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Courses and Events

Dr. Emily Scherb educates circus artists in how to correctly train their bodies to be strong and mobile while limiting injury. She teaches practical workshops that are accessible for recreational and performing artists, provides deeper instruction in intensive trainings, and explores the science of circus-specific movement biomechanics with medical and healthcare professionals.

In her trainings, you will learn how the body can accomplish amazing circus skills, what good form looks like, and why using good form is the best way to stay safe and build skills.

Each of these workshops is tailored to her audience and their desired outcome: gaining skills and mobility, understanding and correcting form, identifying movement pattern dysfunctions, or getting injured artists back to training.


Online Circus Medicine Courses

These in-depth online circus medicine courses are the only ones of their kind! Dr. Emily Scherb, PT is a leader in the circus medicine field and provides the only clinical continuing education courses that address the specific needs of circus bodies. There are self-paced asynchronous options of various lengths and live webinar based programs to optimize your learning, improve you ability to break down aerial movements, communicate about circus bodies, and ensure circus artists get the things they need to propel their training to the next level.

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Live Trainings

Artist Workshops

Learn how the body works and improve your exercise and training plans, while preventing injury.

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Intensive Trainings

Learn the “why” behind how you teach. Understand the bio-mechanics and purpose of circus-specific pathways and movements. Explore injury prevention and how to use training plans to help your students succeed.

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Medical & Healthcare Professionals

Learn about this growing patient niche and their specific needs. Speak the language of aerial artists and gain their confidence by understanding common movement faults and treatment cues.

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See Below for a listing of upcoming LIVE events.

Don’t see a date or location that works for you? Contact Emily for details on setting up a course near you.

Upcoming Workshops & Events

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Mar 23, 2024 | 10:00am - 11:30am

Circus from the Center Out – Madison, WI – Madison Circus Space – March 2024

Madison Circus Space

When you’re suspended in the air, the only thing you can count on is your core. This class explores the point where all of our aerial movement begins, and helps you understand the biomechanics and sequence of your trunk muscles and hip joints.

Join Dr. Emily Scherb author of Applied Anatomy of Aerial Arts, for a discussion of how your core and hips work best to improve your movement, deepen your splits and straddles, invert with more ease, and prevent common hip injuries and back pain.

Learn your core “type” to enhance your power and control in the air and dive into the cues and movements that make her hip exercises the most effective for you.

Mar 23, 2024 | 12:00pm - 1:00pm

The Shoulder in Hanging and Handstand – Madison, WA – Madison Circus Space – March 2024

Madison Circus Space

Shoulder pain is one of the most common complaints for all circus artists. From minor niggles to major injuries, we will discuss the main reasons they happen. We’ll start by discussing the basics of how shoulders work to provide us with maximum mobility while still protecting the joint. Then we’ll figure out the common way things can go wrong and how to prevent them.

As circus artists, we spend a lot of time with our arms over our heads. This simple movement can be one of the most challenging for our bodies when we add resistance in hanging or pushing the floor away in handstanding.

Join Dr Emily Scherb to talk about how our shoulders are the most mobile joint in our bodies and our greatest circus tools. This course will help increase our understanding about this joint that is the most likely for circus artists to injure.

This class focuses on the shoulder: the bio-mechanics of how it works and how to use it safely through its full range of motion. Learn the best techniques for hanging in bent and straight arm position, balance and control in handstands and the secrets of one-arm skills.

Mar 23, 2024 | 1:30pm - 3:00pm

Love your Circus Shoulders – Madison, WI – Madison Circus Space – March 2024

Madison Circus Space

Shoulder pain is one of the most common complaints for all circus artists. But how can we keep our shoulders strong and help them stay feeling great for all that we do?

Let’s dive into some of my favorite exercises for shoulder health and longevity. You’ll come away with a better understanding of how to prepare your shoulders for safe strong movement and improve your mobility in the process.

Let’s break down some of Dr Emily Scherb’s favorite exercises to understand the purpose and find common errors and the best cues for your body to achieve your goals.

Mar 24, 2024 | 12:00-1:30

Love your Circus Shoulders – Chicago, IL – Get a Grip Trapeze

Get a Grip Trapeze - Chicago, IL

Circus pros and circus enthusiasts alike – learn from The Circus Doc in Chicago!

