Blog | Katie Hardwick

Nov 3, 2017
1 min

Blood From Above

Halloween 2017 The Vaults, Waterloo Bespoke aerial bat character for the Extreme Music 20 Years Undead Halloween party. Freestyle aerial hoop sets with wings and heels. Blood bags containing alcoholic drink were poured into the mouths of guests, as I took up different positions on the lyra. "You were AMAZING!! I was totally blown away." - Calum Brice-Stevens, Extreme Music. #aerialbartending #TheVaults #Waterloo #London #bespoke #entertainment #Halloween #bat #aerialhoop #lyr

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Katie Hardwick

Jul 25, 2017
1 min

Woodland Aerial Nymph

I got back in the real moss costume for Petersham Road for another woodland celebration - this time a luxurious engagement party in the woods. Aerialist Diego and myself performed aerial hoop from the trees, as guests walked along a candlelit platform through the trees, to a bespoke venue erected in the middle of a tree clearing in Hampshire. Our fabulous riggers were once again, Artful Rigging. They allowed us to fly up and down, above the heads of guests. The organic materi

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Lover's Revenge - Valentines Masked Ball

Katie Hardwick

Aug 8, 2016
1 min

BBC Countryfile Live at Blenheim Palace

I have just spent a week in the beautiful grounds of Blenheim Palace, for the very first BBC Countryfile Live event. The long running television programme has 9 million viewers, and the live event drew crowds of tens of thousands to the Oxfordshire venue. Cirque Bijou worked with the BBC to produce a 30 minute main arena show to take audiences through Britain's seasons and how they affect the countryside. Hosted by a farmer character, with beat boxer Grace Savage, the cast in

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Katie Hardwick

Jul 29, 2016
1 min

Bringing Ibiza to Ascot

The weather for the King George weekend at Ascot was a hot as in Ibiza. For the Saturday entertainment, a cocktail bar and white outdoor lounge area were set up by the events team at Ascot Racecourse, with Dj A-Roxx (Andy Critchlow) playing chillout music as guests took a break from watching the races. I provided the aerial entertainment with four, twenty minute long sets of freestyle aerial silks dance to the Dj music throughout the day, in a white a multi-coloured Ibiza the

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Roman themed Aerial Acts for Alzheimer's Charity Ball

Katie Hardwick

May 17, 2016
1 min

Roman themed Aerial Acts for Alzheimer's Charity Ball

Impact Artists invited Starfiz to perform at the Celtic Manor in Wales, as the wow factor entertainment at a Roman themed charity ball for Alzheimer's Research. Leyla was away, so the talented Rebecca Rennison joined me for a synchronised silks act and a doubles hoop act. Guest, Richie Jones, tweeted a little clip of our silks act... "How fab was this?" (click for link to Tweet). Posing backstage with one of the Gladiator entertainers, in our doubles hoop toga costumes & Roma

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Katie Hardwick

Feb 4, 2016
2 min

LUSH Alice in Wonderland Party

Les Enfants Terribles transformed the Bournemouth International Centre into an immersive Alice in Wonderland world, for the vegan cosmetics brand LUSH's Spring 2016 conference party. Parts of the set from the Alice's Adventures Underground show at the Vaults in Waterloo were transported to Bournemouth for the corporate event with a difference. Guests chose "Drink Me" or "Eat Me" to determine which tunnel they passed through to enter Wonderland. One tunnel led guests past the

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Katie Hardwick

Jan 28, 2016
1 min

Decadent Aerial Bar Tending in Brussels

In between weekend shows in Dumfries with Le Haggis cabaret, I travelled to Brussels with The Dream Performance and High Performance Rigging. It feels like I spent most of late January on trains, travelling the length of England twice, going to Brussels by Eurostar, and popping down to Guildford for a teaching project. Working with The Dream is always fun, and this time there were two aerialists, three fire performers and a circus rigger. We bumped into the event magician at

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Katie Hardwick

Jun 7, 2015
1 min

Starfiz Prohibition Party Entertainment

Petersham Road created one of the most decadent 18th birthday parties I've seen, at Hoxton Docks, for one very lucky teenager! The former industrial space was transformed into a 1920s speakeasy, with guests slipping through secret curtains to enter into a forbidden world of jazz bands, cocktails, gambling and dancing. As the guests stepped into the grounds of the warehouses, behind Kingsland Road, Leyla and myself performed ambient aerial hoop as glamorous circus performers,

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Katie Hardwick

Jan 18, 2015
1 min

Birthday Silks - First gig in 2015

I spent the first two weeks of 2015 on holiday in Morocco, rock climbing in the Todra Gorge, hiking in the Draa Valley and horse riding on the beach in Essaouira. Tonight was back to performing, at a lovely 21st birthday party where I performed a Viva silks act and ambient silks with the beautiful and talented Desiree Kongerod. Ben Smith, the Artful Rigger, made sure we were safe and filmed us with a go-pro so that I could get this snap of us in action. Here's to a fun filled

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Snow Stilt Walking at Woking Christmas Lights

