Circus Bio
Callie Compton is the Creative Director of Weightless Aerial Company based in Memphis, Tennessee. She has been performing movement and theatre arts professionally since 2009, and has 8 years experience in circus work. As the resident aerial instructor at Rhodes College, she specializes in circus theatre and translating movement into stories. Callie has served as the Lead Studio Instructor for On the Fly Productions in St. Louis and coached many students to award winning performances. Callie is trained in aerial silks, hoop, doubles aerial, spansets, chains, trapeze/triple trapeze and a variety of ground skills including fire spinning, dance, adagio, and bullwhip. Her recent exploits include touring with the Shrine Circus as an adagio and triple trapeze artist, adapting and choreographing Edward Ablee’s classic play, “The Zoo Story” and Mark Ravenhill's "(pool) no water" for circus theatre, and creating the critically acclaimed bi-monthly aerial theatre show “Night Shift” in her hometown. She is a company member of Tennessee Ballet Theatre and teaches dance with Children's Ballet Theatre.
She earned her BPS in 'Journalism of the Fine Arts' with a focus in theatre from the University of Memphis. In addition to her countless performances with Weightless across the country, she has trained and performed with Circus Kaput, On the Fly Productions, Starfish Circus, the Aerial Angels, Valeria's Wings, and ReBelle entertainment, among others. She has also taught aerial with Circus Kaput, On the Fly, Starfish Circus, the Aerial Angels, and Valeria's Wings, completed Aerial Teacher Training at Circus Arts Institute, and attended rigging training with Brett Copes of Fight or Flight Entertainment. She has also worked with the Ringling Bros very own Larry Clark and Russ Sherak of the Circus Freaks. Her teaching focus is on safe aerial progressions in your unique style for a long and fulfilling aerial career.
She earned her BPS in 'Journalism of the Fine Arts' with a focus in theatre from the University of Memphis. In addition to her countless performances with Weightless across the country, she has trained and performed with Circus Kaput, On the Fly Productions, Starfish Circus, the Aerial Angels, Valeria's Wings, and ReBelle entertainment, among others. She has also taught aerial with Circus Kaput, On the Fly, Starfish Circus, the Aerial Angels, and Valeria's Wings, completed Aerial Teacher Training at Circus Arts Institute, and attended rigging training with Brett Copes of Fight or Flight Entertainment. She has also worked with the Ringling Bros very own Larry Clark and Russ Sherak of the Circus Freaks. Her teaching focus is on safe aerial progressions in your unique style for a long and fulfilling aerial career.
Teaching Highlights
Rhodes College: "Intro to Circus Arts," Lead instructor, present (Weightless Aerial Company)
Spring Break Circus Camp-Spring 2018 (Circus Kaput)
Lead Studio Instructor (On the Fly Productions
Multiple International Thespian Society state conferences: “Intro to Circus” and “Intro to Aerial” Master Classes, 2016-2017 (Weightless Aerial Company)
Private lesson instructor, 2013-present (Weightless Aerial Company, On The Fly, Independent)-Several students went on to become professional circus artists
Commissioned workshops for schools and corporate groups 2014-Present
Rhodes College: “Intro to Aerial” 16-week course, Spring 2017 (Weightless Aerial Company)
Bornblum Jewish Community School: “Intro to Circus” 6-week workshop series, Fall 2016-Spring 2017 (Weightless Aerial Company)
Theatre Memphis: “Intro to Circus Arts” 8-week course, Spring 2016 (Weightless Aerial Company)
Arlington High School: Starfish Circus Assistant Silks Coach, Spring 2014 (Starfish Circus)
Jewish Community Center: Starfish Circus Summer Camp, 2014 (Starfish Circus)
