2019 Artist & Entertainers
Viele Maloy
Viele is a fire performer based in Crested Butte, CO. She finds freedom expressing herself through movement and loves sharing her flame with others through performance and teaching. She has been performing with her fire fans and dragon staff at festivals and private events all across the U.S. for the past five years.
Carissa “Lumiya Lumos” Connell
Carissa Connell, better known as Lumiya Lumos, is a Colorado based fire performance artist. Lumiya’s work transcends the typical performer in that her art is organic, self-taught, and constantly evolving. Inspired by the ever-changing nature of fire, she weaves the beauty of both chaos and fluidity, of creation and destruction, into each performance. With a history in theater and dance, she creates not only an immersive display of fire mastery, but an emotion evoking story of fire and flow. Let the world fall away as you experience the fusion of raw talent and mysticism that is Lumiya Lumos. Photo by Dark Matter Photography
Courtney "Funky Faye”
Courtney is a performance artist specializing in infusing her passion for dance and music into prop manipulation and fire dancing. Being from a small town in Ohio, relocating to Denver, Colorado has only expanded her entertainment career and inspirations. Going by her stage name “Funky Faye,” she creates high-energy performances and artistry to appeal to everyone, using her creativity to convey positive vibes and movements to captivate the audience. Her ever expanding skill set and knowledge makes her an incredibly versatile and a highly trained professional entertainer. Photo by: Eddie Clark Media
Brooke Einbender
With a background in oil painting, Brooke Einbender is now translating her paintings into immersive virtual space. Once immersed in the virtual realm, the creative opportunities are endless. As with painting, she no longer had to create an illusion of space on a 2D surface; instead, she could draw sculpture, meander around a line suspended in space, and walk through layers of 3D digital paint. Ultimately in the virtual environment, Brooke is creating her own experiential worlds, which surpass the limitations of painting. Her transformational art will be seen at the Fire Ball.
LVDY Music
With a debut EP in the works, LVDY (pronounced “Lady”) is about to take Denver by storm. Singer-songwriter duo Kathleen Hooper and Aubrey Mable met six years ago in New Zealand. With an acoustic guitar, the occasional tambourine and their harmonies, LVDY makes honest music enveloped in positive vibes to fill those sunny Colorado afternoons. Mable’s warm rasp complements Hooper’s bright and clear vocals on their first song released on all major music platforms — a cover of Cobi’s “Don’t You Cry for Me.” The track has been streamed over 100,000 times since its release in October 2018. In a matter of months, the duo has gone from busking on street corners to selling out their first two headlining shows.
Don’t miss this dynamic duo at the Fire Ball, onstage at 9pm.
Vera Sizintseva
Vera is a Russian circus and flow performer based in Denver, CO. She has spent six years learning and teaching flow arts, her favorite prop is dragon staff. Vera will be performing as well as teaching free workshops at the library for the Festival. She loves performing and teaching dragon staff.
Lyndsay McKeever
Lyndsay McKeever is a Colorado circus artist, yogi and Denver Circus Collective performer specializing in bicycle and balance skills. She loves pushing beyond what is possible and inspiring courage. Lyndsay is excited to share her passion for unicycling and empower people to cultivate a meditative flow state of focus and presence through breath. She is performing on stage as well as teaching a free unicycle workshop at the library.
GLO SPACE
GLO SPACE is a Colorado based lighting design and flame effects production company. Inspired by the Telluride Flame Effects Workshop at the Mine in 2018, GLO SPACE brought Vulvaline and Hairy Larvae to life in the spring of the same year. Both pieces have been to Burning Man, Apogaea, and Elsewhence. GLO SPACE is honored and excited to bring their pieces ‘home’ to Telluride for the 2019 Fire Festival!
Rikki Morehouse
Rikki is a passionate and dedicated performer, teacher, and designer of things. She is also a contortionist-hand balancing-aerialist clown, and one of the creators of SacCirque, a sacramento based collective of circus and flow artists (saccirque.com). She currently lives in Paonia, CO where she has formed a performance organization called Homestead Circus Productions with her partner Dominic Del Signore. You can read more about Rikki here: http://www.rikkimorehouse.com/
John Beck
John, circus performer, fire performer and yoga teacher, comes to us from San Diego, CA. He started with poi and slowly fell in love with all flow props. He also enjoys moving the body either with aerial straps, cyr wheel, acroyoga, or partner acrobatics! John will be performing nightly at various locations as well as in Pulse at The Palm Theater December 6.
Matt Brooks
Matt, an Englewood, CO resident since 2014, has been creating fire art for about eight years.
He created a Mutant Vehicle for Burning Man in 2015 and brought an installation to Alchemy, the Georgia Regional Burning Man event. Some of you may remember his incredible images taken at our 2018 event and posted on this website. His installation will be on display at Hot Time in the Old Town December 6 & 8.
Michael Wright
Michael Wright & Meredith Miller are the creators of the wood sculpture that can be seen for several days atop chair 7. It will burn to the ground Saturday night during the Fire Ball. Tickets for this special evening are free with a Fire Ball ticket or can be purchased separately for just the Fire on the Mountain.