Shoulder pain is one of the most common complaints for all circus artists. But how can we keep our shoulders strong and help them stay feeling great for all that we do?

Let’s dive into the biomechanics of how shoulders work and some of the best exercises for aerial shoulder health and longevity. You’ll come away with a better understanding of how to prepare your shoulders for safe strong movement and improve your mobility in the process.

 

Apr 21, 2024 | 9:00am-4:00pm

In Person Full Day Clinician CME Course – New York, NY – April 21 2024

FlySpace Physical Therapy 252 W 81st St Basement, New York, NY 10024

In this continuing education course for healthcare professionals, we will look at the biomechanics of the shoulder related to this unique population of circus athletes through a Movement Systems lens.

In this course you can expect to:

  • Learn about the anatomy and biomechanics of the shoulder and how it changes to accommodate the large range of motion, high forces, and unique demands of circus arts.
  • Assess the movement of the shoulder in circus artists and differentiate between unique patterns of dysfunction common in circus populations
  • Identify and assess landmarks during common foundational circus movements
  • Create an exercise program which will help circus artists correct common movement pattern dysfunctions in circus art.

Approval for 6.5 hours of CE pending approval!

Morning Session 9:00am-12:00pm

Afternoon Session 1:00pm-4:00pm

Past Workshops

Feb 11, 2024 — In Person Full Day CME Course – Movement Analysis and Treatment of Circus Shoulders: Working with True Overhead Athletes – Toronto, CA – February 2024 — In this continuing education course for healthcare professionals, we will look at the bio-mechanics of the shoulder related to this unique population of athletes through a Movement Systems lens. This course will combine didactic instruction with practical application and will include a participatory session with artistic athletes in a gym setting.   Objectives: 1.

Feb 10, 2024 — Live Intensive Trainings – Love your Circus Shoulders + Circus from the Center Out – Toronto, CA – The Circus Fix — Circus artists, coaches and enthusiasts are all welcome at this day of workshops at Toronto’s The Circus Fix! Love Your Aerial Shoulders – 1:30pm-3:00pm Shoulder pain is one of the most common complaints for all circus artists. But how can we keep our shoulders strong and help them stay feeling great for all that we do?

Jan 21, 2024 — January Circus Smart Speaker Series – Bendy Body; Bendy Brain — Join hypermobility and brain science expert Dr. Jessica Eccles in the January Circus Smart Speaker Series lecture!   Brain and body are dynamically coupled.

Dec 10, 2023 — December Circus Smart Speaker Series – Making Sense of Human Performance Technology: A framework-based approach for athletes and practitioners for effectively leveraging technology to improve outcomes — Join wearables expert Dr. Zendler for the December Circus Smart Speaker Series lecture!   The talk will address current issues and misconceptions about human performance technology used in sport.

Dec 4, 2023 — Circus Training to Meet Your Goals & Prevent Injuries – Industry Development Workshop (American Circus Alliance Members) — Harness the power of the most up to date sports science to understand how to focus and structure your training to improve your performance and prevent injuries. We will answer common questions including (but definitely not limited to!); What is the best way to warm up and why is it important?

Nov 12, 2023 — November Circus Smart Speaker Series – What I Have Learned About the Magic of Circus — Join Dr. Dean Kriellaars for a celebration of circus! We are so lucky to have this opportunity to hear from Dr.

Oct 29, 2023 — October Circus Smart Speaker Series – Sparkles or Simplicity? Circus Costume Aesthetics, Function, & History — OCTOBER 29 10AM PACIFIC Join us for this exciting talk from circus costume design scholar Jenny Leigh Du Puis!   The worn objects of circus tell a story to the viewing audience both in conjunction with and separately from the performance movement. The aesthetics of an artist’s costumed body convey symbolic and literal meanings, and […]

Oct 14, 2023 — October Circus Smart Speaker Series – Untangling injury patterns in circus arts: Takeaways from the research — Join circus and dance physical therapist Dr. Stephanie Greenspan for a BONUS edition of the Circus Smart Speaker Series lectures! OCTOBER 14 9AM PACIFIC In this talk, she will dive into the research findings from a study she led monitoring circus artists across the United States covering: types of injuries and factors affecting risk how […]

Sep 25, 2023 — Circus Fusion Medicine 9.0 starts September 25 2023 (10 wks online) — Applications are open for Circus Fusion 9.0 – starts September 25 Click to apply! This course is for clinicians (and those about to be) to gain the confidence you need to help circus artists get back to what they love and build a niche practice that makes you excited to go to work.

