Meet Noelia Antweiler | Denver Circus Collective Studio Manager and Instructor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Noelia Antweiler and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Noelia, how does your business help the community?
I truly believe that circus is a life changing force. It’s a place where every person, regardless of who they are, is accepted and welcomed. Circus builds so much confidence, strength, body awareness, flexibility, trust, and brings joy through a creative medium. Denver Circus Collective cultivates all of this through top of the line instruction in an incredible facility. We pride ourselves on being a place that everyone can feel at home in. We hope that through our community, our students take their confidence and kindness into the world and pass it along.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I came to circus by way of theatre – I’m an actor by trade, and over a decade ago, I saw an aerialist perform silks as the Ghost of Christmas Past in a production of A Christmas Carol. From there, I began taking classes, eventually getting my teaching certification, and then got brought on as the studio manager at Circus Collective. As an aerialist, I combine my theatre and dance training in with my performance – I pride myself on creating a character that the audience wants to watch, and not just creating pretty poses. As I’m developing my acts, I think about the story I want to tell and how my character would tell that story physically.

Being an aerialist is full of many challenges – it takes dedication and trust and endless hours of training. I have dealt with injuries, surgeries, and took nearly a full year off due to the pandemic. But I keep coming back to it, because I am the most free up in the air.

What’s important to know is that anyone can gain something from this art form. It is so good for the mind, body, and soul. I am so proud of my body and what it can do for me, and I know other aerialists feel the same way. There is pride in knowing your body is getting stronger and almost every time I train I notice some improvement, which is an enormous confidence booster. The circus community is also so welcoming – everyone has gone through frustrations and doubts, and so everyone is there to help you out, offer advice, and train with you.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love this question! We would obviously do some amazing hiking – I’d take them to the Flatirons in Boulder and Mount Falcon outside of Golden. We’d do the Colorado thing of hiking and then grabbing a beer after – my favorite spot is New Terrain Brewing in Golden. I’d also take them to some local parks for a coffee and walk: one of my favorite activities when the weather is nice is to grab a coffee at Wash Perk and then do the Washington Park loop.

We’d definitely eat a lot of good Mexican food – I love a good chile relleno, and my favorite place to get them is at Las Potrancas in Arvada. But I’m also someone who loves a good cocktail, so we’d spend a few nights grabbing some fancy drinks at Bar Max on Colfax (my favorite cocktail bar!).

Being an actor, I’d take them to see a show at my favorite theatres – Curious Theatre in downtown Denver always produces really interesting, thought-provoking work, so we’d see a show there for sure. If they were visiting in the summertime, we’d go see a show at Colorado Shakespeare, which puts on spectacular productions outdoors under the stars.

And then of course, we’d have to do a lot of circus events! I’d take them to Clocktower Cabaret to see some fantastic performers, and if Phantom Circus had a show, we’d definitely go to that. I’d have them take my trapeze and silks classes at Denver Circus Collective, and we’d probably try out a pole dancing class too (also at Circus Collective!).

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to shoutout Peter, the owner of Denver Circus Collective. He brought me on and we’ve been working hard on making our facility the most amazing circus studio in the region! He has always supported my ideas and is overall a wonderfully supportive guy!

Website: www.circuscollective.com

Instagram: @denvercircuscollective

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/circuscollective

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@circuscollective997

Image Credits
Bill Murf – Lyra Photo with Blue Lighting Jeff Mondlock – Solo Silks Shot