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> Who is Montana? |
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If you've ever dreamed of flying…
Before she went to Harvard for her degree in Folklore,
Montana threw herself into another kind of study: flying trapeze. She
spent four years breathing sawdust and somersaults-and at age 18, she
wrote a book about it. (Circus Dreams: The Making of a Circus Artist;
Little, Brown: 1990) For school and family audiences, Montana performs
her unique aerial act, then talks with warmth, humor, and candor about
life in the circus.
| "Miller's
story is filled with surprising turns… The book tells the story
of Miller's experiences as a budding aerialist in France, where circus
performance is considered an art and small, theater-style circuses
thrive." —The Christian Science Monitor |
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"Based on Miller's personal journals and
letters home, the book outlines her triumphs and trepidations. It
was a grueling three years at the school, where she learned the
circus is as much about danger as it is daring. 'If this is a mistake,
I'm not finished making it yet,' she wrote."
—The Boston Globe |
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| "Montana
Miller's parents must be proud-she got into a highly selective school,
and she's tops in her class. But her career choice is not exactly
what you might expect-we found her flying high, in France." —Sam Donaldson, ABC's Prime Time Live |
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Daring to dive into experience… On the verge of graduating from Harvard with a
degree in Folklore, torn between her varsity diving team and the
world of professional stunt divers, Montana received an invitation
she couldn't refuse. In November 1996, at the legendary 87-foot
cliffs of Acapulco, Mexico, she leaped into history as one of the
first five women ever to dive in the world cliff diving championships. |
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| "As she emerges
from the sea, Miller will be among the first women allowed to join
the elite of Acapulco cliff divers, who for more than six decades
have awed tourists-and later, international television audiences-with
daredevil feats from one of the most dramatic settings of the high-diving
world." —The Washington Post |
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"La Quebrada is no small leap for man or
woman. From atop a tiny platform 87 feet high, the ribbon of sea
water below seems light years away… But on Friday the 26-year-old
woman from Harvard, Massachusetts, hit a picture-perfect head-first
practice dive from an 'intermediate' height of 68 feet."
—The International Herald Tribune |
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Between earth and sky, a story takes shape… One of the oldest traditions in circus is the flying rings act, in which the artist executes graceful feats of strength and contortion between two rings suspended high above the crowd. Montana's original development of this aerial art combines breathtaking skill with her spoken tale of transformation… She draws her audience into a mesmerizing aerial adventure filled with movement and metaphor. |
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| "And
so Montana Miller learned to fly…and graduated to the Big Top!" —ABC World News Tonight "Person of the Week," December 6, 1996 |
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"Miller, a 5-foot-3-inch spitfire of courage
and muscle…swings from rings while telling a fairy tale of
a princess who falls in love with a lion… Miller is determined
to live a life of challenge and meaning, always giving herself and
everyone who knows her something to talk about."
—The Boston Globe |
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| "No matter
what Montana chooses, it's a sure bet she'll be chasing her dreams,
flying high, and inspiring us all, too!" —Kasey Kaufman, WBZ-TV, Boston |
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From "fofo: EchoGreco" (MET Theatre,
Los Angeles, 1998):
"In what is the play's most show-stoppingly spectacular
moment, Montana Miller, as Ariadne, performs a jaw-droppingly
ambitious acrobatic routine that ingeniously describes her character's
emotions better than words could." |
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"A visually exquisite death scene as Miller takes to the
aerial hoops draping her self in midair is the highlight of the
evening." |
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"The seductive high-wire artistry of aerialist
Montana Miller's lyrically athletic Ariadne, the beautiful maiden
imprisoned in a labyrinth..."
—L.A. Daily News |
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| "The
play concludes with the extraordinary acrobatics of Ariadne, played
by UCLA folklore and mythology graduate student Montana Miller, a
pint-sized, muscular wonder who flips and contorts in Dionysus' giant
"wedding rings." Miller is, if nothing else, alone worth
the cost of admission to the show. She communicates not only precise
technique, but also a great interpretive ability that conveys Ariadne's
despondency as she ascends to heaven." —The Daily Bruin |
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© All photography, artwork, poetry, and images on this site are
protected by International and United States copyright laws.
Any use without permission is strictly prohibited. For more information
please email me at montana@montanamiller.com.