Mercedes (Sadie) LeDonna & Shawn Kellogg
(Owners, Coaches)
Sadie LeDonna has performed as an aerialist, clown and acrobat around the Pacific Northwest since age 15, debuting on the aerial hoop in a New Old Time Chautauqua show. She has created independent shows, toured with the New Old Time Chautauqua and worked as a part of smaller companies.
She has received training in aerial arts, acrobatics, dance, and clowning in San Francisco CA, Seattle WA, Brattleboro VT, and Quebec City. She also studied social circus with Cirque De Soleils’ social circus training company, Cirque du Monde. She aims to bring a joy of movement and physical well-being to as many people as possible. She has taught at the School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts in Seattle and UMO School of Physical Theater on Vashon Island, as well as small aerial studios, crossfit gyms and festivals around the Pacific Northwest.
Shawn Kellogg has been studying movement and performing circus arts since 2010. He trained intensively at the San Francisco Circus Center and Ecole De Cirque de Québec. He also studied social circus with Cirque De Soleil’s social circus training company Cirque du Monde. He specializes in hand balancing, ground acrobatics, and juggling. Shawn has created independent shows, toured with the New Old Time Chautauqua and worked in smaller companies.
Shawn is also a school certified structural integration practitioner and has studied kinesiology at The Pacific Center for Awareness and Bodywork as well as with Anatomy Trains Structural Integration. He has also studied osteopathically derived manual therapy techniques, functional movement training and developmental movement patterns. He loves reading contemporary research on the neuroscience of pain and how to optimize physical performance.
Ruth Choudhury
(Aerial Sling and Aerial Yoga)
Ruth Choudhury began her love affair with Aerial dance after taking a class in Los Angeles in 2013. Finding an immediate love and connection to the fabric, she knew it was something she wanted to explore further and with a background in dance from early childhood, it was a natural progression into the world of aerial.
Ruth has received extensive mentorship training and certification in Aerial Dance under the guidance of Kimberely Simonetti founder of Up Flying Yoga Los Angeles, and in 2015 Ruth began teaching Aerial Dance at Up Flying Yoga.
Ruth has performed as both aerialist and aerial bartender at numerous Los Angeles events with the aerial troupe The Lovely Hearts. She has also appeared as herself on multiple reality shows and local Los Angeles T.V news shows demonstrating and teaching aerial. It brings Ruth no greater joy than to share the love she has for aerial and help bring that exhilaration to others.
Julaine Hall
(General Circus, Chinese Pole, Aerial Rope)
Julaine has been engaged in circus since she was 2 years old and performing since she was 5. She’s a generalist with some of her favorite disciplines being Chinese Pole, Aerial Rope, Aerial Straps, Handstands, Acrobatics/Group Acrobatics, and Juggling. She has performed in numerous notable venues and events such as Teatro ZinZanni, Moisture Fest, Circus Smirkus, and several Acrobatic Conundrum shows. In her free-time, besides circus, she loves to play guitar, write songs, and read. Fun facts, Julaine has been homeschooled up until college and speaks a bit of French.
James Vanwert
(Urban Movement, Kickboxing, Strength and Conditioning)
James is a combat veteran and physical fitness enthusiast with over two decades of teaching experience. He has trained service members and civilians, adults and children, large groups and individuals. He is offering some fun and energetic classes at Pop-Up for fitness and movement literacy. We highly recommend these classes if you are looking to learn about self-defense, get a great workout and have fun while working on functional movement pathways that will help you be stronger and more agile for life.
Yara Avery
(Circus Tots and Elders Rooted Movement)
Yara is the mother of two energetic kiddos and she runs our tots and littles circus classes on Mondays and Fridays. She is a multi-talented and motivated teacher who loves music, dance, and play.
Previously, Yara taught tots classes at Om Culture in Seattle and has experience teaching youth in a variety of other settings as well. Her classes mix songs and music circle time, games, and open circus skills playtime.
Yara’s dance & movement background spans many disciplines. Most technically, she has studied with the British Dancing Academy. Fifteen years of training with BDA in classical ballet, tap, jazz, & modern; her body learned how to strengthen and find balance. Her passion for movement & healing expanded after having children as she found that the key to her postpartum recovery was through slow, mindful movements accompanied by conscious breathing. Yara found White Tiger Qigong to support her healing journey & is currently taking courses to become a certified medical Qigong instructor.
Aili Emilia
(Dance Teacher)
Alex Eisenberg
(Hula Hooping)
For the past decade hooping has been a portal of transformation for Alex. Learning to waist hoop at age 22 was Alex’s gateway into reconnecting with her body after many years of being ruled by shame and fear around movement. Her hoops have been some of her most reliable and unexpected allies on her healing journey and in her pursuit of joyful connection and soulful embodiment.
Alex learned how to hoop, for the most part, via online tutorials and the virtual hoop community, but she has also been lucky enough to learn directly from some of her hooping heroes and from the Kaleidoscope Collective in Seattle. These days she loves busking with her hoops on the streets of Port Townsend and performing with her fire hoop as part of the local Mosaic Fire Collective.
Over the years, Alex has taught a number of hoop workshops and has had several one-on-one students, but is still fairly new to teaching. Her background in facilitating rites-of-passage, ritual, and grief work informs her whole-person approach. She begins each class with a brief personal check-in and hopes to support students in channelling their emotional experiences into embodied practice. She’s excited to join the Pop-Up team and to translate the best of what she knows to new hoopers young and old!
Jenni Hill
(Yoga Instructor, Junior and General Circus)
Bilingual and a natural peacemaker, it is easy for Jenni to share her delight in movement and performance with those around her. Her classical training in gymnastics at NW Aerials and dance at Pacific NW Ballet poised her for a temptation to find joy and fulfillment in physical movement. She has indeed done that. After gaining her minor’s degree in dance at the University of Washington, she shifted her training to yoga, which she studied and taught for over 15 years. Jenni also attained her license as a massage therapist in 2004. Ongoing studies in aerial acrobatics and acro yoga led her to participate in small troupes and perform around Seattle and Latin America. Jenni knows that we can heal the planet and ourselves through yoga, movement, and circus arts that continue to teach us self-awareness and community-building for all ages. She has been home-steading with her husband and budding community on 40 acres above Discovery Bay since 2017.
Testimonials
Sadie and Shawn recently visited our local elementary school to lead our students through a Circus Arts Workshop. The day was filled with movement, play, and laughter – leaving each and every one of our students feeling excited about their time in class and eager to learn more. The way in which Sadie and Shawn engaged ALL of our students was really a testament to their ability to make circus arts accessible to a wide range of ages and abilities. Our school would be lucky to have them back and we would highly recommend their workshop for students and adults alike!
-Alex Craighead, Chautuaqua Elementary School PE Teacher
Shawn and Sadie have been working with both of my children for years. Having worked with many coaches, I can hands down say that Sadie and Shawn are some of the best my we have worked with. Their commitment to the craft mingles with their playful and loving personalities to generate an environment that inspires both of my kids every week.
-Nekole Shapiro, Parent
Unexpectedly Shawn and Sadie go beyond the standard coaches! Yes, they have strong skills that they translate well to kids, I expect this, but Shawn is also a caring and deeply observant person. Making sure my daughter has fun and also watching how her body subtly moves to prevent injury, accommodating just enough when she is tired or overwhelmed, working with her to move beyond her perceived limitations.
-Michelle Mickle, Parent