Meet the Coaches
Jens Larson (he’s important, so he gets his own page here!)
Coach (and Founder) Jens
Jens spent 19 years performing in circuses in the USA and around the world. He spent 14 years as a high school educator. He created PYCA in 2015 and became a circus educator!
Read more about Jens here and his journey to founding PYCA here
Coaches Dave and Athena
Athena is a former gymnast, and Dave is an all-around juggling geek! This husband and wife team have been attending and teaching workshops at juggling conventions nationally and internationally for years. They have been coaching PYCA classes and camps since 2017 (they can do pretty much everything we teach!) and have been the backbone of the Aerial Mirage juggling club for over 30 years.
Coach Kyle
Kyle Larson spent his first three years traveling in circuses with his parents so his first trip into the circus ring was at the tender age of six weeks! But it took several more years before he started juggling, unicycling, wire-walking, and partner acrobatics seriously on his own. Now he divides his time between teaching with PYCA, free-lancing on the crews of local film and video projects, and practicing his circus skills.
Coach Kendra
For over 10 years, Kendra has been developing as a multi-disciplinary performing artist. She is a second-generation fire artist with specialties in fire eating and fire props such as poi, and rope dart. She performs with staff and double staff, she is a master stilt-walker, and she incorporates everything from song and dance to martial arts into her performances. Kendra joined the PYCA coaching staff and is thrilled to have the opportunity to share her love and passion for these arts with the students of Desert Marigold School.
Coach Shukrani
Shukrani Mato was a member of the Diani Mambo acrobats located on the coastal area of Kenya in Eastern Africa.(https://dianimamboacrobats.org/) His acts included human pyramids, limbo, rope skipping, roller balancing, chair balancing, tiger jumps, one-pole and two-pole shows, and juggling. In December, 2024 he moved to Phoenix and started working with Phoenix Youth Circus Arts.
Coach Katherine
Katherine Hunter joins us once again as our aerial specialist. She has been training aerial arts since 2019. Her current disciplines include trapeze, lyra (solo and duo), and silks. She frequently performs around the Phoenix area and recently competed in Aerialympics in Oregon. For six years Katherine taught in preschool and swim school settings. In 2022 she began to combine her passion for circus with her love of teaching children.
Coach Maya
Meet the bendiest coach at PYCA! Maya grew up studying ballet, and and found that her flexibility was exceptionally high. In between plies and pointed toes, she started studying circus arts with the PYCA homeschool class in 2020. Throughout, she continued to stretch and learn contortion. Whether it is on the ground, or hanging high in an aerial apparatus, Maya helps guide her students towards greater flexibility with grace and safety.
Coach Melanie
Melanie taught herself to juggle in 2006, and never stopped. Since then, she has thrown things at hundreds of people in the US and abroad, and developed her own flow style with clubs. In the summer of 2024 she performed at the European Juggling Convention in Portugal. She enjoys numbers juggling, passing club patterns, and the art of practicing to get better. Melanie uses positive reinforcement to help others believe in themselves, encouraging students to push past what they think is possible. She operates www.thejugglingway.com, the fusion of juggling and Daoism.