Clara grew up spending most afternoons swinging, flipping, and twisting at gymnastics practice. She retired from competition in her last year of high school.   Suddenly, she had a lot of time on her hands. A former gymnastics coach brought her to the San Diego Circus Center, and what was supposed to be a simple hobby quickly turned into a passion. She tried everything she could: teeterboard, trapeze, Russian bar, hand to hand, handstands, and aerial straps.

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By the time Clara realized she wanted to pursue circus as a career, she had already been admitted and enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, where she planned to get a biology degree. After completing her first year, she took a leave of absence and gave herself one year to prepare and audition for higher education circus schools. She spent the year training as well as performing in corporate events and shows, including a summer contract performing teeterboard at SeaWorld San Diego. Clara  graduated from the National Circus School in 2021 as an aerial straps specialist, with training in static trapeze and Russian cradle. She finds freedom in the creative and artistic aspects of circus, combining dynamic classical straps technique and her own technical vocabulary in order to communicate through movement.

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In addition to performing, Clara enjoys coaching circus. She created the conditioning program for Circus Center Online and coached straps, acrobatics, and conditioning for the San Diego Circus Center’s Master Youth Intensive in 2019 and 2020.