About NOCA
NOCA's mission is to provide high-quality circus arts education in Johnson City, TN.
Night Owl Circus Arts (NOCA) is a circus training community built around joyful movement, real skill-building, and a culture of care. Some students come to us for an exciting new hobby and a fun way to get stronger; others train with performance or professional goals in mind. Wherever you're starting from, our goal is the same: to help you feel supported, challenged, and genuinely proud of what your body can learn to do.
We welcome students of many ages, genders, body types, and fitness backgrounds. While our primary focus is adult training, we also offer youth classes (ages 7+). NOCA is proud to be a body-positive, inclusive community that values consent, respect, and a safe learning environment — not just in the air, but in how we treat each other.
Our classes range from completely beginner-friendly to advanced-level training. If you're considering your first class, it's completely normal to feel nervous. We hear all kinds of worries: "I'm too old," "I'm not strong enough," "I'm not flexible," "I'm too clumsy," "I'm not in shape yet." The truth is: most people feel that way at first. Our job is to help you build skills safely, celebrate small wins, and discover that circus really can be for everyone.
If you'd like to get started, you can view class descriptions here, or view pricing and our weekly schedule here.
NOCA's Story
NOCA began in 2013 with a simple idea: bring high-quality aerial and circus training to the Tri-Cities in a way that felt welcoming, empowering, and safe. What started as a handful of beginner silks classes quickly grew into a much bigger community — a place where people could find strength, confidence, creative expression, and belonging.
Over the years, NOCA has lived in many spaces and taken many forms. We've been shaped by partnerships with venues and organizations across the region, including Tuco O Tapa (2013), Appalachian Stars Gymnastics (often affectionately called "NOCA North") beginning in 2014, and Kingsport's Flight Athletic Academy in 2017. In 2018, NOCA expanded again through a partnership with Azure Aerial Arts, which became known as NOCA South for several years.
While NOCA South is no longer operating today, it remains an important part of our history. We learned a lot in that era — about growth, sustainability, and what it takes to support a thriving circus community long-term. Today, NOCA continues forward with a strong core community and an active training program centered primarily at our Boones Creek home at Appalachian Stars Gymnastics. The shape of NOCA has changed over time, but the heart of it has not: people showing up for each other, training hard, laughing a lot, and becoming braver than they thought they could be.
NOCA has also collaborated with local and regional theaters to coach and develop circus acts for stage productions, including work with Barter Theatre, Jonesborough Repertory Theatre, and other partners. From 2017 to 2020, NOCA partnered with the Virginia Highlands Festival, presenting an annual student showcase at the beautiful McGlothlin Center for the Arts at Emory & Henry College near Abingdon, VA — giving students the rare opportunity to create work for a large, modern proscenium stage.
On March 18, 2020, NOCA closed all regular classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was an incredibly difficult decision, but safety has always been a core value at NOCA. We remained fully closed for just over six months, and the road back was long.
During that time, we still had rent and other fixed expenses. To avoid permanent closure, the NOCA community stepped up in an extraordinary way. We owe our continued existence to the people who donated, shared our fundraising efforts, and helped keep the lights on:
NOCA today is the result of a lot of hands, hearts, and hard work — instructors who teach with care, students who show up for each other, and volunteers and staff who make the behind-the-scenes magic possible. We want to especially acknowledge several people who have shaped NOCA in meaningful ways over many years: Vianna Isbister, Caroline Daniels, Sam Sander, Jen Kintner, and many others who have given their time, talent, and leadership to this community.
We offer a wide variety of disciplines including aerial silks, lyra, trapeze, sling, flexibility, partner acrobatics/acro, juggling, and more. NOCA also produces community showcases and performance opportunities throughout the year, because we believe art matters — and because doing hard things together is one of the best ways to build confidence and connection.
NOCA is an organizational member of American Circus Educators (ACE). We care deeply about safety, instructor development, and building a healthy circus ecosystem — locally and nationally.
Founder & Leadership
NOCA was founded by Craig Lewis in 2013, after years of training in juggling and aerial arts and a growing belief that the Tri-Cities deserved access to the same kind of thoughtful, professional circus education found in larger cities. Craig began juggling at age 10, later founded the ETSU Juggling Club while earning a degree in Digital Media and a Computer Science minor at ETSU. He trained in aerial arts at San Francisco Circus Center, Aerial Space in Asheville, and the ETSU Aerial Dance program. In March 2013, he completed the Nimble Arts Aerial Silks and Trapeze Teacher Training program with Elsie Smith and Jamie Hodgson. In 2022 he completed Aerial Silks teacher training through the Circus Arts Institute with Carrie Heller.
In addition to building NOCA over more than a decade, Craig has worked professionally in rigging and circus operations beyond Johnson City. He toured in 2021 as the Acrobatic Rigger for A Magical Cirque Christmas, and in 2024 he served as the Head Rigger and Facilities Manager at San Francisco Circus Center. Today he serves as a board member with the American Circus Educators Association, where he also serves on the Safety Committee and Insurance Committee.
While NOCA's day-to-day energy comes from the instructors and students who fill the space, NOCA also relies on consistent leadership and teamwork behind the scenes: scheduling, instructor support, curriculum development, safety standards, equipment inspection, facilities maintenance, business operations, and long-term planning. Much of that work is invisible by design — but it is part of what keeps NOCA stable, sustainable, and safe for the people who train here.
NOCA Live Stats
Over the 13 years that have passed since our first class on March 27th, 2013, NOCA has taught 13,531 classes to 4,119 students with 53,334 individual class registrations! These numbers update live.
NOCA In the Press
A! Magazine for the Arts
A! Article link:
Johnson City Circus Arts dances in air
Johnson City Press
JCPress Article Links:
Johnson City teacher turns dance on its head - November 2015
Night Owls start the day at Blue Plum - June 2017
VIPScene
Tricities Healthy Living
Healthy Living Link: Fantastic Fitness
Dance Tribune
Community Support Helps Night Owl Circus Arts Through Continuing Temporary Closure
Rhew Gives "Joining the Circus" New Meaning
WJHL
Learning the Circus Arts of Juggling & Aerial Silks
January 2014Johnson City Circus Arts
December 2016Night Owl Circus Arts
July 2017JC Circus Arts rebranding, expanding to downtown Kingsport
January 2017Our Performance DVDs on Amazon:
Special Thanks To:
In no particular order
- Andrew Hartenagle, Blue De Leeuw, Valerie Phillips, Savannah Willingham, and all the instructors of Aerial Space in Asheville
- Heather Poole and Waverly Jones of Empyrean Arts in Asheville
- Jake and Lisa McLeod of DragonFly Aerial Arts in Knoxville
- Christine Aiken of Asheville Aerial Arts
- Tina Cohan, Jerry Cohan, Dulci Miller, David Miller, and Ciera Miller of Appalachian Stars Gymnastics
- Keith Dixon of Keith Dixon Studios
- Victoria Cunningham and Seth Delatte of Flight Athletic Academy
- Ren Allen of Faces by Ren
- Brenden Bohannon of Tuco O Tapa
- Delbert Hall
- Jen Kintner
- Vianna Isbister
- Caroline Daniels
- Sam Sander
- Amanda and Chad Photography
- Becky Caldwell, Shana Carrico, and Diedre of the Virginia Highlands Festival
- Will Hankins of the McGlothlin Center for the Arts
- Barter Theatre
- ETSU Department of Theatre and Dance
- The Mountain Movers Dance Company
- All of the NOCA instructors, staff, volunteers, and students who make this community what it is!
