Our Team

The staff and management a the Flying Trapeze Centre have an enormous sense of pride in what they do and we all feel very lucky to be able to share our skills and the joy of flying with others.

Steen Shoar - Director/Founder

For nearly 20 years Steen has been teaching and performing flying trapeze and circus skills all over the world in places such as North America, South America, Caribean, Asia, and the UAE. Steen moved to Australia over 10 years ago and decided that this was where he wanted to open his flying trapeze school.

After 10 years of running the flying trapeze as a seasonal school he decided that it was time to find a building and move the family from warm Northern NSW to the ever changing Melbourne Victoria.

Steen is a passionate teacher who has learnt from working with, watching and listening to some of the circus worlds most highly acclaimed performers and instructors. Whether it is your first step off the platform,  your first catch and/or return, a swing or catch out of lines, with his wealth of knowledge Steen will be there encouraging you every step of the way.

Holly Shoar - Managing Director/Instructor

Holly was no stranger to the arts and entertainment industry when she met a daring young man and first started flying on the trapeze.  She is a singer and has been studying the violin since she was 9 and is currently involved with Maroondah Symphony Orchestra. 

As a way of healing and sustaining her body from the many hours of playing her instrument she became interested in Yoga and Pilates. She found these practices to help her and by following this path became a certified instructor in Solomon Yogalates TM and Pilates.  Anti-Gravity Yoga, a fusion of circus fitness & yoga, is her next passion and she is on her way to become one of the few accredited instructors of this practice in Australia.           

Dylan Ehrenburg - Class Coordinater/Assistant Manager  

Before becoming a Flying Trapeze instructor, Dylan was working as a professional photographer, taking pictures for a variety of companies and organisations. It was a job where he was able to travel, meet people, and do what he loved, all at the same time. Simultaneously he became interested in rock climbing and began climbing simply as a hobby; however, once he became more advanced and experienced, crawled his way up to become one of the top climbers in Australia, gaining sponsorships and opportunities. After a few years of climbing, heading into his early-twenties he stumbled across the Flying Trapeze.

This experience was, in his words “such a foreign feeling; hang on, foreign is truly an understatement, put it this way, I thought I was the catcher during my first class, and tried my hardest to catch the catcher. Yes me with my knees hooked on the fly-bar came up and grabbed the catcher and yelled, “gotcha!” as loud as I could, while keeping my knees hooked as tight as possible.” To his surprise neither the catcher nor Dylan went anywhere, and they were both stuck there until one of them made a move. He must have been destined to be a catcher. Within months he was encouraged to throw tricks without safety lines and perform in shows! Having survived this he was offered a job as a flying trapeze artist and instructor at Club Med Japan and subsequently performed in a travelling circus.

Dylan now spends his time commuting between Melbourne and New York where he has been running a summer circus program for the past 10 years for kids of all levels and ages. During tis time, Dylan has gained immense trust and respect from the kids, and in turn has produced some exceptional young flyers. They keep him on his toes, and, as much as they have learnt from him, he has learnt 100 times more from them. For the other part of the year he dedicates his life to the fabulous students at Flying Trapeze Australia and NICA doing what he loves best (being an idiot). Having been involved in teaching and performing flying trapeze for over fifteen years, looking back he finds it hard to believe how lucky he has been to be involved in such an amazing industry. 

Sam Aldham - Instructor/Performer

Sam started his career in circus working at Club Med Resorts as a flying trapeze performer and instructor in 2004.  After travelling through Asia and a short trip to France in resorts as a flyer and catcher he returned to Melbourne where he joined Flying Trapeze Australia, performing and instructing in festivals such as the Summer Fun Festival in Melbourne, Tasmanian Circus Festival, Adelaide Fringe Festival, Moomba Festival Melbourne and travelling to Abu Dhabi  for a month long summer festival.  Sam attended NICA (National Institute of Circus Arts) from 2009  to 2011 training in Corde Elise (Vertical Rope), Comedy Acrobatics and Hoop Diving. 

Sam's performance credits include Ariels Dream, Showcase 2009, Cabaret Vertigo, We All Fall Down 2010, Beautifully Imperfect 2011, Laced Melbourne Fringe Festival, Knock Off Melbourne Fringe Festival and is part of the NICA band playing various instruments and as a singer.  In 2011 he formed a group with his acrobatic partners Chris Carlos and Taka Seki ‘Three High Acrobatics’ and debuted their first full length show in the Melbourne Fringe Festival. 

With over 7 years experience as a circus performer, tutor and a background in theatre Sam hopes to continue his career in working in the circus industry performing, teaching and creating.

Vanessa McGregor - Instructor/Performer

Born and bred Brizzy girl Vanessa grew up dancing, tumbling, singing and reciting poetry. Her love for performing grew into a love for teaching the arts. After graduating from high school she successfully completed all of her CSTD Teaching Diplomas in Dance & ATCL Drama Diploma in Theatre Arts.

After a few years of teaching and training full time, Vanessa auditioned for NICA (The National Institute of Circus Arts) in 2008 and was successful. She moved to Melbourne in 2009 to study at NICA and graduated from the institute in 2011. Whilst at NICA she studied duo swinging and static trapeze, foot juggling, hoop diving, tumbling, handstands and flexibility. In her first year she was the recipient of the May Wirth Award which is awarded to the highest overall achieving female in the Diploma year. Outside of NICA she also added to her skill set Flying Trapeze by training and teaching with Flying Trapeze Australia.

In 2011 Vanessa Produced and Directed her own show “Eager to Please” which was a huge success. It was performed at the North Melbourne Meat Market as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival. During this time she was lucky enough to be mentored by the talented Nicci Wilks. In addition to this Vanessa played the lead role in her third year NICA ensemble show “Beautifully Imperfect” which was directed by the amazingly creative Rob Tannion. In January to March 2012 she performed on P&O Pacific Sun as Pacific Cirque, performing adagio, foot juggling and many roving characters. She also ran numerous workshops to ages ranging from two to eighty-two. 

Vanessa is passionate & proud of all the work she does. She aspires to have a long career in the performing arts industry bringing unique & innovative ideas to the world of circus in the forms of teaching, performing and directing.

Adam Patterson - Instructor

Adam’s first ever experience on the trapeze was at FTA whilst on holidays in Byron Bay with his now wife. At this time almost 10 years ago, she was addicted, whilst he enjoyed it but decided at the time not to pursue it, but how things can change. Now an experienced catcher and flyer, Adam performed with Pop Circus in Japan from 2008 for 16 months, catching the Flying Aces in over 800 shows. Before that he trained primarily as a petit volent catcher for 8 years, after initially starting as a flyer.

He continues to catch classes at Circus Oz and has even been featured as a flying trapeze catcher in a prime time Australia TV drama. During this period he recommenced learning flying with FTA on their regular visits to Melbourne, and found the passion for this amazing sport. Not even a serious motorcycle accident, which occurred on his return from performing in Japan, could stop Adam from flying and teaching. After 8 months of intense rehabilitation and learning to walk again, Adam was back on the trapeze, both flying and catching and made it back to full fitness in less than a year.

Outside trapeze Adam works as a Rigger in the event industry and still enjoys riding his motorcycle, Coming onto 10 years association with FTA, Adam brings a unique focus of cradle, petit volent and big rig to his technique and teaching style. His passion is evident in his teaching and he shares the vision of FTA as both a student and a teacher.