Yasi and Steven into the fascinating world of circus performance and how a movement is taking shape to help protect performers in the industry. With us today is Dr. Stephanie Greenspan, a performing arts physical therapist, the chair for the surveillance of injuries for research on Circus working group and co-editor of the sciences section for the journal, circus arts, life, and sciences. She also created the concept of Artletic science in 2021. Also joining us is Shenea Stiletto, a Two-Time world champion acrobatic gymnast, a Cirque du Soleil performer and Founder of the Circus Arts Guild of America.

For more information on performing arts medicine, go to https://athletesandthearts.com

For more about Shenea, go to https://circuspreneur.com/author/sheneastiletto/

Shenea's social media: FB: https://www.facebook.com/sheneabooth?_rdr. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sheneastiletto/?hl=en

Find Dr Greenspan at https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-greenspan-dpt/

Bios:

Dr. Stephanie Greenspan is a performing arts physical therapist with post-graduate residency and fellowship training and board specialties in orthopaedic and neurologic physical therapy. As an Adjunct Associate Professor at Samuel Merritt University, she studies injuries in circus artists and 3D motion in aerialists. She chairs the Surveillance of Injuries for Research on Circus (SIRC) working group that created a consensus statement for injury surveillance in circus and a guideline for concussion management in the circus arts. She is also co-editor of the Sciences section for the journal Circus Arts, Life and Sciences. She founded Artletic Science in 2021 with the mission to enhance the health and performance of artist athletes through research, education, and physical therapy. As a clinician, she works with recreational to professional circus artists and dancers with a focus on decreasing injury risk and optimizing performance.

Shenea Stiletto is a former Two-Time World Champion AcrobaticGymnast , USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame Member, Survivor of USA Gymnastics, Honorary Olympian for 2 Olympic Tours, SAG Stunt Woman, and a World Class Circus Handbalancer inducted into the World Acrobatic Hall of Fame, who has performed with elite entertainment companies worldwide. Shenea’s career highlights have included performing the lead character and acrobatic role in a Cirque Du Soleil production, in which she performed in Varekai as The Promise character.

Most recently, Shenea toured with Cirque Du Soleil’s newest production SongBlazers, and is the face of Cirque Du Soleil’s first ever Wine Brand Collaboration with StagsLeap Winery. Shenea Stiletto is also a circus trainer, educator, and circus advocate as Founder of for the Circus Arts Guild of America. The Circus Arts Guild of America was the strategic partner for the historic Circus Arts Industry Roundtable at the White House in 2024. The White House Roundtable in discussion with the Department of Labor, included panel representation from the National Endowment for the Arts, OSHA, U.S Center for SafeSport, Actors Equity, American Musical Artists Guild of America, and Circus Arts Industry Advocates.

Additionally, Shenea Stiletto is also a lead Contributor and Circus Analyst for StageLync.com, and hosts the popular Circuspreneur Podcast sponsored by StageLync.com.

Yasi and Steven talk with the energetic Jesùs Florido, a one-time competitive tennis player turned professional violinist, composer, producer and entrepreneur. An innovator at heart, Jesus takes you through his athletic career, its unintended impact in his musical development, his unique musical fusion style, developing into a music virtuoso, and his work in developing music careers through the Màs y Màs Music Foundation.

For more on Jesùs' career, go to https://www.jesusflorido.com

Instagram: @latinfiddler

Bio: With his debut, Heading North, violinist, composer, and bandleader Jesus Florido introduces compelling artistry balanced on a fine axis of musical virtuosity and pure heart. "This album came about from what is not out there from an instrumental point of view," he explains. "Jazz, rock, classical, Latin -- my album is a melting pot."

The savory list of sonic influences can be traced back to Venezuela, Jesus' home, and its pastiche of Cuban, Dominican, Trinidadian, and African cultures. Jesus' family is Italian, and in the grand European tradition, opera and classical music also informed his early years.

He arrived in the U.S. to further his studies in musical academia but was soon performing in cavernous arenas to enormous audiences with Yo-Yo Ma, the Moody Blues, Jimmy Page & Robert Plant, and Whitney Houston. This high-profile exposure fueled the fire to ignite his own solo career.

Heading North is notable for the contributions of the musicians, producers, engineers, and programmers who join Jesus. "It was important to me that project was different from the get-go," he relates. "I wanted to communicate on a higher level." Heading North features a superlative ensemble.

Jesus composes in an unconventional miracle of pure inspiration, building songs from a rhythmic and harmonic base -- chords and a drumbeat -- then improvising on top of them. "I may clean it up, but I assure you, on every track what you hear is exactly what came through my head at that moment. To write fresh music I have to recall exactly how I felt about the tune the first time I heard it," he reveals.

Across this vivid spectrum of music, the unmistakable timbre of Jesus’ violin remains an indelible voice connecting the songs that comprise Heading North. From the sophisticated veneer of the title track to the incendiary Latin grooves of "Mi Negra," the prog-rock influenced "Con Todo," the electro-Santeria vibe of "Gitano" to the funk-informed "Olividado," Jesus bends rhythmic and melodic structures to his will. "Every song is a story without words," he relates. "If I can tell it to the audience when they listen to my record, then I've succeeded." With his violin as a compass, Jesus Florido heads toward a limitless musical horizon with a stunning debut, Heading North."

Whisper networks develop in the theater world as an informal communication network, a source of solidarity, or even a way to fight abuse and injustice. Join Yasi and Steven as they discuss this issue with Dr. Ted Carter, professor at Ballarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky. Dr Carter wrote a dissertation about whisper networks, and we discuss the issues of professional misconduct and miscreant behaviors that often lead to whisper networks forming. We also dive into his work in human simulation technology to educate our future medical professionals.

For Dr. Carter's dissertation, go to https://uknowledge.uky.edu/comm_etds/97/

For more information on Athletes and the Arts, go to https://www.athletesandthearts.com

Dr. Carter's Linkedin profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-carter-53235b90/

Bio: Dr Ted Carter, based in Louisville, KY, US, is currently a Simulation Educator at Bellarmine University. Ted Carter brings experience from previous roles at University of Louisville, Cork Leadership and University of Kentucky. Ted Carter holds a 2017 - 2021 Doctor of Philosophy - PhD in Health Communication @ University of Kentucky. With a robust skill set that includes Public Speaking, Management, Teaching, Medical Simulation, Social Media and more.