ..read more