Hatstand Circus
Contemporary Acts and ShowsPlease find below a list of recommended shows carefully selected by Helena from the worlds of Contemporary Circus, Dance, Physical Theatre, Music, Comedy, Magic and New Burlesque. If you would like advice as to which act to choose for your particular event, please contact Helena on 020 7538 3368 or helenahatstand@btconnect.com Please provide information as to venue description, stage size, audience demographics and numbers, ceiling height, lighting conditions, event theming, how long entertainment is required for and approximate budget. All the following acts can be adapted to fit the client’s event theming. Some can also be performed as meet and greet or mix and mingle walkabout. They all last between 10 to 30/40 minutes but can be lengthened or shortened as required. A selection of acts can be booked together for a variety cabaret style evening of entertainment. Adagio Dance
Contortion, 'adagio' (gymnastic lifting), 'acrobalance' (gymnastic balancing) and street dance/acrobatics. Includes character work - Barbie doll bought by bedroom geek comes to life - approx 11 minutes - Highly recommended Double Contortion
Female double contortion act with beautiful costumes Ninja Glo Jugglers
Juggling and staff manipulation with high tech illuminated juggling equipment - patterns of light and colors. Blackout or dark conditions required. Ribbon Dance
Lovely act - female dancers and gymnasts with rhythmic gymnastic ribbons - all manner of costumes to fit wide range of themes - up to from 3 to 8 performers with variety of ribbons/flags. Highly recommended. Contemporary Dance
Experience the drama of a highly trained contemporary dancer – this act can be performed as a solo stage show or with a team of dancers providing background interest as people enter an event – improvisation to background music. Mime Show
Contemporary physical theatre, mime and comedy show. This show can be adapted to any theme - very funny - physical theatre movement, a bit of magic/illusion and contemporary modern mime techniques Acrobatic Dance
Solo female acrobatic show – dance, flips and tumbles Kingdom of Ice Show
This act is perfect for large-scale Ice themed Christmas events. A team of performers can be provided with different skills. The show includes an Ice King stilt character, juggling with snowballs, contortion, acrobatics, dance and snow storm ribbon dance. Best performed under UV canons. Spark Act 1 – Solo Spark Act
Creating sparks off metal bikini using angle-grinder – extreme, noisy and shocking. The act is short and high impact – approx 4 minutes but can be extended to 8 minutes with fire eating and whip cracking. Do not be too wary about booking this act. We have full risk assessments and specialist insurance. The performer is extremely experienced and the act has been performed in all sorts of environments. The sparks are cool when they hit the floor. The grinder produces a bit of grit and that is all. The main risks are to the performer themselves Spark Act 2 – The Faster Pussycats
We have developed a new contemporary act, which is tailored specifically for the corporate entertainment industry. It is corporate and stylish. The girls come on in lovely pink and silver winged costumes and perform an elegant dance. They then perform a fire eating routine and finish with a dramatic spark display. The soundtrack is atmospheric opera and electronic dance. Tap Dance – please note there is a renaissance of tap in London at the moment. Clients are encouraged to try these acts as something new and exciting.Tap Dance 1 – Male Vintage Trio
Excellent act from male trio “Slick, Sharp and Dynamic! The trio perform in their own formidable style, with a heavy dose of showmanship to a hip soundtrack of Latin Jazz, Ska, Indian and Electro Beats. With their unique look inspired by everything from classic Havana of the Fifties, Bollywood glitz of the Sixties, right through to the Americana Funk Movement of the Seventies. 'The Twilight Players' are a slice of British cool, forever bringing classic retro-vibes into the 21st Century.” Tap Dance 2 – Tap and Juggling
Tap dance with bouncing ball juggling – solo act – needs floor mikes and suitable stage surface i.e. not carpet or cobbles. An exciting and unique act. The client is also encouraged to book this act as a trio – two dancers and a rhythm percussionist for added effect. Tap Dance 3 – Female Tap Dancer With Song
1930’s style revue - tap dancing and song – 2 x 30 min sets available or 1.5 hours with revue friends “Dazzling dance & scintillating song transporting you back to the Golden era of 1930’s 40's & 50's Hollywood. Inspired by the greats, an exotic mix of your favourite stars. Think Sunday afternoon movie memories with Fred Astaire, Anne Miller, Gene Kelly, Cyd Charisse, Judy Garland, and Esta Williams.” Glamorous Hollywood starlet style costume - .MGM musical (pink with roses or black and white polka dots) Seductive feathered fan dance routine with interludes of song
Set 2 - approx 30 minutes The costume is classic top hat, black tail coat suit, bow tie, white waist coat. Enter with tap rhythms building up into an exciting acoustic number just with tap.