After two failed attempts at being a cult leader, Michael ‘Oaks’ Wright turned his attention to burning art. At Burning Man Oaks is known as Elder Wrong - the lead volunteer for the longest running and largest art project at Burning Man called "The Pottie Project". This art project reminds all that Leave No Trace applies to Burning Man’s 1,700 porta potties.
DJ BrockMasters
He’s back!! This DJ is no stranger to the Fire Ball. He’s been bringing us the beats from back when we were doing it in a cave! Every Fire Festival, every year, every time…….. awesome. Flying solo this year, DJ Phoenix spreads wing from LoveTribe to bring you a more concentrated psychedelic feel. While currently based in Denver, DJ Phoenix has been throwing it down since 1999. From Black Rock City to Puerto Vallarta, and Denver to the Bay, you can count on a 20-year track record of lifting the party up and letting your freak flag fly. “This is OUR house, and in OUR house, you get to be who ever you want. So, as long as you got love.” Check out our lovable DJ on Facebook.
Dave Mechtly
Dave Mechtly is a Denver-based artist, fabricator, master electrician, musician, welder, tinkerer, father, general poker of the bear, and founder of Musselph Ltd. He has contributed to the Colorado art community with large sculptural works for nearly two years, drawing inspiration from culturally meaningful symbols.
Paphiopendulum” is an exploration in balancing the delicate and the powerful, juxtaposing organic and geometric beauty, and expanding into unknown territory with grace and tenacity. Based on orchids in the genus Paphiopedilum, it incorporates huge blasts of fire and the swaying movement of flowers in a dramatic presentation of the beautiful weird.
Jamie Vaida
Jamie Vaida has spent years perfecting his craft of creating beautiful, often functional, pieces of art from recycled metals. He is a veteran creator of Mutant Vehicles for Burning Man. Jamie is creating yet another interactive, fiery masterpiece for this year’s Fire Festival, which will be flaming high in the sky.
Carrie Vickers
Carrie’s love of movement as a professional runner, coach, and Pilates Instructor, brought her to fall in love with the aerial arts world. For the past six years she has enjoyed sharing this love through performance and teaching. She delights in sharing the air with fellow Sopris Soarers’ aerialists Stacy Everson and Devon Blanke, as well as with her three little girls.
Meredith Miller
Phoenix, AZ artist, Meredith Miller also works full time raising money for nonprofits. Her art is a reflection of the beautiful world around her. In collaboration with Michael Wright, Meredith has added her artist eye to make the Dream Compass pop with intricate details. Photography, painting, furniture building, and dream catcher weaving are some of her other artistic accomplishments. As an Arizona native, she is influenced by the beauty of the desert and often says it’s in her blood.
Charlie Vierhout
Artist, Charles Vierhout creates complex computing system for a living, and makes art for a release. He will be showcasing his 10-foot tall street clock, entitled “Our Time”, which juxtaposes a contemporary take on “time” with a more historical view of street clocks. The hands move both forward and backward in the clock face. A pendant allowing people to select multiple styles of flame blasts controls the tower flame effects. Inside the tower are four computers to control LEDs, the hands, and flame effects, as well as four custom built gearboxes. 1,300 LEDs are also inside the installation, which run an ever-changing color display.
Dream Team Spinners
Dream Team Spinners have eight plus years of being involved and performing in the fire and flow arts community. They utilize constantly evolving techniques to keep the viewer entertained and push their own skill sets to new levels. Alyssa "Solace", Ben "Dreads", Eric Sipos, Jacquie "Tarfoot", Jared "The Juggler", Jay-J Camacho, Juan Guardiola, and Kimberly Bucki will all be performing nightly.
Dominic Del Signore
Circus performer Dominic Del Signore shares the art of object manipulation in western Colorado. He has recently displayed his acts at Carbondale’s Mountain Fair and the Telluride Fire Festival. As Co-Founder of Homestead Circus Productions with his partner RIkki Morehouse, Dominic practices a multiplicity of skill toys. Constantly expanding upon the visually elusive practice of balance and isolation, he brings an element of mystery and playfulness to all his performances. Photo by Scott London.
Devon Blanke
Devon comes to the Festival from Carbondale, CO. An outdoorsy cross-trainer and skier, Devon is able to translate those skills into aerial arts. She has an affinity for all the aerial arts—rope, silks, and more. Devon enjoys teaching as well as performing. Look for her up in the air at the Fire Ball on Saturday night.
Dance of the Sacred Fire
Dance of the Sacred Fire, led by the talented Maciej Mrotek create performances of pure fire shows including Fire Poi, Fire Rope Dart, Fans, Fire Ropes, Fire Breathing, Fire Staff, Double Fire Short Staff, Fire Play, Fire Fingers, Fire Torches. Maciej Mrotek, Jenna Wirtz, and Melanie Finàn will perform nightly in Telluride.
