Lyla Goldman

As a child she wanted to be the Easter Bunny when she grew up, which eventually morphed into wanting to be a circus artist. She thought it was impossible but she knew she had to at least give it a try. And here she is!

Her first experience with circus was learning to unicycle in kindergarten as part of the physical education program at her school. She took recreational classes at the School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts (SANCA) in Seattle from the age of eight. Soon after she joined the Youth Performance Company, where she trained and performed for the next ten years. She spent two summers touring with Circus Smirkus before moving halfway across the world to pursue circus professionally at SaSak circus school in Lahti, Finland. After graduating in 2020 specializing in aerial silks and unicycle, she moved to Lithuania with several of my classmates to form the circus company Kanta Company and create their first show, Clothes and Us.

«It allows me to reimagine what is possible and to be inspired by the endless capabilities of humans» — she says about the contemporary circus. «It is an outlet for me to feel alive and connected. I like that there is always something new, unexpected, and surprising — contemporary circus is constantly changing and evolving to be whatever we make it.»