The client can also book Marie Lou And Friends for a full night of cabaret
Tribal Belly Dance
Exciting form of belly dance from San Francisco – beautiful girls with amazing costumes/styling. Hatstand Circus hosts a workshop of tribal belly dance at their rehearsal studio in Westferry – this act developing and evolving at the moment and we are excited to offer it to our clients. Traditional Egyptian Belly Dance
Fantastic high-level technical dancer, gorgeous costumes – she has a complete array of costumes suitable for any theme/colour. We can also provide a team of musicians to accompany her. Ice Crystal 1
Ice Creature contact juggling act with crystal balls Ice Crystal 2
Jack Frost in his own Ice Kingdom Ice Crystal 3
Sword Swallower
Extremely proficient performer – charismatic and entertaining with extreme skill level - sword swallowing, walking on sword ladder and other fakir tricks. Burlesque Act – The Crystal Shoe
This burlesque performer is highly recommended as one of the most experienced and proficient in the business. She has about 4 or 5 different routines and shows to choose from including the fantastic new Crystal Shoe show, the Petal Bath, the Fan dance (with huge extravagant feathered fans), the Powder Puff Boudoir, and the Tzarina Snowstorm. Burlesque Act – Balloons, Fire and Sparks
This performer has a bawdy entertaining act popping balloons with exotic hatpin to reveal a bikini or full nudity. She also has a fire eating routine and a spark act. The client can book one or three routines for the night. Magic
Helena worked with this performer in Dubai in the early ‘noughties’ and continues to recommend him to her clients. He is one of the best physical theatre performers she has come across and a wonderful magician. The show is extremely visual with lovely UV props - the costume and make-up are fantastic. The show includes a floating walking stick illusion and to finish he creates a snowstorm in the auditorium out of nothing. Hula HoopingThere is a resurgence of hula hooping within the circus community at the moment and clients are again encouraged to take advantage of this.
An exciting and fast moving show. Hula Dancers
Two to four wonderful hula dancers – grass skirts, long bright pink and purple wigs, flowers in hair – great silly hula chic moves – very amusing – up to 6 numbers. Great for Tropical or Beach party themed events. Knife throwing actContemporary and non-traditional – with unusual twist – includes knife juggling passing between two people. This act was performed recently for the Mid Wales Opera on their UK tour. Male Acrobalance Duo
Two person gymnastic balancing – show of strength and agility includes hand balancing, shoulder to shoulder, the ‘planche’ (directly above), somersaults and other acrobatic balancing. Giant Bubbles
Mesmerising show of bubbles from soapy liquid – big enough to stand in. Charleston Dancers
Female duo – great look and period costumes – flapper dresses etc – comedy, facial expressions - Contemporary twist on traditional 1930’s dance – authentic Charleston era dances with comedy – up to 4 numbers available with costume changes. They also have a ghoulish act – Mr Ghost Goes To Town with backing singers The Adasham Family – see below.
