Victoria Amedume initially trained in the UK, then attended Centre National des Arts du Cirque (CNAC) in (2001), followed by training in the US with La Norma Fox and Dolly Jacobs. She has since performed and created aerial and circus based work, throughout the UK and internationally, across all spheres: traditional to contemporary; as an artist, teacher, director, mentor, producer, programmer and advocate. In 2005 after working for 2 years as an associate director of Greenwich+Docklands International Festival, A London based festival of Outdoor Art, Vicki founded Upswing.

Upswing is an award-winning contemporary circus company driven by a desire to use circus connected with other forms as a vehicle to make honest, engaging and entertaining experiences that make connections between personal experience and larger social and political themes. Upswing’s work is developed though participation and seeks meaningful ways to use circus to connect and empower as well as share the experiences of the individuals with a broader audience. For example the company created Bedtime Stories in 2015 and immersive touring work for children and families exploring connection and What Happens in The Winter in 2013 a work with older people exploring our relationship with our aging bodies, balance and falling. Upswing’s productions fuse aerial, acrobatics, dance, theatre and other multimedia elements, to create a new form of narrative circus. Our productions are presented in traditional and non traditional spaces and since 2005 we have created 12 productions, 5 of which have toured and 7 of which were commissioned. In 2008 it was awarded core funding by the Arts Council England and continues to be funded as a National Portfolio Organisation.

Vicki is Visiting Artist at Rose Bruford College, Visiting Lecturer in Circus at Bucks University, Guest Lecturer and Guest Trainer at Circus Space and Visiting Trainer at The Hangar Arts Trust. She also trains and mentors various young Aerialists both through Upswing’s Step Up program and independently.