COURTNEY PROKOPAS
full CV and personal details upon request
Courtney Prokopas is a classically-trained ballerina turned aerialist and wire-dancer. Her acts reexamine and re-define the notion of apparatus. She is cofounder of Moment Collective and lead organizer of Moment of Circus 2017, a six-day contemporary circus festival focusing on experimental, extemporaneous creation and intensive/immersive workshops. Performing highlights include her international debut of her cord and bulb act at Circonvencion Mexicana 2015.
RECENT PERFORMANCE
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Circus Sessions, ensemble creation under direction of Sean Gandini of Gandini Juggling, May 2017
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“Liberation” Counterweight Loop Creation, ensemble creation under direction of Terry Crane of Acrobatic Conundrum, Festival Internacional de Danza Aérea Costa Rica, San Jose, Costa Rica, May 2017
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Cuerpo Eléctrico (selection), Festival Internacional de Danza Aérea Costa Rica, San Jose, Costa Rica, May 2017 - solo act
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1st Convención Internacional de Alambre showcase, Museo Tertulia, Cali, Colombia, April 2017
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Prokoplantae, Mexico City, Mexico, November 2016 - duo full length show with David Orozco, Circo Plantae
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Varieté Demente: Cirko de Mente, Mexico City, Mexico, April, 2016 - duo tightwire act with David Orozco
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Zap!, Linares Festival International de Circo, Linares, Mexico, October 2016 - solo full length show
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El Circo Cheapo, Chicago, IL, July 2016 - solo performance
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Prokoplantae, Mexico City, Mexico, May 2016 - duo full length show with David Orozco, Circo Plantae
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Cuerpo Eléctrico, Mexico City, Mexico, May 2016 - solo full length show
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Varieté Demente: Cirko de Mente, Mexico City, Mexico, April, 2016 - solo act
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HOLD, Signs We Were, Chicago, IL, December 2015 - duo full length performance
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Circonvencion Mexicana, featured gala performer, Oaxetepec, Morelos, Mexico, November 2015 - solo performance
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Circus-In-Progress at Actor's Gymnasium, Evanston, IL, October 2015 - solo performance
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El Circo Cheapo, Chicago, IL, September 2015 - solo performance
ORGANIZING
Director, Moment of Circus - a six day contemporary circus festival in Chicago, IL during March 2017 - moment2017.com
EDUCATION/HONORS
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Circus Sessions 2017, invited artist, Toronto, Canada, May 2017
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Selection convocatoria de opera prima, Cirko de Mente, Ciudad de Mexico, 2016
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University of Illinois at Chicago, M.F.A. Moving Image, 2014 - Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Arts Award Scholar
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University of Chicago, A.B. in Visual Arts, 2006
TRAINING
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1st Convention of Wire, Cali, Colombia, April 2017
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Gaga Intensive, Turino, Italy, September 2016
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5th International Wire Walking Meeting, Arènche, France, August 2016
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Full-time interdisciplinary training program, Aloft Loft, Chicago, IL, 2014-2015
SKILLS & ACTS
Circus skills
Tight wire, juggling, stilting, bungee/harness, aerial fabric, static trapeze, single-point trapeze, aerial hoop, partner and group acrobatics, clowning and walkabout
Dance
Contemporary, Gaga, classical ballet, jazz, modern, contact improv, jazz, aerial dance
FILMMAKING (selected works)
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Co-director, editor: Venus from Flames, experimental documentary, 2015 - created alongside Lori Felker
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Director, editor: Am I Free to Go?, experimental documentary, 2013
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Co-director, camera work: Scrappers, documentary film, 2010 (named one of Robert Ebert’s top documentaries of 2010) - created alongside Aaron Wickenden, Brian Ashby and Ben Kolak
LANGUAGES
English and Spanish