Sep 24, 2023 — September Circus Smart Speaker Series – Performance Nutrition for Circus Artists: Highlights & Common Pitfalls — Join nutrition science expert Dr. Alexia de Macar in the September Circus Smart Speaker Series lecture! Nutrition is a constantly evolving science.

Nov 1, 2022 — Circus Shoulders: Keeping them strong for hanging, handstands, and beyond – Bristol – Unit 15 — Shoulder pain is one of the most common complaints for all circus artists. From minor niggles to major injuries, we will discuss the main reasons they happen. We’ll start by discussing the basics of how shoulders work to provide us with maximum mobility while still protecting the joint.

Oct 31, 2022 — Circus Training to Meet your Goals – Bristol – Circo Media — Harness the power of the most up to date sports science to understand how to focus and structure your training to improve your performance and prevent injuries. We will answer common questions including (but definitely not limited to!); What is the best way to warm up and why is it important?

Jul 15, 2022 — Work With Your Body: Practical Anatomy for Aerial Artists – Minneapolis MN – Stomping Grounds — How do I get more flexible? How do I achieve that next level of skill? How do I build the strength to do that cool trick?

Apr 24, 2020 — Work With Your Body: Practical Anatomy for Aerial Artists at NECCA – Brattleboro VT — We use our full bodies in our aerial and acrobatics lives and the more we know about how they work the better we can be.  Learn how to work with your body rather than against it with physical therapist, aerialist and author Dr. Emily Scherb.

Apr 3, 2020 — Movement Analysis and Treatment of Aerial Artists – The Muse, New York NY – CANCELED due to Covid19 — Unfortunately this course has been canceled due to the outbreak and spread of the novel corona virus, Covid-19. This course is for all healthcare professionals who would like to know more about working with aerial artists. Physical Therapy CE Credit Available (other continuing education credit may be available.

Mar 30, 2020 — Aerial Anatomy Workshops – Empyrean Arts, Asheville NC — Aerial Anatomy Series The Hips Don’t Lie: Controlling the Core in Aerial Arts 4:00-6:00pm in studio 107U. Hanging Tough: Shoulder Health for the Aerial Artist 6:30-8:30pm in studio 108. Sign up for one or join me for Both!

Mar 22, 2020 — Love Your Circus Shoulders – St. Louis – St. Louis Aerial Collective – Canceled due to Covid19 — Unfortunately travel changes and cancellations due to COVID-19 have meant that this workshop must be canceled. I will have a rescheduled date sometime within the next year. Aerial artists spend a lot of time with our arms over our heads, which can lead to pain and injury.

Mar 1, 2020 — Love Your Circus Shoulders – Levity Circus Collective, Ashland OR — Aerial artists spend a lot of time with our arms over our heads, which can lead to pain and injury. Our shoulders are the most mobile joint in our bodies and our greatest aerial tools, but also the part of the body that is most at risk among aerialists. Learn exercises and techniques to increase […]

Jan 10, 2020 — Shoulder and Hip Aerial Anatomy in Portland – The Circus Project — Hanging Tough and The Hips Don’t Lie at The Circus Project Sign up for one or get a discount when you sign up for both (Chose the option for Aerial Anatomy Series) Early bird pricing until 12/15! Your body is your instrument and your partner in movement. Knowing how your body moves, works, and changes […]

Nov 16, 2019 — Movement Analysis and Treatment for Aerial Artists: The Hanging Athlete in LA – California State University Long Beach — This course is for all healthcare professionals who would like to know more about working with aerial artists. Physical Therapy CEU Credit Available (other continuing education credit may be available. Please enquire) PT, OT, MD, DO, NP, ND, DC, ATC are all welcome In this continuing education course for healthcare professionals, we will look at the […]