Bryan Pope
Bryan Pope embraces the power of love, dance, and flow arts as tools for healing and transformation. His desire is to inspire with movement and artistic freedom, while challenging the mind and body to grow. Bryan has been choreographing, teaching, and performing flow arts for over five years. He performs locally and nationally and has had the honor of sharing the stage with well-known artists such as William Close and the Earth Harp Collective, Thriftworks, Psymbionic, Desert Dwellers, Love and Light, and Kaminanda. Bryan has also had the privilege of performing in the great circle with a local fire conclave at Burning Man four times. He is also a Co-Founder of ConSensual Circus and Choreographer for Hot CoCo, Denver’s Burning Man Conclave.
Embers
Embers, comprised of a husband-wife duo who fell in love with fire around the same time they fell in love with each other, has now formed a trio with Alyssa Buescher from Durango. The troupe creates theatrical stories with fire as the narrator, leaving tails of flames chasing its source. From Fire Staff and Fire Fans to fiery aerial tumbles, the story that unfolds while the Embers dance is both enticing and magical. They are also teaching the Prop Workshop at Ah Haa.
Stacy Everson
Stacy Everson’s love for aerial dance found her on the island of Kauai, enthralled by spatial play upon witnessing the abilities of the human body through a Cirque de Soleil performance.
Searching for the new and innovative in aerial representation is her goal. However, her true joy comes from teaching others not to be merely spectators but actual participants. For this reason, Stacy has embraced teaching as well as performing in her hometown of Carbondale, CO.
Niel Ringstad
Originally from NYC, Niel is distinguished as a 31-year Telluride local, living for his first 10-years in a ski-bum shack of 72 square-feet. Though a graphic designer at heart and an accomplished painter, Niel has graciously built two towering sculptural works (out of clean, salvaged lumber) for the Festival, which have been the cornerstones of the Fire on the Mountain in 2016 and the BIG Bad Burn in 2017. We welcome him back this year again as one of the trio of artists for this year’s ever-expanding Sculpture Garden at the top of Lift 7.
Keith D’Angelo
At the 2015 Festival we saw Keith’s flaming heart, and the seven foot flaming LOVE at the 2016 Festival. In 2017, Keith’s kinetic fire sculpture was a giant mala spinning in different directions. In 2018, his LOVE burned to the ground at Fire on the Mountain. You’re in for a treat for 2019!
Ryan Mathern
Atlanta resident, Ryan Mathern creates steel sculptures, adding virgin and reclaimed materials to a tubular steel substructure and steel rod framework. Ryan’s sculptures have been on exhibit in Atlanta at the Eyedrum Gallery, Burning Man in 2009, 2017, 2018, and Bonnaroo Music Festival, TN.
Tonglen, the Buddhist practice of receiving and accepting bad energy, sending out and letting go of one’s good energy is embodied in this Prayer Engine made of steel and fire. Standing 18 feet tall this placid face made of segmented, polished, stainless steel breathes as an amplification of human input and exhales fire from it’s pursed lips as well as signaling with five flame jets from the crown.
Nicky Evers
Nicky has been travelling to teach and perform movement arts across the globe for the past six years. He is recognized for his unique, smooth style and his focus on body mechanics, which he integrates from his bachelor’s degree in T’ai Chi. Nicky will be performing nightly in Telluride.
Kimberly Bucki
Buugeng artist and aerialist from Chicago, she performs and teaches all over the country. Kimberly is here to dazzle and inspire you with her manipulation of four buugeng. She has been to every Telluride Fire Festival, and is excited to be back again! She comes prepared with her performing circus dog, Gizmo, and an incredible juggler!
Ben "Dreads"
Ben "Dreads" has been practicing and performing in the world of flow arts for more than 10 years. As one of the founding members of the Dream Team Spinners, he has participated in the Festival with various members of his troupe every year. Hailing from the Chicago area, he’s a craftsman of all types and styles of props to keep an evolving style that is sure to entertain and amaze! Image by Joe Kusumoto Photography
Juan Guardiola
Juan Guardiola is a Chicago performance artist who has been practicing his performance art and teaching across the U.S., in the Circus and Flow Art scene for over a decade. Taking his manipulations and juggling to the next level, he aspires to push himself and those around him to maximize their full creative potential. Juan is teaching at the Library and performing nightly.
Katie Shewbridge
Katie, dancer with the Telluride Dance Collective, has been dancing since she was young, and recently rediscovered her passion for dancing when she moved to Telluride three years ago. She has performed, competed, and choreographed many shows in her dancing career. She is so happy to have joined TDC, as it is what she had been searching for all along—an empowering, supportive community of dancing for FUN with many opportunities to share her art. She will be performing Dec. in Pulse! at the Palm Theater. Photo by Dustin Miles
Malvina Jones
Malvina, a native of the south suburbs of Chicago, has spent over a decade working in the performing arts industry. She entered the fire arts four years ago and this is her second year back in Telluride with the Dream Team Spinners.
Jared Janssen
Jared learned juggling as a young teenager, he grew to love the art of circus, Vaudville, and the history of juggling. His juggling style is a challenging mix of various juggling props in a fun and humbling clown inspired display. Juggling has brought him all over the country and he hopes to never grow out of this life long passion.