Contemporary Pole DanceFully clothed/costumed act concentrating on extreme technique and prop manipulation Fire Show
Fire eating, fire prop manipulation and dance – solo and group choreography – 2/3 or 4/5 performers. This is best performed outside in darkish conditions. A roped off area is required with backstage area (such as a gazebo) to store the props and fuel. All the performers have specialist fire insurance and risk assessments. It is best performed as meet and greet – up to an hour. If performed inside the fire alarms, smoke detectors and heat sensors need to be switched off for the duration of the show. Hatstand Circus likes to book two artists on any one job at a time for safety. A risk assessment is required to be performed upon arrival at the event by the performer – Hatstand Circus can advise as to what conditions need to be met in advance. This show can also be performed with Glow Equipment if fire is not suitable. Dark Volatile Cabaret
Cutting edge new work - unusual artistic show – amazing contemporary dance, song, spoken word, character work. The show is one hour long but can be broken down into sections. Ginger and Fred Dance-alikes
Meet and greet, walkabout and two or three lovely dance routines. Tap Dancing Turkeys
Ridiculous costumes with floppy noses, clucking and tap-dancing. These work well at Christmas time in shopping centres. It is mainly walkabout but they can put together a short show if required. Drag Artistes Troupe
Experienced and well-worked act – from 3 to 6 performers. Meet and greet to introduce characters, up to 8 different numbers during dinner or throughout the evening leading up to a grand finale. Lip sync and dance, comedy, great costumes and make-up The ‘ladies’ use a PA provided by the venue and can help with compering, raffles and time filling for delayed courses etc. Drag Comedian and Singer
Very funny, charismatic and highly experienced performer. Comedy interspersed with song Banter with songs – can be tame or more extreme – the performer will adapt to the audience. One long set is recommended – comes with own PA and technician Drag Queen – Solo with dancers
This wonderful lady can perform meet and greet/mix and mingle and podium/stage dancing. She also has stage sets with lip sync numbers and team of backup go-go boy dancers. Drag Queens and Go-Go Boys
Helena provides the stilt dancers and other special skills performers for Salvation – the world famous gay club brand based at the Bloomsbury Ballroom and these acts are the ‘ladies’ she works with there. She is pleased to offer this family of performers and artists to the events industry. They can perform as meet and greet/mix and mingle and background/atmospheric podium/stage dancing. Sugar Fairies
Pink and silver sugar fairies – bright and colourful act with brightly coloured ribbons and juggling props – best performed in bright sunlight or under UV canons. Show includes dance, prop manipulation and acrobatics. From one to five performers. Fire Tigresses
Fire tigresses – tiger cat suits with full tiger face paint – fire eating and dance with fire claws – from two to five performers. The Land of Sweets Show
This act is specifically designed for summer time family events. It is a bright and colourful show with stilt dancers and floor performers. The show includes rhythmic gymnastic ribbon dancing, juggling, acrobatics and dance. A booking can include walkabout sets and a show of between 15 and 30 mins depending on the number of performers booked. It is highly recommended as a visual spectacular Bouncing LeprechaunSilly mask, silly costume – prancing around on bouncy stilts. Aerial Hoop Act - Solo
Extremely accomplished and experienced performer – unique because of the performer’s transferable extreme contortion skills. Can be performed as hang about or a short routine. Lovely costume with long train – the performer scatters petals and confetti onto audience below. Technical requirements– rigging point of 500kgs – early get in and separate rigger/technician to be booked. Aerial Trio - Hoop, Silks, Contortion, Dance, Adagio and Acrobatics
Extremely accomplished and experienced performers – this act is currently choreographed to the Chicago soundtrack, but can be adapted to any theme or colour scheme. Early get in is required to rig up and a time needs to be allocated for technical run through with lights and sound. A good warm up area backstage is also required. A separate rigger/technician is recommended to travel with them. A site visit may be required. Rigging points of 500kgs x 3. This act can also be performed without the aerial aspect as a floorshow. Arabian Magician
Magic carpet illusion – highly recommended performer – stage show can be adapted for any audience – children to adults – many unusual magic tricks culminating with and audience participation suspended magic carpet illusion. Masked mime
Black cat suit costume – white neutral mask – crystal ball manipulation contact juggling with robotics, slow motion mime techniques. Whip Cracking