Tennessee Governor’s School: Aerial Workshop, lyra coach, May 2014 (Aerial Angels)
Tennessee State Thespian Conference: Aerial Workshop, coach and assistant coach, 2012 and 2013 (Aerial Angels)
Valeria’s Wings: assistant aerial instructor, 2012-2013 (Valeria’s Wings)
Performance Highlights (brief overview)
Chesterfield Fourth of July Celebration: Four featured full-length acts for over one thousand people, 2018 (Circus Kaput)
Arnold Independence Day Celebration: 2018 (Circus Kaput)
Miss Tennessee Scholarship Pageant: 2017 (Independent)
Horseshoe Tunica: Annual Employee Awards, 2016 and 2017 (Weightless Aerial Company)
Pickler Companies: Annual Gala 2017 (Weightless Aerial Company)
Memphis Children’s Theatre Festival: Full-length children’s shows, 2016, 2017 and 2018 (Weightless Aerial Company)
Harley Davidson: Halloween Bike Nights, 2016 and 2017 (Weightless Aerial Company)
Grind City Meet: Rooftop hoop performance, 2017 (Independent)
Shrine Circus: Touring shows for Shriner’s Hospitals for Children, Fall 2016 and 2017 (Weightless Aerial Company/JustLarry)
Memphis Area Association of Realtors: Annual Gala, December 2016 (Weightless Aerial Company)
Shelby Farms: “Heart of the Park” Grand Opening, 2016 (Weightless Aerial Company) Best Memphis Burger Festival: 2016 and 2017 (Weightless Aerial Company)
Figure Skating Club of Memphis: “An Enchanted Holiday Party on Ice” Lander’s Center, December 2015, (Weightless Aerial Company)
“Circus Magic” Children’s Show: Various school performances, 2016-2017 (Weightless Aerial Company)
JC Runyon Foundation: Masquerade Gala 2016 (Weightless Aerial Company)
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation: Promise Ball 2016 (Weightless Aerial Company), OneWalk 2016 (Weightless Aerial Company), Annual Gala Cincinnati, Ohio 2014 (Aerial Angels) Promise Ball 2014 (ReBelle Entertainment), OneWalk 2013 (ReBelle Entertainment)
Night Shift: Memphis Comedy Festival, 2015-Present (Weightless Aerial Company)
Memphis Downtown Commission: May 2013 (Valeria’s Wings)
Cooper Young Festival: 5k After Party and Festival, September 2012 (Valeria’s Wings)
Hilton Headquarters: Company Party, Summer 2012, (Valeria’s Wings)
Multiple wedding, corporate events, and private parties, 2012-Present
Choreography and Direction Highlights
Mark Ravenhill's "(pool) no water": Rhodes College, fall 2017, aerial/stage movement choreography and co-direction.
Edward Albee’s “The Zoo Story”: Rhodes College, seven shows August-September 2017, choreography and co-direction as a co-production between Weightless Aerial Company and Rhodes College
Five student silks pieces for Aerialympics, choreography and aerial theatre instruction, spring 2018 (On the Fly)
“Weightless: The Musical, Act II”: Theatreworks, two shows August 2017, dance, partner acrobatics, and aerial choreography, script writing, and stage direction, produced by Memphis Comedy Festival and Weightless Aerial Company
“Circus Magic”: Memphis Children’s Theatre Festival/Farmington Presbyterian Day School, multiple shows summer 2016 and 2017, aerial choreography, stage direction, and script writing, commissioned by FPDS, produced by Weightless Aerial Company
“Mayhem”: Evergreen Theatre, one weekend September 2017, adagio and triple trapeze choreography, produced by Larry Clark (JustLarry)
Multiple student showcase performances, 2016-Present
Shrine Circus Tours: touring shows, triple trapeze, adagio, and aerial silks co-choreography, fall 2016 and 2017, produced by JustLarry, performed by Weightless Aerial Company
Chuck Palahniuk’s “Loser”: Narrative Theatre Festival Spring 2016, University of Memphis, adaption for the stage and stage direction, produced by Alice Berry
Night Shift Shows: Theatreworks, 2015-Present, stage direction, script writing, and aerial, acrobatics, and dance choreography, produced by Memphis Comedy Festival and Weightless Aerial Company
