Friday 10 and Saturday 11

UpSwing Aerial Dance Company
Sonya Smith & Bianca Cabrera
Sierra Camille
Caroline Wright & Xochitl Sosa
Beth Clarke
Kameko Shibata
Veronica Blair
Helen Wicks and Katelyn Hane
Azraa Muhammad & Meléa Emunah


About the festival

An explosion of creativity has reinvented aerial performance. A new generation of artists bursting with innovative imagination and extraordinary skills have given birth to one of the most incredible and visceral art forms of the 21st century.

Artists from a broad spectrum of backgrounds are re-imagining, re-shaping and re-inventing what has traditionally been the province of circus alone. A breathtaking array of new performers with influences that range from Balanchine to Burning Man are stunning audiences around the world. We aim to bring that explosive energy together in a sensational festival unlike any other.

Our mission is to create a world-class festival devoted to aerial artistry in all its shapes & forms. We will bring together many of the finest performers and practitioners working today and showcase their artistry as it is rarely seen; side-by-side in a multi-faceted, site-specific celebration presented against the backdrop of a major historic & cultural facility.

Our goal is to elevate the art - literally and figuratively. To create an exhilarating experience that builds new audiences, strengthens the community of practitioners, and expands the art form to help it soar.

Founded in 2014 at Zaccho Studio in Bayview Hunter’s Point, the San Francisco Aerial Arts Festival is now located at Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture in the beautiful Marina District. Against the backdrop of the San Francisco Bay, aerial artists bring stunning and innovative performance to local audiences and tourists alike.

Our festival is San Francisco’s premiere aerial arts event that features internationally recognized aerial artists and exciting newcomers breaking into the field. This biennial festival brings together spectacle, daring athleticism, aerial dance and circus to create a dynamic three day performance event.

The San Francisco Bay Area is home to some of the most important pioneers in aerial dance and award winning circus aerial artists. Zaccho Dance Theatre is celebrating these unconventional and innovative artists along with their international counterparts in a thrilling weekend of performances on the bay.

Our goal is to further this expansion in 2018 when we will broaden our programming to include the finest and most innovative aerial artists and architects working nationally and internationally.

We firmly believe that San Francisco can become the focus of the aerial performance community and that this festival can easily grow to become one of the most inspiring, talked-about and well-attended new festivals in the United States.