Sable Stewart founded what was then known as Esh Aerial Arts in 2010, as a way to make ends meet while they established their performance career after graduating from the Professional Program at the New England Center for Circus Arts. The immediate enthusiasm and demand for circus classes in Boston lead Sable to partner with fellow NECCA grads Ellen Waylonis and Roger May to offer more classes and better serve the budding circus community. The team of owners worked together through 2018, when Sable departed for a warmer climate and new adventures in the San Francisco Bay area. Esh continues under the leadership of Ellen and Roger, though Sable does come back for visits every now and then!

Esh’s first location was in the heart of downtown Boston next to Fenway park. We opened in the back room of an old tire store turned gym, sharing space with rattling HVAC equipment and plants growing through holes in the wall (yes really). Despite the humble surroundings, Sable, Ellen, and Roger were driven to build a home for circus in Boston, and our students were excited to have a safe place to learn.

We soon outgrew our tiny room, and with help from the community, picked up and moved to a larger space within a converted industrial building in Porter Square. It was there we really established ourselves as a center for high quality, inclusive, and safety conscious circus training. Our staff expanded to include coaches with diverse backgrounds in circus, our student base kept growing, and a strong and supportive community took root. In our Porter Square location we launched our youth program, held our first student show, and began to offer training space for local and visiting professional circus artists.

By autumn of 2014 we had run out of room – and out of time. Our landlord let us know that the building had been sold, and we had only three months to find a new home. With a lot of luck, and an immense show of support from our community, we were able to renovate the incredible building that is the home of Esh today. We opened in our current space in January of 2015.

We are so very thankful to our students for the support they have shown us over the years. We literally would not be here without our amazing Esh community!