Your Staff

Circus Fund Board of Directors (& Trapeze High Staff)

David (The Puppetmaster) Ayers

Dave has been teaching flying trapeze for over 9 years and enjoys helping anyone who aspires to try flying trapeze. He trains both brand new students who have never flown before as well as experienced fliers, assisting them in improving their skills. Dave is the best line-puller in the world (seriously), and is one of the co-owners of Trapeze High. He is also the father of Jacob Ayers.

Lindsay (The Queen) Van Voorhis

Lindsay first flew on the trapeze and found her passion at Club Med for her 40th birthday. She dreamed about flying for the next five years until a circus school opened near her home in Northern California. When it closed 3 months later, she followed her mentor, the legendary and very patient, Tony Steele to Sonoma. There she joined the Sonoma Trapeze Troupe mostly by showing up, being polite, and cleaning the bathroom a lot. Ultimately she fell in love with her line puller (Dave) who shared her love of flying trapeze. Together they dreamed of teaching flying trapeze to others. She is the co-founder and Queen of Trapeze High. Flying on the trapeze changed her life for the better in every way. She continues flying in her 50s and would like others her age and older to join her. Lindsay is also Jacob’s step-mom.

Lisa Ratner (Flying Diva)

First finding the trapeze on a family vacation to Club Med, Lisa has now been flying for over 10 years. She found Trapeze High at the Leucadia opening in 2001. After practicing with Dave and the legendary Tony Steele, she went on to perform flying trapeze professionally with several famous flying troupes in circuses around the world including Cirque Du Soleil, Circus Circus Casino and Silvers Circus in Australia among various others.

Mark (The Tank) Dill 

Mark started flying on vacation with Club Med in the 80's and had a short stint working the circus there. After a 15 yr break, he rediscovered the trapeze at Trapeze High and fell in love all over again. How many people get to run away to the circus twice in one lifetime?

Tom Peterson (Super Tom)

Seven years flying on the trapeze. Trained by David Ayers and Trapeze High Staff as board worker, safety line puller and catcher with five years of experience in those positions. Acrobat at Legoland. Formerly flying trapeze instructor for Cirque de la Mar at Sea World. Teaches beginning through advanced flying trapeze.

Additional Trapeze High Staff

Tori Manning (Ms. Tori)

Tori grew up doing gymnastics and always dreamed of doing flying trapeze. She moved to Australia in 2005 where she began learning static trapeze and tissue, but in the back of her mind always wanted to fly! Her wish came true when she moved back to San Diego in April 2007 and found Trapeze High! She is now addicted to trapeze and you can see her flying, catching, pulling saftey lines and working the board almost every weekend. Teaches beginning and intermediate flying trapeze.

Richard Sherman

Rich started flying (as did so many others) in Club Med around the age of 5. He was sporadically sighted at various Club Med rigs here and there but his true love of circus and trapeze blossomed when he moved to San Diego and started at Trapeze High. Now he is truly in love with the circus - you'll find him teaching, learning, catching, pulling lines and most importantly cracking bad (REALLY BAD) jokes at just about any time he can.

Ken Spalding

Kenny is perhaps our most playful and crazy of the gang. We like to think he is half circus monkey and half human cannonball. He has been trapezing for nearly seven years and has performed in various local acrobatic shows. In his normal daytime life he his is a wiz on the computers but he says you're never too old to take up gymnastics or run away with the circus.

Lisa Spellman

Lisa Spellman first started flying while vacationing in Jamaica with her family in 2003. She has been flying at Trapeze High in Escondido as soon as she moved to San Diego in 2005. As her love for the flying trapeze grew, she also began to fall for other aerial apparatuses such as tissue, hammock, and double trapeze. Due in part to her dance background, Lisa can now be found performing aerial professionally and flying internationally with Havik Circus.

Lisa teaches aerial apparatus such as silks, double and single trapeze and lyra. She is also trained as board worker. Two years experience as board worker and is an apprentice safety line puller.

Wayne Labat

Wayne grew up climbing up and swinging from anything or anyone that didn't move fast enough to escape. He was very active in theatre all around New Orleans. In addition to being the one called upon when a part required physical abuse (ie-"hey, we need someone to get thrown off this balcony... where's Wayne???"), he also learned to juggle and eat fire. In order to better put his acting talents to use following high school, Wayne enlisted in the Navy and pretended to be a Nuclear Electronics Technician. While he did not win an Oscar, he was selected for an Officer Program and went to UCLA on scholarship. Following graduation the Navy moved Wayne to San Diego where he has more or less remained for the past decade. One day, while taking a break from training for an Iron man triathlon, Wayne had the good fortune to pick up a newspaper article about a trapeze training facility. He visited Trapeze High for the first time in Spring of 2006 and immediately wondered why he hadn't found this opportunity sooner. Much flying ensued. Despite multiple temporary assignments away from San Diego over the past three years, Wayne has not only continued to fly and catch, but has also taken up Aerial Fabric, Straps, both solo and partner static trapeze and partner acrobatics.

Wayne teaches trapeze, circus aerials, hand balancing, and fire eating and is trained as a safety line puller, catcher and board worker.

Chris (Hotdog) Larkin

Chris got into trapeze because of his friend Jacob Ayers who Chris says has taught him more than he could imagine. He loves flying because it is the one place where he can go to be free. It is the one thing that truly makes him as happiest.

John Evans

John was born in Pensacola, FL and attended Florida State University where he learned the art of circus. NO, he didn't major in Circus Arts, but was a member of an extra-curricular activity called the FSU Flying High Circus. He also worked different circus jobs during the summer months to help pay for college. He first got on the trapeze in 1994 and has been doing it ever since. He has performed from the Bahamas to Connecticut and back again throughout the years. Acts that he has performed include Catcher for the Flying Trapeze, Rolla-Rolla, Quartet Adagio, Hand Balancing, Double Trapeze and Ring Master. He is also a Supply Officer in the US Navy and calls his trapeze work his "fun job".

Lauren Englehorn

Lauren Englehorn started training with David Ayers in 2002, when Trapeze High opened in Leucadia, CA.  She quickly discovered her passion for flying trapeze and became an instructor at the school.  Her training with David enabled her to work at Club Med Cancun in 2005, and perform with the Flying Caceres from 2006 – 2009, including Le Festival du Cirque de Grenoble in France, Circo Mundial in Spain, and the 138th edition of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus: “Over the Top.”  You may see Lauren teaching and performing with Circus Fund as she pursues a career as a Stunt Performer.

Jill (Troll) McAllister

Susan (Bob) Reed

Elyse (LeLe da Circus) Raggio

Samara (S'mores) Horton

Star Volunteers

Levi

Emily (The Sparrow) Warfield

Corrina (Ballerina) Lewis

RJ (Dynamite) Meyer

Sharyn (Supermodel) Mattingly

Josh Krier (JK)