Our lighting tech extraordinaire @j.wofse called this cue the "director takeover," and I think a better name would've been "pigeons in a panic" 🙃
I get reallyy overwhelmed being the center of attention. And yet, I believed this was important enough to say into a mic in front of two packed houses:
"Imagine a world where everyone's needs are met with ease and understanding, regardless of what or whose they are. In that world, it would not matter what a specific diagnosis or disability is, or even if someone's considered "healthy." There would not be a zero-sum game of resource allocation that only favors the few. Support and accommodation would simply be a given, for everyone.
Making that world a reality can feel so far out of reach. Especially these days, I know. But that's not a reason to stop trying to move towards that world, and that's precisely why art and imagination are so important. Art gives us a safe space to exercise our imaginations, and creating a better world starts with imagining it."
📷 by @lipyanskiy_photo from the opening night of (un)grounded
#contemporarycircus #theater #director #artiststatement #abetterworld
🌈 To that little angsty tween who had no idea of the big, beautiful, queer world out there, I love you so much.
Happy pride y'all. Let's make art, make out, make fun, make the world just a little bit a better place. We're not free until we're all free, and there's no time like the present to be queer AF. (As in, it's not about who you sleep with, it's about who you dismantle systems of oppression with). So let's eff that boring normative ish up 🔥
Thank you to @brennabradbury , @freakyfetishflier , @ltecakenyc , and the entire @slipperroomny house staff! And of course, thank you to everyone who came out on a Wednesday night to kick off pride. It means more than ever to be together.
p.s. my socks stayed on. my unicorn horn stayed on! andd, a rhinestone flew up my nose mid-act because karma 🤷🏻♀️
🎙️@delgado_makes
🎥 @_kschirm
#queerartist #aerialist #cordelisse #queerperformance #happypride
🍉🍉🍉 One month. 12 photoshoots. MORE THAN $1500 raised for the people of Gaza, and a few small donations went to U.S. student protestors' bail funds, too!
I'm still working through the last few photos edits so there are some incredible humans' faces not featured in this reel 🙈 but I didn't want to wait to say thank you, thank you, thank you. From everyone who told their friends about my fundraiser to everyone who did photos to everyone who assisted during the shoots - it means so much to me that together, we contributed so much more than I ever could have by myself.
I'm hanging up my camera to perform and travel this summer, but I'm still hoping to do what I can to end this freaking genocide, and I hope you will too.
#freepalestine #artistsforpeace #endgenocide #portraitphotography #aerialist
I would totally wear this bustier as a standalone top to brunch this summer once I figure out what pants to go with it. What colour/type of pants go with this blue gingham? 🤔
📸: @amesgoesup
🎪: @onedayonenyc
💙: trapeze by @dstrapezes
I'm itching to pick my camera up again 🌸 DM me if you want to plan a shoot! More interested in trades and cost-sharing collabs these days
Self portraits from a while back... I'd really rather be behind the camera than in front of it 😘
#portraitphotographer #selfportrait #naturallightphotography #photoshoot #brooklynphotographer
There was just a little chaos! glamour! whimsy! and a wholee lotta heart 💖 I'll cherish these moments forever
#showgirl #behindthescenes #circuslife #aerialists #wedidit
Scenes from (un)grounded: a circus production centering the experiences of chronically ill and/or disabled aerialists. Reflections below 💫
🎪: @cirkusmoxie@bk_arthaus
🎬: @amesgoesup
📸: @lipyanskiy_photo
What a whirlwind of emotions this production has been!
At times, perhaps a little too conceptually on the nose for comfort, (un)grounded asked me to face something I wasn’t ready to name: that I was too ill to muscle through creating an aerial act for it. When that realization landed a few months ago, I was still recovering from a surgery with many complications, and I wanted—so deeply—to move. To dance. To fly.