Earlier Circus Performances
Starfish Circus at Germantown High School-April 2011 (Lyra)
Midtown Farmers Market, Memphis, Tennessee-May 2012 (Lyra)
Hilton Headquarters, Memphis, Tennessee-June 2012 (Lyra)
The "Glass House", midtown Memphis, Tennessee aerial over a swimming pool-August 2012 (Lyra/Silks/Duo Lyra)
The Cooper Young 5k-September 2012 (Doubles Lyra/Silks/Lyra)
The Cooper Young Festival, Memphis, Tennessee-September 2012 (Doubles Lyra/Silks/Lyra)
Starfish Circus at Bartlett Performing Arts Centre-January 2012 (Triple Trapeze)
Miss Memphis & Shelby County Scholarship Pageant-Novemeber 2012 (Lyra)
Assisting with Starfish Circus workshops at Tennessee Thespian Conference, Memphis, Tennessee-January 2013
Starfish Circus at Arlington High School-February 2013 (Silks-Team Captain)
The Memphis Downtown Commission-May 2013 (Duo Lyra & Lyra)
Miss Memphis & Shelby County Scholarship Pageant-November 2013 (Silks)
Miss Parsons Scholarship Pageant-December 2013 (Silks)
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk to Cure Diabetes-October 2013 (Silks)
Assisting with Starfish Circus silks group at Arlington High School-March 2014
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Promise Ball at the Hilton Memphis-May 2014 (Silks)
JDRF Gala, Cincinnati Ohio, with the Aerial Angels-May 2014
Aerial Angels Intern-Summer 2014
Grand Opening of Insomnia Night Club with Weightless Aerial in Memphis TN (May 2014)
Salsa Night at O'Cielo's with Weightless Aerial (May 2014)
MEMfest- Memphis Electronic Music and Arts Festival with Weightless Aerial (August 2014)
Incarnation Catholic Church/Collierville Spring Festival (2015)
Relay for Life-Memphis (2015)
Theatreworks with Nightshift and other shows (2015-Current)
Miss Collierville Scholarship Pageant (2015-2016)
Miss Memphis Scholarship Pageant (2012-2018)
"An Enchanted Holiday Party On Ice" with the Figure Skating Club of Memphis, at the Landers Center (2015)
Midtown Farmers Market, Memphis, Tennessee-May 2012 (Lyra)
Hilton Headquarters, Memphis, Tennessee-June 2012 (Lyra)
The "Glass House", midtown Memphis, Tennessee aerial over a swimming pool-August 2012 (Lyra/Silks/Duo Lyra)
The Cooper Young 5k-September 2012 (Doubles Lyra/Silks/Lyra)
The Cooper Young Festival, Memphis, Tennessee-September 2012 (Doubles Lyra/Silks/Lyra)
Starfish Circus at Bartlett Performing Arts Centre-January 2012 (Triple Trapeze)
Miss Memphis & Shelby County Scholarship Pageant-Novemeber 2012 (Lyra)
Assisting with Starfish Circus workshops at Tennessee Thespian Conference, Memphis, Tennessee-January 2013
Starfish Circus at Arlington High School-February 2013 (Silks-Team Captain)
The Memphis Downtown Commission-May 2013 (Duo Lyra & Lyra)
Miss Memphis & Shelby County Scholarship Pageant-November 2013 (Silks)
Miss Parsons Scholarship Pageant-December 2013 (Silks)
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk to Cure Diabetes-October 2013 (Silks)
Assisting with Starfish Circus silks group at Arlington High School-March 2014
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Promise Ball at the Hilton Memphis-May 2014 (Silks)
JDRF Gala, Cincinnati Ohio, with the Aerial Angels-May 2014
Aerial Angels Intern-Summer 2014
Grand Opening of Insomnia Night Club with Weightless Aerial in Memphis TN (May 2014)
Salsa Night at O'Cielo's with Weightless Aerial (May 2014)
MEMfest- Memphis Electronic Music and Arts Festival with Weightless Aerial (August 2014)
Incarnation Catholic Church/Collierville Spring Festival (2015)
Relay for Life-Memphis (2015)
Theatreworks with Nightshift and other shows (2015-Current)
Miss Collierville Scholarship Pageant (2015-2016)
Miss Memphis Scholarship Pageant (2012-2018)
"An Enchanted Holiday Party On Ice" with the Figure Skating Club of Memphis, at the Landers Center (2015)