Female performer in glitzy cowgirl costume or black PVC cat suit – performing high technique double Australian whip cracking – series of technical cracks choreographed to music. Also target whip cracking with audience participation – whipping a cigarette out of somebody’s mouth etc. Helena performs this herself – it was her solo act in the circus – she believes it is unique to her in the UK. Gothic witchAct with cauldron, knives, crystal ball, fire eating. Bed of Nails actComedy twist – throwing cabbage onto bed of nails, silly martial art warm up – big fat man from audience stands on the artist on the bed of nails. Mad Professor and RobotSilly act with two extremely charismatic performers – mime, bit of juggling and character work. Opera Singer
Highly recommended - Experience the power and drama of a classically trained voice at close quarters. Golden moments from opera - heart-warming renditions of well-known arias such as:
Christmas Carols Emma can also perform for retail promotions at Christmas time singing a selection of carols – this goes down extremely well with the public – thrilled to hear such a trained voice in an everyday shopping environment. Innovative Abstract Street Dance – Avant Garde Dance
Hatstand Circus is pleased to present this dance troupe to the events industry. The troupe rehearses now and then at the Hatstand Circus Studio. They have performed recently at the New York Choreographers Ball, the Trafalgar Square Festival and the London Choreographers Ball. The troupe is very dynamic and original. They have been working on developing their own dance style intensively for some five years now. The individual members are in high demand for castings, music videos and TV appearances supporting musical and pop artists. Helena strongly recommends them as an act – especially for a teen audience. They will impress them a lot. “Avant Garde Dance was established in 2001 by Choreographer Tony Adigun. With their unique style of Abstract Street dance they constantly strive to challenge the norm and be different from others around them. Mixing different styles and shapes together their ethos is to Innovate Never Replicate!!! The show iPod and i is an interactive exploration into the mind of a choreographer. A revealing insight into the thought patterns experienced while creating a new piece for Breakin' Convention. iPod and i will take you on a journey through the doubts, blockages, visions and inspirations felt by a choreographer whilst creating a new piece.” Innovative Jazz Fusion Dance Troupe – Irven Lewis Dance Theatre
Hatstand Circus is pleased to introduce this artist and his troupe to their clients. The troupe has also used the Hatstand Circus Studio to rehearse. I would describe this as innovative jazz-fusion style dance with a sparring/competitive edge. “Irven’s work takes British Urban Dance Culture, commercial and contemporary dance influences and re-contextualises them to create unique and dazzling movement.” “Irven’s wide appeal is rooted in his ability to bridge gaps and fuse urban dance styles with classical forms in a non-threatening and enjoyable way. Irven’s early training in the unorthodox setting of clubs in Leeds gave him the opportunity to watch and experiment with improvisational urban dance. This was complemented later by studies in western classical and contemporary dance at Covent Garden’s Urdang Academy where he was awarded a scholarship.” “Irven’s first company, Brothers in Jazz, fused British Street Jazz with more classical techniques to form the foundation of Be-bop dance. He was selected in 2001 and 2003 by State of Emergency, who commissioned him to make a work for The Mission National Showcase Tour, alongside intensive education work. This considerably heightened his profile and since then he has toured a full-length show ‘Ignite’ both nationally and internationally and has received a number of youth commissions. “Irven is currently creating a hard-hitting new work, "Too Hard To Breathe", in collaboration with a DJ, a filmmaker and a dramatist. The work is based on society's perceptions and misconceptions of the black male in society, and is available for touring from Spring 2007.” Flamenco Dance
Spanish flamenco dance routine with accompanying guitarist or full flamenco band. Ballroom Dancers
Top competitive dancers from London. Cocktail Bar Flairista
Top-level performers - amazing tricks with bottles, glasses and shakers – producing exotic cocktail at the end. Bollywood Dancers
Shri dancing – troupe of children or troupe of teenage girls – these girls come from a wonderful academy of dance in London with their teacher/choreographer. They competed in the World Bollywood Dance Champions 2006 And The Uk Bollywood Dance Champions 2006 Superheroes
Acrobatic tumbling and dance show Comedian/Magician – Steve K
This performer is highly recommended – hilarious – stage show of 30 mins with comedy and magic. Hatstand Circus has only received raving reviews from their clients for him. Other acts include: Crazy man from Holland 1930’s surreal comedy Comedy Strings Trio Mexican stilt dance Skeleton UV contortion act Hanging Vampire Weimar Berlin number Female Ring Juggler |
