Melody Nolan (1998) is a circus maker hailing from California. As a keen explorer of her physicality and surroundings, Melody draws inspiration from a physical approach to artistic research, balancing technique with creativity. Her work melds handstands with acrobatic movement as she seeks to nourish a rich dialogue between body, space, and expression.

She received a BA in circus arts from Codarts University for the Arts in Rotterdam, NL, where she graduated in 2021. Following her graduation, she received the BNG Bank Circusprijs 2021 for her solo work “Haven”.

Melody finds motivation in the potential circus holds for offering different perspectives in novel contexts and settings. She’s therefore especially interested in site-based and interdisciplinary work. During her time in the Netherlands, Melody has been able to participate in interdisciplinary projects such as ArtBreak (2018; 2021), Incubator (2019), and CoLab at Trinity College (2020). She is currently in creation with Tall Tales Company for a show entitled On the Move, which will premier in Spring 2022.