Sweet Can is proud to announce the 10 th annual Mittens & Mistletoe: A Winter Circus Cabaret. Your favorite holiday tradition, ‘Mittens’ is back with more comedy, spectacular circus feats and interactive madcappery! With acts of juggling, high numbers hula
hooping, handbalancing atop stacked chairs, performances on aerial hoop and slack rope, and special guests from acclaimed a capella group, SoVoSó, our world-class performers will amaze and uplift your entire family!
Tickets $18 and up
Available here
12/26/19 1:00 pm (Preview)
12/26/19 4:00 pm
12/27/19 4:00 pm
12/27/19 8:00 pm
12/28/19 4:00 pm
12/28/19 8:00 pm (Adults only!)
12/29/19 1:00 pm
12/29/19 4:00 pm
Beth Clarke (Producer, Slack Rope): Beth grew up in SF where she was inspired by the New American Circus movement. She performed as a teen apprentice with Make*A*Circus and with Mr. Lu Yi’s Circus Center, including directing one of their full length productions, Yu San. She is a graduate of the Ecole Nationale de Cirque in Montreal and studied with Masha Dimitri and Szilard Sekeley, two of the world's most re-known slack rope artists. Beth's performing credits include The Seven Fingers, Circus Cirkor,Cirque Eloize, The Pickle Family Circus, The Discovery Channel, Disney, Cirque Du Soleil, and many other circuses, varieties and theatrical groups throughout the world. She is one of the founders of Sweet Can, mother to two children, and a Pilates teacher.
Jamie Coventry (Clown, Producer, Director): Jamie was raised in central California by a family of eccentrics. He studied theatre arts in Santa Fe, music in San Luis Obispo and education and circus arts in San Francisco. Jamie has worked with Flynn Creek Circus, Circus of Sound, New Pickle Circus, The Pickle Circus School Tour, Teatro Zinzanni, Sweet Can and more. He is perhaps best known for his work with partner Natasha Kaluza. Coventry & Kaluza won Best Comedy/Clown Act in the American Circus Festival two years in a row, and Best Duo in the Picklewater Free Circus Festival. Jamie is also the co-creator of the neo-vaudevillian harmonica trio, Tin Sandwich and a dedicated member of the Bay Area Harmonica Club.
www.coventryandkaluza.com
Natasha Kaluza (Hula Hoops, Producer, Director): Natasha holds a degree in theater and a graduate certificate in dance from UCSC, and attended two years of the SF Clown Conservatory under Jeff Raz. She’s performed with the New Pickle Circus, Pickle Circus School Tour, Circus Bella, Flynn Creek Circus, Circus of Sound, Sweet Can Productions, Teatro ZinZanni and many others. Aside from being the Super Duper Hula Hooper, she is perhaps best known for her work with partner Jamie Coventry. Coventry & Kaluza won Best Comedy/Clown Act in the American Circus Festival two years in a row, and Best Duo in the Picklewater Free Circus Festival.
www.coventryandkaluza.com
Calvin Kai Ku (MC, Magician): As a performer of many talents, Calvin Kai Ku has traveled all over the world to bring his unique brand of magic, comedy, and circus entertainment for audiences in all varieties of stages. He has performed for the WuQiao International Circus Festival, tech and industrial trade shows, and even performed for various sports celebrities, including San Francisco 49ers CEO, Jed York. Today, you can find him across the country performing for companies like Hewlett Packard Enterprise, eBay, Circus Bella, Zaccho Dance Company, World Entertainment Services, Tech Crunch, Trident Capital, Cedar Fair Entertainment, and many more. Calvin Kai Ku also performs regularly with the Medical Clown Project, a group of professional performers who visit populations in hospitals throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
Christine Lee (Strap Loops, Lyra): Christine has been training, performing and teaching circus arts over 12 years. She specializes in Single Point Trapeze, Aerial Hoop, Flying Trapeze, Double Aerial, and contortion/acrobatics. Christine has taught/performed at various resorts around the world, and has been teaching and performing in San Francisco over the past 10 years. You can find her teaching at the Circus Center, Aerial Artique and SF Pole and Dance; and performing
with Trapeze World, the Vespertine Circus, Earth Circus Productions, Hubba Hubba, and more.
