The Circus Project

Specialties

The Circus Project is Portland’s center for contemporary circus arts. We transcend social barriers and inspire personal transformation through circus instruction and performance.

We offer classes and workshops for adults and children of all ages along two tracks – recreational and pre-​professional. Our Performance Troupe creates cutting-​edge, world-​class productions for Portland audiences and beyond. In addition, we teach Circus in the Schools and partner with local nonprofits to engage at-​risk youth.

History

Established in 2008.

Founded in 2008 by circus performer & Process Work psychologist, Jenn Cohen, the Circus Project was created with the mission of empowering homeless and at-​risk youth and young adults – physically, mentally, and emotionally – through the development of innovative, skilled circus productions.

In 2009, the Circus Project expanded programming to include classes available to the general public, so that children and adults from all walks of life could experience the profound effects of circus arts with the option of pursuing either a recreational or professional track. Later that year, the Circus Project formed our Professional Performance Troupe with the intention of creating bold new works that challenge our assumptions of human potential and offer cutting-​edge, contemporary circus performances to the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

Meet the Business Owner

Jenn C.

Business Owner

Jenn has worked as a professional circus performer and coach for over two decades. Her training includes: The Circus Space in London, Dell’ Arte International School of Physical Theatre, sacred clown & buffoon with Sue Morrison, and Chinese acrobatics with Master Lu Yi. Jenn performed extensively in ensemble theaters throughout the US, and as a solo aerial artist in Europe. She was a tenured instructor at the San Francisco Circus Center and worked as a choreography consultant for Teatro Zin Zanni. Jenn is known for inventing a number of original aerial apparatus’, most notably, the Single-​Point Cloud Swing, the now widely used Triangle Trapeze, and the Maypole Tissu. Jenn holds a master’s degree in Process Oriented Psychology and uses that work’s unique approach to individual and collective change to create innovative choreography.