Instead, I found myself in restless stillness, palpitating through waves of grief and embarrassment, fear and defeat. Living inside those feelings, without the usual escape of motion, was devastating in its own quiet way. And yet, it also marked the beginning of a different kind of conversation with my body—one shaped by honesty, gentleness, curiosity, and a growing commitment to honoring its ever-changing capacity in both my life and my art. For that unfolding, I’m deeply grateful 🤍
I’m equally grateful to this remarkable cast—artists who held space for each other to thrive with such intention! Being part of a creative process so rooted in reflection, both personal and collective, has been a gift. Together, we were invited to imagine—through art—what a more accessible, more compassionate world might look like. That invitation is something I will carry forward in my daydreams.
While I did have a few moments of flight in this production—moments that felt nourishing and exciting—stepping back from more physically demanding act development opened the door to so many unexpected firsts! More on that soon 🧵🪡
Florence sings about for a moment, dancing and feeling free, and that's what performing an act has always been for me. In that 4-5min moment, freedom is infinite.
But what happens when the curtain closes? This show's entire premise was about challenging the shiny, happy veneer of performing. I think I'd be remiss if I didn't admit my well is depleted.
That isn't to say that I think I did anything wrong. (Though there is so much I've learned and would do differently next time!) I actually think it means I did a lot of things "right." The barriers to making art, much less to making art accessible, much much less to making art accessible sustainably, are mindblowingly high. To achieve even a fraction of that took giving everything I had for months. I knew I would be empty afterwards. There were times I wondered if it'd all matter.
It's been a wild, incredible experience. Yes, I'm wiped. I'm also so proud, humbled, and in awe. And oh my gods, does this last photo from tech capture it perfectly 🤣
Thank you to everyone who had even the smallest part in making (un)grounded happen, who watched my brain nudity on stage, and who has read my word vomit and sent me kind messages. You're the reason I know this all matters.
📷 @lipyanskiy_photo
#nycartist #cordelisse #circus #makingart #doitanyways
(un)grounded
April 15th, 2026
@bk_arthaus / @cirkusmoxie
Directed by @amesgoesup
Production photos by @lipyanskiy_photo
As a part of the show, (un)grounded creator and director Amy Tsai offered these words to our audience:
"Imagine a world where everyone's needs are met with ease and understanding, regardless of what or whose they are. In that world, it would not matter what a specific diagnosis or disability is, or even if someone's considered "healthy." There would not be a zero-sum game of resource allocation that only favors the few. Support and accommodation would simply be a given, for everyone.
Making that world a reality can feel so far out of reach. Especially these days, I know. But that's not a reason to stop trying to move towards that world, and that's precisely why art and imagination are so important. Art gives us a safe space to exercise our imaginations, and creating a better world starts with imagining it."
Happy world circus day!!!!! I cannot believe we just made a show! Looking back on this first run of (un)grounded, I'm realizing all the ways I seriously had a couple of spreadsheets and a dream. I've learned so much these last few months! First and foremost, I should've had a co-producer. Or at least a lighting coordinator. And it was incredibly extra to have an act in my own show, though I'm very glad I did. But most importantly, I've learned that when you're around the right people, people who share your values, your ways of caring about the world and each other... magic will happen. It's like we were in this special lil vortex that was so gentle and uplifting, all my heart and vulnerability had no choice but to flow out with more ease than I ever would've thought possible.
📷: @lipyanskiy_photo
#worldcircusday #contemporarycircus #aerialists #circuseverydamnday #circuslife
✨🤟🏾Happy ASL Day! 🤟🏾✨
(un)grounded is an evening-length aerial and circus show that explores health and identity. It’s born from the experiences of its cast members, each of whom lives with a chronic condition or disability that is often unrecognized or forgotten about in collective consciousness. This is a show about making the invisible, visible, in hopes that all of us–artists and audience alike—find ways to honor the wholeness of our own selves and each other
Wednesday, April 15 and Friday, April 17 at 7:30p!
#aerial #circus #health #identity asl
@bk_arthaus@cirkusmoxie@polariscircus@amesgoesup@evogues