Nina Sawant (Cyr Wheel, Lyra): Nina Sawant is a circus performer and choreographer who has found her home in the Bay Area. She has performed as a modern dancer and circus artist in the US, France, Ukraine, and Mexico. In 2009, Nina graduated magna cum laude from the University of South Florida Dance Program. Nina has performed with the national tour of Peter Pan 360, Incanto Productions, Earth Circus, Yea Big Dance, Shoes at the Door Dance Company, Femme Dulce Cabaret, and Busch Garden’s KaTonga. In 2013, Nina founded her own circus entertainment company, Maison Aurora to facilitate the creation of collaborative and innovative circus.
Jeremy Vik (Hand Balancer, Juggler): Jeremy is a juggler, acrobat, singer, and clown, but also works as an actor in Shakespeare, musical theatre, and children's theatre. Some of his favorite roles have been Feste in 12th Night (Marin Shakes and Shotgun Players, the Emcee in Cabaret (Ind. Cabaret Prod.), Dromeo of Ephesus (SF Shakes), and Bibinski in Silk Stockings (42nd St. Moon). Jeremy is also the Head Coach of the Super Novas, the middle group of Circus Center's pre-professional Youth Circus here in San Francisco. Jeremy has a BFA in Acting from Southern Oregon University and is a graduate of the Clown Conservatory and Professional Acrobatics Program at Circus Center.
SoVoSó (A Capella Music): is a highly imaginative a cappella ensemble that sings a unique, rhythmic mix of jazz, gospel, world and R&B music, all rendered in their trademark improvisational style. The SoVoSó repertoire consists of original compositions and other songs that present a global perspective, from Afro-Latin idioms to traditional funk and jazz arrangements.
Sunshine (García) Becker: is longtime member of the vocal band SoVoSó and an Oakland, CA native. A well known player in the jam band scene, she has toured with Melvin Seals & JGB Band and before that, Bob Weir and Phil Lesh’s Grateful Dead spin-off Furthur. When she’s not on tour playing flute and singing, Sunshine teaches vocal performance, leads CircleSinging Workshops and performs often with SoVoSó in schools showing students of all ages the power within their own voice. She thrives in the art of improvisational singing, and leads her own project The
Sunshine Garcia Band. She has performed in Tandy Beal’s Nutcracker production Nutz Remixed for over 10 years.
Luqman Frank: Luqman is a singer/songwriter from the Bay Area. He has guest appearances on numerous albums, including artist Earl Zero’s album “Marketplace”, Dub Nation’s “Tuffer than the Tuffist”, and Bill Ortiz’s “Winter in America.” He’s also contributed to projects for Crown City Rockers and Prophets of Rage among many others. You can catch his work as part of the songwriting duo “Franc Wyte” on soundtracks for television shows on ESPN and MTV. You can catch him performing live as lead singer with “Angelex” as they introduce a new album entitled “Tight Lips”, and sitting in with acclaimed a capella group, Sovosó.
Bryan S. Dyer: is a multi-talented musician who not only sings but plays several instruments including bass guitar, percussion and piano; writes and arranges music, conducts choirs and groups, and works in television, radio and film. A veteran of some of the Bay Area’s top vocal groups including Street Sounds, SoVoSo, Slammin All Body Band, Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir and Chelle and Friends. He also performs with Zadell, Rankin Scroo and Ginger, and R&B group, D.A.P. His musical experiences have him taken around the globe including several trips throughout Europe, Japan, South Korea and Jamaica. Bryan’s talents have landed him alongside such artist as Al Green, Bobby McFerrin, Michael McDonald of the Doobie
Brothers, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo to name a few.