We are excited to host a reception before TRYBE’s Saturday matinee performance to celebrate the new book “Training is Bitter: Reflections on Life, Effort, and Acrobatics With Master Trainer Lu Yi'' written by Lu Yi with Devin Holt.  Join us in Circus Center’s Theater on March 11 from 12:30-1:45pm for a book reading and opportunities to get signed copies. Lu Yi will be there as well if he is feeling up for it.  Stay for TRYBE afterwards to see the evolution of what Lu Yi started when he formed the Youth Circus 30 years ago.

Training is Bitter: Reflections on Life, Effort, and Acrobatics With Master Trainer Lu Yi

by Lu Yi with Devin Holt

ABOUT THE BOOK

Hailed as everything from “the father of modern acrobatics” to the “rabble-rouser of Chinese circus,” Master Trainer Lu Yi brings his trademark humor and acrobatic philosophy to his own life story in Training is Bitter.

He recalls a nearly seven-decade career of incredible feats and bitter challenges. At just eleven years old, Lu Yi faced cruel methods and harsh beatings from the coach of his first acrobatic troupe. He went on to become a celebrated performer known for acrobatic creativity who invented a number of tricks—including one that, as far as he knows, has never been replicated. He toured the world as a star acrobat, served as artistic director of both the Nanjing Acrobatic Troupe and the San Francisco Circus Center, and established the first Chinese Acrobatics training program in the United States.

Through engaging first-hand accounts and detailed historical essays, Training is Bitter, written with former student Devin Holt, offers a picture of a man who inspired generations of students to endure the hard, bitter training necessary to perform on the world’s biggest circus stages. 

“If you’ve watched a circus in the last twenty years, you’ve seen Master Lu Yi’s work. He changed circus in North America and Australia in profound and beautiful ways. He was also my teacher and a dear friend. Training is Bitter gives you a taste of Lu Yi’s philosophy and why he is beloved by performers around the world.” —Jeff Raz, former Cirque du Soleil star and author of The Secret Life of Clowns

ABOUT DEVIN HOLT

Devin Holt has been a lot of things: A wayward street-corner youth, a circus performer, and a farm boy loading firewood into the family pick up truck. He has hitchhiked across the United States more than once; lived in the rafters of a communal artist warehouse in San Francisco; and studied kung fu in a quiet academy on top of a hill in rural China. Now, he writes. 

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Today, the Board of Directors of Circus Center—the West Coast’s premier circus school—announced the appointment of Juliana Neves (she/her) as the institution’s first-ever Head of School. With an extensive 30-year history working in the circus arts, Neves will collaborate with Executive Director Barry Kendall and the school's staff and leadership team to build and implement an innovative vision for Circus Center’s training programs and performances, further securing the institution’s position as a leader in American circus arts training. Neves will begin her tenure as Head of School on February 15, 2023. 

"I have dedicated my life to performing, training, creating and teaching, so to have all my work converge into this new role at Circus Center feels serendipitous,” said Neves. “I can't wait to share my years of professional experience and training with the San Francisco Bay Area arts community and contribute to the growth of the circus arts in California and beyond."

Neves brings to Circus Center a 30-year track record of working with the biggest global names in arts and entertainment, from Cirque du Soleil to the FIFA World Cup. Born and raised in Brazil, she started her international performing career in 1998, when she became the first artist from São Paulo to join Cirque du Soleil. Neves was an original cast member of Dralion, where she was a featured performer alongside other emerging stars like Viktor Kee, the Ukrainian juggler and America’s Got Talent finalist. 

“From the very first days sharing the stage with Juliana [in Dralion], I realized I was about to work with a unique and true performer,” said Kee. “Her artistry and internal energy filled the show with an emotional vibe elevating the show and its artistic expression to new levels. For Juliana, the world of movement is not only external, but also a physical manifestation of the internal emotional world.”

After her time with Cirque du Soleil, Neves made her home in Belgium, where she worked as a professional dancer and choreographer in the Belgian dance collective ‘les ballets C de la B,' working with the renowned director Alain Platel. She also started building her philosophy and approach to teaching circus to the next generation. In addition to offering workshops around the world, Neves taught aerial technique and dance at ESAC in Belgium, a top professional circus school. More recently, she was part of the artistic and creative leadership at Circus Juventas (St Paul, MN), one of the top youth circus schools in the United States. 

"I'm so excited to partner with Juliana to take Circus Center forward into a new era,” adds Kendall. “Her personal experiences as an elite performer and creator are an inspiration to our staff, students, and community. With her skills as an educator and arts leader, she will help transform their inspiration into a passion for excellence in the circus arts."

Juliana has created, directed, and produced circus, dance, and live entertainment on a grand scale and at a world-class level. In 2014, she was the Artistic Coordinator/Casting Director and Acrobatic Choreographer for the opening and closing ceremonies of the FIFA World Cup Brazil. She has created and co-created a broad range of shows around the world, from award winning dance performances such as WOLF at the Paris Opera and the professional circus-dance production Jump or Fall in Belgium to the student show B-orders at the Palestinian Circus School.

"Circus Center emerged from the pandemic with a renewed focus on providing equitable access to the highest quality in circus arts education to all of San Francisco, especially its children,” said Sophie Turrell, Circus Center Board Chair. “To this, Juliana Neves brings proven leadership and a track record of international excellence in performing, creating, and teaching the artform of circus. She is exactly the leader Circus Center needs to realize our vision and take our place as one of the City's preeminent cultural institutions.”

Adds Tim Roberts, Director of The Ecole de Cirque de Québec: “Juliana is well-versed in circus arts education and the Circus Center will benefit from the perspective she has gained from her various experiences from around the world.” 

Neves holds an MA in Cultural Anthropology from KU Leuven in Belgium. In addition to her native language of Portuguese, Juliana speaks English, Spanish, French, Mandarin, and Dutch.

A committee of Board members, staff leadership, and instructors—chaired by noted circus historian Dominique Jando—conducted the search over several months, fielding and recruiting candidates from around the world.