What is CSAW?

CSAW: Connecting Circus Students Around the World was founded in 2018. CSAW assists current and aspiring circus artists in shaping their future through increasing access to knowledge, resources, community, and financial aid.

CSAW offers multiple grant programs for BIPOC circus artists, a circus school ambassador program, and acts as a resource hub for information on higher learning in circus arts. CSAW has provided over $90,000 in grant funding to more than 50+ BIPOC circus artists since 2020, and is a registered 501(c)3, making all donations tax-deductible.

OUR MISSION

CSAW (Connecting Circus Students Around the World) empowers circus artists globally by providing educational resources, performance opportunities, and funding to pursue their passions. CSAW is committed to dismantling systemic inequalities, and centering marginalized communities - fostering a more inclusive and equitable circus industry for all.

OUR VISION

CSAW’s vision is to encourage more circus students to pursue professional education in circus arts. While also encouraging more circus artists to pursue professional careers. The current barriers to this are accessibility of information, thoroughness of resources and financial obstacles that keep potentially incredible artists from pursuing the next stages of career development. Our vision is to steadily remove these barriers to stimulate and encourage more inclusive and representative circus schools and by extension, the circus world.

OUR PROGRAMS

CSAW offers financial aid opportunities for circus to artists of color. Check out our current grant programs.

Our CSAW Ambassador Committee Initiative appoints student representatives from international circus schools to help answer questions for potential attendees. CSAW Ambassadors are dedicated volunteers who support prospective students through applying, auditioning and attending circus schools.

Our Ambassadors have created resources such as the FAQ Series to help future students find the pathways best for them.

CSAW Team Members

XANTHIA WOLLAND

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (2025-present)

Xanthia Wolland (she/her) is a nonprofit leader, circus artist, and advocate for equity in the arts. She grew up at Camp Winnarainbow, where circus was more than performance—it was a way of being rooted in creativity, collaboration, and social change. The love of flying and this philosophy led her to co-found an aerial silks school at age 16 which continues strong over a decade later.

With 10 years of experience in nonprofits and small business development, Xanthia brings a unique blend of strategic thinking, program design, and people-centered leadership. She has worked across marketing, grant writing, coalition-building, and strategic planning.

Her work is guided by a belief in circus as a universal language and a tool for healing, connection, and resistance. From leading teacher trainings, providing arts education to underserved youth, and humanitarian clowning in the Amazon Basin with Patch Adams, her career reflects a deep commitment to using arts for collective liberation. In 2018, she received a grant to study DEI in circus education, exploring how to make circus more accessible for racially, culturally, and economically diverse communities.

That work continues at CSAW. As Executive Director, she is honored to steward CSAW’s mission of empowering circus artists globally and building a more inclusive, accessible and representative future for the circus world.
Currently based in Oregon, Xanthia enjoys spending her free time splashing in rivers, dancing, gardening, being a doula, and traveling the world with her partner and dog.

Previous Team Members

JULIA MARCELIS

BOARD CO-TREASURER (2024-2025)

Julia Marcelis (they/them) is an aerialist, clown, and all around mover. A nationally ranked champion aerialist in silks and hoop, Julia loves creating impactful stories.

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Julia has trained with Cirque du Soleil artists, clowns from Ringling Bros, and circus masters from all over the world since the age of 7. Their love of circus is matched only by their love of accounting, which was fostered at Babson College in Boston, MA.

With a desire to tell inclusive stories, Julia is passionate about empowering artists to create authentic works of art. When not flying through the air or knee-deep in Excel spreadsheets, Julia is often walking through the woods or writing amateur poetry.

ACCESS | RESOURCES | OPPORTUNITY | COMMUNITY

admin@csawcircus.org

What is CSAW?

CSAW Team Members

Previous Team Members