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Chelsea McGuffin

Chelsea McGuffin has a continued commitment to, and execution of, the highest standard of Contemporary Circus from Australia for the past 15 years, as a pioneering leader of this form. 

Chelsea grew up in Canberra and at a young age begun ballet classes discovering her passion for performing. She trained at The National Capital Ballet School under Direction of Janet Karen, before heading to Adelaide to continue studies majoring in Dance at The Centre for Performing Arts.

On graduation she moved to Sydney and began working with Sally Forth (Australian Dance Theatre and Circus Oz).  Here she began exploring the relationship between circus and dance, discovering her interest in circus and its potential to incorporate dance technique. This led to circus training, where time was spent at the Fruit Fly Circus School, the Moscow State Circus School and master classes in clowning with Angela Decastro.

Her performing career started with Extra Bimbo, an all-women’s street performing group based in Sydney.  This led to a two year touring adventure with Circus Monoxide, the nomadic new circus. The company toured in a double decker bus with ten people living, working and performing from the bus.  She drove the bus, assisted in company administration and created popular works that connected with regional audiences. This was a key foundation in the development of her future circus work. Chelsea later received a travel grant to study at the Moscow State Circus School where she spent four months training in the disciplines of tightwire and hula hoops.

On return, Chelsea worked with Tony’s Imaginary Circus, the Queensland Theatre Company, then took up a full-time contract with Rock N Roll Circus.  The next nine years were spent working alongside Director Yaron Lifschitz where Chelsea was part of recreating the company re-named as CIRCA Contemporary Circus.  Yaron and Chelsea both came from outside the circus world and had interests in creating a physical language that allowed the director to work with the circus artists outside of talking about “circus tricks” and included a sense of movement so the circus could move into a fluid language and away from rigid skills.  This created a great platform to explore the ‘art of circus’. starting as an ensemble member, Chelsea then moved to ensemble manager, senior ensemble member to Artistic Associate.  She managed the day to day business of the ensemble, took rehearsals and directed works.

In 2008, Chelsea Co founded Circus Company 2, creating small events and producing work before it co-produced Cantina with ‘Strut N Fret’ production house for the Brisbane International Arts Festival.  Chelsea was the Director, co-producer and performer in this award winning production. Cantina went onto have four successful years touring both nationally and internationally and put Circus Company 2 on the world stage. Cantina was a great first work which brought Chelsea back to the popular performance world with a work that included contemporary styles alongside humour, pure entertainment, live music and joy.  This is where her theatrical heart lies. 

Circus Company 2 went on to create Scotch & Soda, with commissions by The Brisbane Powerhouse and London Roundhouse to create She Would Walk the Sky, Perched in collaboration with Woodford Folk Festival; and Kaleidoscope a family work in collaboration with Ethan, diagnosed with Aspergers. Kaleidoscope premiered at the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts, and was presented for seasons at the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Festival and Brisbane Festival. 

Alongside her extensive career as an internationally touring performer and director, Chelsea also managed to maintain a strong and steadfast commitment to the community, ensuring the next generation of circus performers were inspired, represented and saw a place for their own voices on the contemporary circus stage. As Creative Director of Flipside Circus, Queensland’s largest youth circus, Chelsea created programs and artistic pathways for young emerging artists as well establishing national tours for the youth troupe. Chelsea also holds the position of the circus programmer for Woodford Folk Festival.

More recently, Circus Company 2 undertook a 6 month contract in Berlin at the Chamelion Theatre with Le Coup after a successful season at Edinburgh Fringe, Other works include Wunderage with Circus Oz, which received critical acclaim and has captured the attention of international presenters and pushed Circus Oz into a new world. In 2020 Chelsea worked alongside Rhoda Roberts and a leading team of first nations artists to direct Natives Go Wild, a Sydney Opera House Production. 

In 2021, Circus Company 2 rebranded under Chelsea’s own name, Chelsea McGuffin & Co. Chelsea was commissioned by Arts Queensland and HOTA to develop three new works, Hysteria, Azul and Wired Moon and the Ice Cream Floor. Chelsea is also collaborating with David Hart, an iconic Australian Vistula artist on a new work, Bogart. 2022 see’s Chelsea remount Wunderage under her own company and revision Le Coup with NCM Nicholas Clark Management for national touring.

Australian Contemporary Circus would not be where it is without Chelsea's unrelenting commitment to experimenting with and expanding the art form, her ability to negotiate, manage and maintain deep respect with International presenters, and her unwavering support for developing the capacity of future generations of circus artists.

Chelsea would like to acknowledge all the collabatering creative artists and technicians who have and continue to contribute to the work created by the company. Your skills, knowledge, sharing and collaberation is deeply respected.

Links

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8YPNG5gWJE Chelsea McGuffin - 2021 Australia Council Award for Theatre