About Us
History & Mission
History
Sky Candy was founded in June 2010 by a group of friends who wanted to create a space to make aerial and circus arts accessible to Austinites. Our very first studio was an outdoor aerial rig with one rig point at The VORTEX on Manor Road. We’ve had multiple homes in East Austin since our founding, including our current space at Springdale General that we moved into in October 2018. From our modest beginnings, we have grown into a 30+ person company with a custom built 6500 square foot space in East Austin where we can realize our wildest aerial and circus arts dreams!
Our Mission
We believe that circus is for every body. Our mission is to make circus accessible and empowering for everyone. We offer classes, camps, and performances that emphasize safety, cultivate creativity, and celebrate diversity. We offer classes to students of all ages and abilities and we welcome you to come run away and join us!
As an Austin staple since 2010, Sky Candy has recognized in our community in lots of ways for our accomplishments.
Teaching Studio Awards
We have been the recipient of multiple Austin Chronicle Best of Austin awards, including Best Circus Arts Revivalists (2011), Best Big Top Getting Bigger (2018), Best Alternative Sport (2019) and Best Exercise Class (Bungee Fit - 2022).
Austin Fit Magazine readers have voted us as Austin’s Best Aerial Studio (2022, 2023, 2024) and 2nd Best Gymnastics Studio (2024).
Performance Awards and Recognition
Our 2012 show, Land Without Evil, directed by Agent Red, was featured in a Lone Star Emmy nominated PBS: Arts in Context documentary.
Our 2014 show, Cosmicomics, directed by Rudy Ramirez, was nominated for a B. Iden Payne Award for best dance choreography.
Our owner, Winnie Hsia, was nominated for a B. Iden Payne Award for her aerial choreography in Charlotte’s Web at the ZACH Theatre in 2017.
Our 2017 show, Agent Andromeda: The Orion Crusade, directed by Rudy Ramirez, won 5 B. Iden Payne Awards (Julie Moore's performance; Monica Kurtz's stage management; Tyler Mabry's original score; Joanna Wright's dance and fight choreography).
Accolates
For us, “safe” has many meanings. As a teaching studio, we want to provide a physically safe environment for our students to learn and develop new skills. The sport we’re engaging with comes with many inherent safety risks and we do everything we can to create as low-risk an environment as possible.
Safe also means that we want all Sky Candy participants to feel comfortable in our studio and at our events. We want people from all walks of life to feel comfortable with taking a class, performing in a show, working with us, and otherwise engaging with our community.
We want you to know that if something or someone makes you feel uncomfortable at one of our events, no matter how minor it seems, you can report it to us and we will take action.
Harassment of Sky Candy students, staff, and performers will not be tolerated and anyone violating this policy in a class, at the studio, or at a performance may be removed, or, in some cases, banned from further interaction with the Sky Candy community.
Safe Space
We would like to acknowledge that we are located on the Indigenous lands of Turtle Island, the ancestral name for what now is called North America.
Moreover, we would like to acknowledge the Alabama-Coushatta, Caddo, Carrizo/Comecrudo, Coahuiltecan, Comanche, Kickapoo, Lipan Apache, Tonkawa and Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo, and all the American Indian and Indigenous Peoples and communities who have been or have become a part of these lands and territories in what we now call Texas.
Land Acknowledgement
Reach the Studio
1023 Springdale Road Bldg 8A, Austin, TX 78721
Call Us: (512) 800-4998
Text Us: (512)-967-8640
Email Us: frontdesk@skycandyaustin.com
We are located at Springdale General, in the heart of East Austin, just east of the corner of Springdale Road and Airport Blvd.
Springdale General is a creative hub of makers and creators and we are proud to be part of this fabulous community that includes Queer Audacity, Creative Action, Latinitas, No Good Tattoo, The Front Page, Medici Roasting, Julie Myrtille Bakery, UROKO, Zhi Tea, Paper + Craft Pantry, Broad Studios, and dozens of other small businesses and artists!
Get in touch.
Reach out to our team! We’d love to hear from you.