Meet Bethel Lindsley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bethel Lindsley.

Bethel, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born and raised in Colorado. I grew up as a competitive gymnast. I went to Colorado State University and graduated with a B.S. in Fitness and Nutrition. After graduating, I have spent the last six years performing a professional circus artist. I have been fortunate enough to work for some of the largest and most prestigious performance companies in the world such as Dragone Entertainment (the original director of Cirque du Soliel), Feld Entertainment (Marvel Universe Live), and Royal Caribbean Productions (on the largest cruise ships in the world). I have gotten to travel the world, meet people from across the globe, and experience several different cultures. I have loved my job as a traveling acrobat but my heart has always belonged to Colorado.

After spending such a long time away from Colorado, I decided that is was time to share my love of circus arts with the Colorado community. I wanted Colorado to experience the different types of the high-quality circus from around the world. I have been lucky to have a very close group of talented friends that I have always wanted to get the chance to create original shows with right here in Denver. Now was the perfect time for all of us to come together to create!

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has not always been a smooth road for my circus career. I have had several injuries that I have had to take significant time off to fully recover from. I have broken bones, torn ligaments, and ruptured discs. I have had to be diligent about physical therapy and constantly make sure I take care of my body. In essence, my career is dependent on my health and unfortunately, uncontrollable accidents can happen that force you to take a step back.

I have had periods of reflection where I question my career path as a whole because sometimes being across the world on your own can be very lonely. My career has been wonderful and amazing and ultimately, I would never want to do anything else, but being removed from your home, your family, and your best friends can be difficult. Living in a different culture is eye-opening, fun, and exciting but can be strenuous when you are looking for something familiar or comforting. At the end of the day, through the joy, I get from going on stage and sharing my passion with the audience and bringing them small moments of connection and happiness has made all of these struggles worthwhile.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Circus Foundry story. Tell us more about it.
My company is Circus Foundry, a new ensemble contemporary circus company. We make original full-length circus shows that have dynamic characters that tell relatable stories. As an ensemble, we do a lot of cross disciplinary training so that all of my performers can participate as a group in every act. Our shows have a lot of ground disciplines like group acrobatics, parkour, tumbling, and prop manipulation while also creating unique aerial acts. I believe we offer the most diverse skills, relatable character and stories all while maintaining a very high level of circus artistry.

Our mission is to bring circus performances to local theaters and events with our unique and high-quality original productions, at a price that is accessible. We aim to make contemporary circus available to everyone by performing in local theaters. We want to make performance art accessible to underrepresented demographics by creating original productions that address uncomfortable social and cultural issues. Through our storytelling, our characters come to life with relatable conflicts for all people. We believe that through circus we can tell important stories that can unite us all together with the same goal of creating stronger community bonds.

We connect to local communities by partnering with a local charity to raise funds and bring awareness to their efforts. We also host workshops in local studios so we can connect with the local performance art communities to learn what is important to them.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I have been very lucky! The whole reason I became a circus artist in the first place was that I dropped into a random open gym on a whim…

When I was 13, I saw Cirque de Soliel’s “O” when I was on a gymnastics competition trip to Las Vegas. I remember watching the Russian Swing section and thinking to myself this is what I wanted to do with my life. However, I thought those people were like movie stars and that it was inaccessible to me so I never gave it any serious thought.

Six years later, I was in college, it was the summer and I was visiting one of my friends down in Colorado Springs. We looked up an open gyms online and we decided to stop by a gym we had never been to. That day, I met a host of circus performers who saw me tumbling and introduce themselves. A long story short, they became some of my best friends and gave me my first performance opportunity when I graduated from college. Lasting life long friendships were made that day in the gym and they showed me that my dreams could become a reality.

Pricing:

• Circus Foundry present Sonder at Cleo Parker Robinson Dance on July 6th/7th Ticket= $25
• Circus Foundry presents Sonder at The Dairy Center on July 20th/21st Tickets = $25
• Circus Foundry present Sonder at The Lincoln Center on June 23rd Tickets = $25
• Circus Foundry present Sonder at The Ent Center for the Arts Jun 30th Tickets = $25

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.circusfoundry.com/
• Phone: 7204863477
• Email: circusfoundry@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/circusfoundry/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/circusfoundry/
• Other: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sonder-tickets-61242086730?utm-medium=discovery&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&aff=escb&utm-source=cp&utm-term=listing

Image Credit:
Larsen Photo Co., gmark Art, Zach Wiegert

Getting in touch: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.