Loren, Royse, & Co.; photo Eraj Asadi

A blend of dance, physical comedy, and Cyr wheel, Spun follows a character and his ability to overcome his struggles with the help of others. The work is created by dancer, choreographer, and world champion for the U.S. in wheel gymnastics Courtney Giannone and current Broadway performer (Fiddler on the Roof) Jonathan Windham.

“I hope Spun moves people in the audience, especially dancers, enough to consider dance all-encompassing (apparatus or not).”

Jacob’s Pillow Festival Intern Penelope Jungreis spoke with Giannone and Windham about their diverse performance backgrounds leading up to the creation of Spun.

How do you feel your gymnastics and Broadway backgrounds influence your dance work and Spun specifically?
Courtney: Although I took recreational gymnastics as a child, my background is majorly in dance, as I trained at schools including Alvin Ailey, Joffrey Ballet, and the Martha Graham School. I became a company member with STREB Extreme Action, where you fall from great heights and perform on gigantic, death-defying equipment. It was at this point that I began to take acrobatics seriously.
Jonathan: My background (as well as most of the performers in the show) is so diverse that it’s hard to say what or who influences the work. It’s been a very collaborative process, the knowledge and skills that have been learned and shared are really impressive. I have been working on and researching my own brand of physical humor, which lends itself well to this show. By showing how cumbersome and difficult the wheel is to deal with in a comedic way, I aim to show the amazing skill of the other artists.

How long have you been working with the wheel?
Courtney: I’ve been working with the wheel since 2012. I’ve competed in two world competitions for team USA and hold a world title. I have performed cyr hundreds of times in dance and dance/opera shows in NYC and LA.

“We revel in having such eclectic training and bringing all of our talents, ideas, and perspectives into one show.”

What is your biggest hope for Spun?
Jonathan: I hope that we can inspire our audience to laugh and be amazed and think and enjoy and ask questions. I also hope that we can successfully integrate humor, dance, cirque, and whatever else is provocative and innovative.
Courtney: I hope Spun moves people in the audience, especially dancers, enough to consider dance all-encompassing (apparatus or not). I hope the audience appreciates the challenges and variables we are facing live.

Spun is our first showcase that uses cyr wheels throughout the entirety of our dance based performance. It’s pretty exciting and a step towards my bigger dreams. Even just to finally have 7 strong, professional dancers who can manipulate a cyr wheel is pretty extraordinary, and it took a lot of time and work to get them up to speed. Now they are all booking gigs around NYC like myself, and I think this is wonderful…It means the world to me to help provide new, paid opportunities for young professional dancers.

Is there anything else you would want audiences to know about your Inside/Out program?
Courtney: This upcoming school year, our company is branching out to a few new parts of the United States in hopes to foster our expansion one step at a time. This year our goal is mostly accessing new communities where we can teach cyr wheel to dancers, children, adults, and circus artists. We will also be performing a lot around New York, Florida, Chicago, and California as a group as well as individually. We are really excited and honored to be at Jacob’s Pillow as a group before we disperse ourselves this fall.