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We are one week away from participating in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C., part of America’s 250th anniversary celebrations! 🎪🇺🇸
🎪 Meet the Cast: Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2026
Meet Uranbileg Angarag, known to audiences worldwide as Urnaa, a contortionist, hand balancer, and aerial artist from Mongolia.
Urnaa discovered her gift for contortion at age five and began training at the prestigious Mongolian National Circus School at six. By nine, she was already performing on stage. Since then, she has taken her breathtaking talent to more than 30 countries, collaborating with Cirque du Soleil, Teatro Zinzanni, and the Ringling Museum, and competing at the highest levels of the international circus world -- earning 1st place at the Cirque Life international circus competition in 2020, a bronze medal at the Princess Circus Festival in 2021, and the Leading Employee of the Mongolian Cultural Sector honor in 2014.
On stage, Urnaa performs aerial duo silks, lyra, chandelier, hand balance, adagio, and contortion. Off stage, she is an internationally certified yoga instructor, a 2021 IYSF Yoga Athlete National Champion, and an in-demand contortion coach who has organized retreats across Japan and beyond.
She brings all of that to the Rotunda stage at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, September 5-7. Three shows daily. Free and open to the public! 🎪
#UrnaaAngarag #Contortion #SmithsonianFolklifeFestival #CircusArtsConservatory #MeetTheCast
🎪 Meet the Cast: Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2026
Meet Ermiyas Muluken, a native of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, whose journey to the circus stage is one of the most remarkable in our cast.
Ermiyas fell in love with circus as a youth after experimenting with rolla bolla using a whiskey bottle, a glass, and some wood. That spark of curiosity grew into a professional career that has taken him from the African Roots Circus School in Addis Ababa to stages across the globe, including Mother Africa, Funexpress in Turkey, Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, and Cirque du Fringe: D`illusion at the Rochester Fringe Festival.
Today, Ermiyas amazes audiences with his ladder, rolla bolla, and juggling acts, combining incredible balancing skills with undeniable showmanship. And fitting for this moment, he calls Washington, D.C. home.
He takes the Rotunda stage at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival September 5-7. Three shows daily. Free and open to the public! 🎪
#ErmiyasMuluken #CircusArtsConservatory #SmithsonianFolklifeFestival #Sarasota #MeetTheCast
🎪 Meet the Cast: Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2026
Meet Noel Aguilar, a world-renowned juggler from a multi-generational circus family in Mexico. Introduced to the art of juggling at a young age by his father, a skilled juggler himself, Noel developed a passion for the craft that has taken him to shows, theaters, and circuses around the world.
His talent speaks for itself. Noel has won multiple awards for his juggling act, including the prestigious Clown Award for the New Generation presented by the royal family of Monte Carlo. Fun, energetic, and charismatic, he never fails to dazzle, no matter the stage.
This Labor Day weekend, Noel brings his incredible artistry to the Rotunda of the Arts and Industries Building at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Three shows daily, September 5-7. Free and open to the public! 🎪
#NoelAguilar #Juggling #SmithsonianFolklifeFestival #CircusArtsConservatory #MeetTheCast
🧳 Packing list for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival:
Aerial rig. Olympic trampoline. Stilts. Unicycles. Bicycle built for five. Ropes. Safety mats. 26 students. 12 professional artists.
Hmm... have we forgotten anything? 👀
See you in Washington! 🎪
#CircusArtsConservatory #SmithsonianFolklifeFestival #WashingtonDC #Sarasota
🎪 Meet the Cast: Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2026
Meet Emma Grace, aerialist, Sarasota native, and one of the most decorated young circus performers in the world today.
Emma began training at the age of six, graduating from the Sailor Circus Academy and Sarasota High School`s Circus Arts magnet program. At just 11 years old, she was the youngest circus performer at the 2017 Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall, performing for more than one million visitors. Now she returns to that same stage nine years later as a world-class professional.
Since launching her professional career in 2023, Emma has performed across the United States as a featured solo aerialist in Nik Wallenda`s Wonderland. She has since joined the world-renowned Flying Caballeros, considered the world`s best flying trapeze troupe, and most recently took home the prestigious Golden Clown award at the 2025 Monte Carlo International Circus Festival. She also performed at the Royal Theatre Carré in Amsterdam with the Flying Caballeros and continues to work with them internationally.
This Labor Day weekend, she brings her breathtaking aerial artistry to the Rotunda of the Arts and Industries Building at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Three shows daily, September 5-7. Free and open to the public!
🎪 #AerialArts #SmithsonianFolklifeFestival #CircusArtsConservatory #SailorCircus #MeetTheCast
🇺🇸 As America celebrates 250 years, the story of the circus runs right alongside it. Few art forms are as woven into the fabric of this country and this Labor Day weekend, the Circus Arts Conservatory gets to tell that story on the National Mall.
We are so proud to be part of this moment. September 5-7 at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Free and open to the public!
📸 from The CAC at Smithsonian in 2017
🎪 #America250 #CircusArtsConservatory #SmithsonianFolklifeFestival #Sarasota
🎪 Meet the Cast: Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2026
Meet your host! Chris Allison`s love for circus life began with a school trip to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and the rest, as they say, is history.
After graduating from the legendary Ringling Bros. Clown College, Chris spent eleven years touring with The Greatest Show on Earth, including three years as Boss Clown. He has performed across the U.S., Europe, China, Hong Kong, and Mexico, entertained guests at Walt Disney World for eight years as Coney Island Chris, and appeared on America`s Got Talent, The Late Show with David Letterman, Oprah, and The Today Show.
Sarasota already knows and loves him from Circus Sarasota, and this Labor Day weekend, he takes the Rotunda stage at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival as host of our world-class productions. Three shows daily, September 5-7. Free and open to the public! 🎪
#ChrisAllison #SmithsonianFolklifeFestival #CircusArtsConservatory #Sarasota #LiveCircus #MeetTheCast
