Our Board of Directors
Cuream Jackson |
President
Whether it's tumbling, dancing, or spinning from the ceiling, you’re bound to find this 29-year old with a smile on his face. Over the past 13 years, Cuream Jackson has dedicated his body to the performing arts. As a former collegiate cheerleader, he adapted quickly and seamlessly to the aerial arts. His love for circus, art, teaching, and people lead him to become a successful aerial straps artist, an admirable teacher, and a creative organizer. You can find Cuream performing in the Pacific Northwest with the Boise Circus Guild, Red Light Variety Show, The Fox & Beggar Theater, and several other companies.
When he is not dedicating his time to artistic endeavors or teaching, Cuream can be found reading a good book and spending time with his cat, Cheddar. With an incredible work ethic, an enormous heart, and an inclusive dream, he strives to connect and impact as many people possible with the performing arts. He’s elated to be a part of the Boise Circus Guild team and ready to create some amazing projects.
Jennifer Thornquest | Founder and Vice-President
Part social engineer, part emcee, part DJ, Jennifer Thornquest’s commitment to entertaining audiences and empowering performers spans 20 years. Her resume includes organizing and emceeing at a wide variety of events including the International Day of Peace at the United Nations, The Discovery Center of Idaho, TEDxTwinFalls & TEDxBoise, and her own company - New Sound Mobile Music.
She has a cat that sleeps in the bathtub and her houseplant collection has started taking over her cubicle at the office. Ultimately, she loves to help put the sparkle on any event and looks forward to her newest role as VP and Ringmaster-Emcee for the Boise Circus Guild.
Dr. Paula Murphy |
Treasurer
Local chiropractor, flying trapeze enthusiast and amateur aerialist.
Dr. Paula relocated to Boise in July, 2011 after 14 wonderful, successful years owning and operating a solo chiropractic practice in the Northern California town of Willits.
Additionally, Paula has worked for 20 years with Dr. Patch Adams (yes, about whom the Robin Williams movie was created) in the arenas of Health Care system design reform and therapeutic clowning. With Patch, she has taken chiropractic care and clowning on humanitarian missions to Cuba, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Peru, and El Salvador.
Dr. Paula is a full-time single mom to her two sons, Nick (16) and Cedar (12). Her interests include stilt walking, live music, theater, dance, good coffee and witty conversations!
In June 2015, Dr. Paula opened Fly! Boise, Idaho's only school for flying trapeze. There, she coaches all levels of trapeze enthusiasts and heartily welcomes absolute beginners. "Wait... what?" you say? Get more information here: www.flyboise.org.
Courtney Holley |
Secretary
Whether flying airplanes or on her friends’ feet, she’s always up in the air.
Initially trained as a dancer and gymnast, Courtney discovered acroyoga and partner acrobatics in 2010. She trained and performed with Tempos Contemporary Circus while living in Portland, Oregon. In 2014 she joined the March Fourth Marching Band as a hula-hooper and made the upgrade to stiltwalker soon after. She now performs as Lady Long Legs at everything from massive EDM concerts to backyard birthday parties.
For her day job Courtney is a pilot for Turbo Air and St. Luke’s Air Ambulance.
Mykelle Walton |
Founder
Mykelle Walton is an aerial artist & event specialist based in Boise, Idaho
She founded Boise Circus Guild with a desire to see circus arts flourish and be a prominent part of the Idaho performing Arts scene.
She has been an acrobat for over 25 years and has always been addicted to hanging from anything that she can get her hands on. After her career as a level 10 gymnast, Mykelle picked up aerial arts as a full-time passion and has performed professionally since 2015.
She has been a highlighted performer around the world at AIDA Cruises and events like Moisture Festival (Seattle), TEDxBoise, Discovery Center of Idaho’s Annual Gala, and Boise Pride Festival. She is also the poster girl for Rock Exotica’s Butterfly Lift.
She is also known for pushing the boundaries of what the human body can do and combining it with the strength, grace, and artistry of a contemporary style aerialist to create experiences about the questions of life, philosophy, and physics.
Emilie Dickinson | Director
Emilie has been dancing and performing since she was 5 years old. Her love of dance brought her to Boise in 2015. In 2016 she found Ophidia Studio, aerial arts quickly became her new obsession. She is now the owner of Ophidia Studio! Pole dancing and Aerial Silks are her main disciplines but she loves to dabble in Lyra, hammock, flying pole, & of course, dance. She took her circus dreams up a notch and started training and teaching at Fly!Boise, a Flying Trapeze school in 2018. She has performed with the Ophidia Performance Group, Line|Up Pole Company, Fly!Boise, Off Center Dance Company, Boise Circus Guild, Pin Ups on Tour, and at many events around the Treasure Valley. In 2022, she was hired to perform on stage at the Idaho Center with Snoop Dogg! An absolute dream come true! She loves sharing her passion for circus arts and performing in front of a hyped crowd!