At age ten, after realising climbing trees probably wasn’t a career option, and accepting that she was too short for basketball, Mieke discovered her love for everything circus. She started out in a small youth circus in Tassie, training in an old church that they shared with the local elderly lawn bowls society.

At sixteen, Mieke moved on to train at the National Institute of Circus Arts, followed by the Beijing International Arts and Acrobatic School, where she trained intensively in hula hoops, hand-balancing, contortion and pain tolerance. After many years performing solo with her feet (and hands) firmly on the ground, Mieke toured with Australian company ‘Gravity and Other Myths’ as a flyer.

Mieke loves that her job is all about what is possible with a group of people who have no issues with personal space.

Most recently Mieke has taken on the role of Programme Coordinator for the Artistic Development Programme at Slipstream Circus.