JOIN US AND FIND THE NOTION OF BALANCE
We help you achieve a better, easier, and faster handstand
CHOOSE YOUR LEVEL
BEGINNER COURSE
LEVEL 1-3
The beginner level will take you from nothing to a free-standing handstand with the finest form possible. It is divided into 3 levels so you can easily decide where to join us depending on your experience. There are no prerequisites for this level, only the desire to get upside down!
INTERMEDIATE COURSE
LEVEL 4-6
The intermediate level will take you from holding a free handstand for a minute to being able to play in your handstand. You will also develop the muscles needed to achieve a press-up with the right form. We have included little extras like the crocodile position on one arm, learning to hold a handstand with a smaller base, and in our third level, begin learning to transfer onto one arm and the side bends!
ADVANCED COURSE
OAHS, FIGAS, SIDE BENDS, TURNING
Our advanced level is out!! We are starting with four skills that we think are popular amongst experienced handbalancers.
The four skills we selected are: the basic one arm handstand positions, figas, side bends, and turning.
If your two arm handstand is solid, you have started to play with one arm, and you want to deepen your practice, these tutorials are for you!
HOW WE DIVIDED OUR LEARNING PROGRAM
PHYSICAL PREPARATION
The aim of this category is to help you build the specific muscles needed to develop your handstand in the best alignment possible.
ALIGNMENT
Alignment in the handstand is the key to success! The aim of this category is to help you understand, experiment with and develop your alignment to achieve a better, faster and easier handstand.
ISOLATION
The goal of isolation in handstanding is to prepare for more advanced exercises like the one arm and sidebending positions. Along the way, isolating parts of your body can give you fun ways to experiment and develop creatively as a handbalancer.
Balance
Once you can hold a perfect line in a handstand, half of the job is done but we then need to keep this line while you are balancing.. This category will help you understand the concept of balancing, and experiment through a variety of exercises on how to gain some freedom on your hands.
Hands together
The two-armed handstand can get easier down the road, and this category is there to keep you progressing and move towards one-arm handstands by making your balancing point more narrow.
Press
We have noticed that this way to go up is a shared goal with many of our students, so we decided to put emphasis on the press by making it a category in itself. You will get to learn an efficient way to press up using technique and in parallel working on the specific muscles to achieve your press up.
Jumping into handstand
Jumping into your handstand and always nailing the alignment isn’t easy. This category will bring you step by step towards developing good habits while jumping into your handstand, and getting the most chances to build the line.
Side bends
Sidebending in a handstand are these beautiful shapes where the body creates an arc to the side. We are both side bends lovers, and wanted to share this knowledge with you. We will insist on developing the technique that will allow you to enjoy these shapes in your body.
CROCODILE
This is the first one-arm handstand to learn! It’s a shape that allows you to understand and develop the balance on one arm, without having to integrate right away all the alignment and transfer to one arm required to hold some one-arm handstands.
Transfer to one arm
Here we are on the journey to one-arm handstand. In this category we will give you as much information as possible on the transfer from 2 arms to one-arm handstand. This is the most important part of your practice of one-arm handstands because when you hit the right spot every time, the only thing left to do is to balance!
MEET THE INSTRUCTORS
NICOLAS MONTES DE OCA
Nicolas Montes de oca is a professional circus performer who has dedicated his life to hand-balancing and the circus arts. He has developed his own unique style in the discipline of hand-balancing, fusing it with dance and movement which has taken him all across the world performing.
He spent many years of self-development with HANDBALANCING and then took his skills to new levels receiving professional tuition at the Shanghai Circus School in China , ESAC (Ecole Superior du Arts du Cirque) in Belgium and Kiev Circus Academy in Ukraine. He has performed at many prestigious companies such as Franco Dragone, Les 7 doigts de la main and Cirque Du Soleil.
MARIE-EVE DICAIRE
She began her artistic formation as a dancer, but after three years of training Marie-Ève Dicaire felt something was missing. Little did she know it was a circus. She went on to audition at the National Circus School of Montréal, where she was accepted as a hand balancer, and quickly found hand balancing to be a unique mix of precision and fluidity.
Since her graduation in 2006, she has performed her act throughout Switzerland with Starlight Circus and Circus Monti, in Germany with various cabaret such as Tigerpalast. More recently, she had the occasion to join the 7 fingers for the creation of the show Tryptique and Vice et Vertu and also Cirque Éloize for the show Nezha. Even to this day, Marie-Eve continues to develop herself as a dancer only now she does it while standing on her hands.
In addition to her artistic career, she is now teaching handbalancing at the national circus school of Montreal.
PRIVATE CLASSES
Online private classes are a great way to fast track your training. These classes are specifically tailored to your level and will focus on the next steps for you to be able to advance. We will help you identify bad habits, work on alignment and specific goals you may have.
Contact me directly @dicairemarieeve
Contact me directly @nicolastanding
Testimonials
“I consider myself lucky to be one of Marie-Eve's students! She is methodical, structured and fun to train with. Her keen eye will direct her to where you need to shift your focus and she will go outside of conventional ways of teaching to help you progress on your handstand journey. I appreciate every session I have with her and she has my outmost respect as a teacher.”
Alexandre Pelland
@handstand_alex
“My classes with Nicolas were extremely interesting. I think 10 weeks of classes is the right formula. You must have to focus on your full body. It s hard work between body and spirit and Nico is here to answer all of your questions, to help you to be confident, and to give you the keys of progress and achievement through a large variety of exercises.
It s also incredible and magic that your teacher is just halfway around the World!!!!!”
Celine Picault
@celinepicaults
“As a contortionist that is hyper-mobile I struggled a lot to improve my one arm training. I sunk so many hours and years into this training without really advancing. Meeting Marie-Eve Dicaire changed everything. Her precision and technique are unparalleled in any other coach I have ever worked with. I have finally made real tangible progress and I am grateful for her help and constant inspiration.”
Samantha Halas
@frostbitecircus
“I did a 7-day intensive with Nicolas and it was an amazing experience. He is a really attentive teacher that pushes his students to surpass themselves. His technic is flawless and he shares it with precision and passion. He can adapt to all levels, his instructions and cues are clear and diverse to be understood by everyone. I highly recommend it! Genevieve Beaulieu, Montréal”
"What's great about Marie-Ève is that she always has the right words at the right moment and she is an amazing spotter. She knows exactly what to say and precisely what to do for you to succeed and understand what you are doing and/or what you should be doing. She listens, encourages and explains really well and she offers a perfect balance between perfecting the basics and pushing our limits. Marie-Ève is humane and energetic, she is an inspiring teacher and her hand balancing skills are out of this world. She is simply the best!"
Julie Losier
@juli.active
"Working with Nico is a game-changer. It will save you so much time. I have a yoga background and taught myself handstands mostly. I never understood the form or technique. Nico is sharing what he learned and how he got there in a very precise and systematic way. I wish I found him earlier and I would have cut down my time invested dramatically.
He is also the coolest guy and makes it fun."
Hargobind Khalsa
@hargyoga
"Training with Nico was the best decision on many levels. I had thus far been self taught but I am always picky about teachers but something told me I should get out there and the feeling was right. Nico did not only make my handstand improve heaps but he also helped me understand every little detail with humility. This is a quality I respect and admire very much in any sort of teacher or mentor. Moreover, this humility allowed me to feel more
confident with myself and believe in me more. His technique is clearly flawless and the way he teaches is also fantastic as he transmits peace in the way he delivers and shares knowledge. Can’t wait to train with him again!"