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Elevate your weekend with "‘Enchanted Garden’ in Newport
Showcasing their cool equipment and both local and visiting talent, members of the ArtFit Oregon movement studio will take the stage at the Newport Performing Arts Center for the first time his Saturday, April 4, with the aerial and dance performance “Enchanted Garden.”
Designed to delight audiences of all ages, the colorful production tells a magical story through graceful movement, creative costuming and eye-catching aerial performances, and will feature a variety of dance styles and the type of equipment that the studio has, including hoops and lyra, or silks.
“We came up with a story that ties together all the different elements of what we offer here,” said Mike Jones, who owns the studio with his wife Sharon Jones. “It all kind of unfolds as a journey through an enchanted garden. We have a narrator that will help to tell the story and guide the audience through what they are seeing.”
The show features the studio’s local students and instructors, along with special guest aerial performers from Portland, Sarah Patrinellis and MirCat DragonFae.
“There’s a wide variety of performers,” Mike said. “We even have a hula hoop performer and lots of dance styles including hip hop, belly dance and jazz.”
The ages of the performers are also quite varied.
“We have one performer who is four years old and another who is five, so that will be cute,” Mike said. “Then it gets kind of Cirque du Soleil-ish with the older performers.”
Patrinellis is a strength-based aerialist known for her work as both a solo and collaborative performer, with more than a decade of experience across multiple aerial apparatus including silks, cube and rope. Based in Portland, she teaches at several studios and shares her practice through performances, workshops and retreats.
DragonFae brings a diverse movement background that includes aerial arts, trans-national fusion belly dance and urban styles such as popping, tutting, vogue and waacking, along with elements of ballet and contemporary dance. Through storytelling, she aims to inspire connection, confidence and a sense of belonging.
Sharon and co ArtFit Oregon instructor Rowan Bender have spent months choreographing the production, creating group routines that bring the story to life while showcasing aerial and dance styles new to the Newport Performing Arts Center stage.
“Some of the acrobatic aspects of the show will be a surprise,” Mike said. “There are lots of different characters in it, too.”
ArtFit Oregon, located in Newport, is the only studio on the Oregon Coast offering aerial arts, dance and fitness classes under one roof. Founded in 2024, the studio has grown to serve the Central Oregon Coast with classes for all ages, including aerial silks, lyra, pole fitness, dance, exercise classes and sound bath therapy.
“We’re growing with our students and the different types of classes we offer,” Mike said. “The dance instructor we have now is amazing. We’re also growing outside these walls and doing more shows.”
Previous shows have involved include providing entertainment for the full five hours of the Home and Garden Show, but "Enchanted Garden” will be the most ambitious yet.
“We have approximately 25 performers involved,” Mike said. “We’re learning a lot. I’d love to do it again — we’ll see how this one goes.”
Saturday’s show begins at 2 pm at the Newport Performing Arts Center, 777 W Olive Street. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for kids aged three to 18, with $5 off using the code “artfit” at checkout. For more information or to purchase tickets, go to coastarts.com or call 541-265-2787.