Katie Hardwick

Nov 21, 2014
1 min

Snow Stilt Walking at Woking Christmas Lights

Last night I was back in Woking, this time for the Christmas Lights Switch On, as a Snow stilt walker by stilt company the Wrong Size. We sprinkled and blew faux snow onto the hundreds of spectators who came to see the lights being switched on, followed by a fireworks display and foam snowfall. #woking #christmas #entertainment #entertainers #wrongsize #stiltwalkers #stilts #snow #wintercharacters #walkabout #wanderingentertainment #family #fauxsnow #fireworks

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Katie Hardwick

Nov 7, 2014
2 min

Halloween Circus Entertainment

This year I had a busy Halloween! The two events I worked at were Riverside Walk in Kingston, and Belladonna's party in Chelsea. RIVERSIDE WALK On 31st October I provided the walkabout entertainment for the Riverside Walk development of bars and restaurants, through my social enterprise, Circus Suburbia. Working with Creative Youth, I booked two ghost stilt walkers and a human statue bride character to entertain diners and to draw more customers to the beautiful riverside are

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Aerial Installation for The Wellcome Trust

Katie Hardwick

Oct 20, 2014
3 min

Aerial Installation for The Wellcome Trust

Switch - Epigenetics illustrated through aerial dance, light sculpture and soundscape with a narrative. Switch by Metta Theatre, aerial choreography by Katie Hardwick and Leyla Rees. "Congrats and thank you for putting on a great show last night. A big success and much appreciated by all." - Mark Henderson, Wellcome Trust. "I think it achieved its purpose of introducing London society to Wellcome in a very good way. Lots of attention to detail on the various acts making scien

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Katie Hardwick

Oct 17, 2014
1 min

Stilt Walking at Bradford Shine

Picture by Darren Fleming Last weekend I spent four lovely days visiting Bradford for the first time, to perform stilt walking as a Lightwalker at in Bradford's City Park, with physical performer Clare Barrett. Bradford Shine was an evening event centred around an animated light installation called Key Frames. You can see a video of the animated installation in the Telegraph and Argus news article. Key Frames was created by a Belgian company called Groupe Laps, to explore bod

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Queen Bee on stilts at Surbiton Festival

Katie Hardwick

Sep 29, 2014
1 min

Queen Bee on stilts at Surbiton Festival

On Saturday I returned to my home town to be a stilt walking Queen Bee at Surbiton Festival 2014.Since the last time I wore this stilt costume, I have added some hair pieces to improve the regal bee look! As I now live in Clapham, I had a rather glamorous look for a Saturday morning commute! I felt a bit out of place on South West Trains. Last year at the festival I made balloon swords to recruit worker bees to my colony, but this year I took a bubble sword as a sceptre, and

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Bust A Bicep - Silks on A League Of Their Own

Katie Hardwick

Sep 24, 2014
1 min

Bust A Bicep - Silks on A League Of Their Own

Earlier this year Viva Aerial Dance recorded an episode of Sky's A League Of Their Own, challenging the sporting celebrity contestants to hold a "crucifix" position on silks whilst answering sporting trivia questions. I was one of five aerialists to demonstrate a group silks act with fire before helping celebrity contestants Kevin Keegan, Jamie Redknapp, Russel Howard and Una Foden, into harnesses for their challenge. You can see the video here: http://www.sky.com/tv/show/a-l

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Floating as a Jellyfish at Goodwood for Viva

Katie Hardwick

Sep 17, 2014
1 min

Floating as a Jellyfish at Goodwood for Viva

The dinner on Saturday at Goodwood Revival had an Atlantis theme, with every detail beautifully bringing the underwater city to life. Guests entered via a cascade of water which smelled of the sea, animated by a mermaid. Marble columns, a shipwreck bar, seaweed decorations and tropical island table decorations with sand, shells and dune plants created a spectacular setting, enhanced with lighting which rippled across the grand dining room marquee. Viva Aerial Dance was commis

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Katie Hardwick

Sep 12, 2014
1 min

Curiosity Club Flappers on Silks

Last night Leyla and I took our 1920s Flapper act on silks to The Brewery in London, for a lavish Great Gatsby style party with a huge variety of entertainers to re-create the over-the-top parties of the novel/film. Feedback from the client was, "FANTASTIC - lovely girls did a great job and a pleasure to have around" There were human tables, glamorous singers, a vintage car, a jazz quartet, flapper girl dancers, a burlesque performer in a martini glass and much much more. We

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Katie Hardwick

Sep 8, 2014
3 min

Aerial Installation for The Wellcome Trust

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Katie Hardwick

Sep 2, 2014
2 min

1920s Flapper Aerial Entertainment

I am soon to arrive home to London after a wonderful month travelling around France; rock climbing, trail running, hiking in the mountains and kayaking. I am very lucky that I am looking forward to being re-united with Leyla Rees, to perform our Starfiz 1920s Silks Act in a very lovely venue. We choreographed this act as the Great Gatsby film came out, and it's one of our favourite to perform! Fun choreography, beautiful flapper costumes and vintage music make this a classy c

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