How did you get interested in aerial arts?
I found a living social deal for trapeze lessons in Boston, and when I looked up the school, I saw that they had Aerial Silks classes too. I didn’t even know that I could take classes like that, but I’d always loved aerial fabric acts. Once I moved to Utah, I found Aerial Arts of Utah and started taking classes, and have been addicted ever since!

What do you love about aerial arts?
I really enjoy finding new ways to move, stretch and strengthen my body. I don’t like going to the gym too much, but thanks to Aerial I’m the strongest I’ve ever been! It’s really great to be able to combine a form of exercise with a form of creative expression and end up with these incredible combinations of music and movement.

What are you currently working on?
I just performed in a group piece for Flight of Fancy Illusions with the Student Performing Company. Now I’m going to focus on a hammock piece that I’ve been working on for Ring Around the Rose in December. I’m trying to focus on slowing down and expressing the music more fully.

How did you get interested in aerial arts?
My sister introduced me to aerial silks a couple of years ago when I went to visit her out of state. I had a private lesson with her and one of her instructors. When I got back to Utah a few days later, I googled studios and Aerial Arts of Utah popped up. I took the Friday class and then registered for intro to aerials and have been taking classes at Aerial Arts of Utah since.

What do you love about aerial arts?
I love aerial arts because it combines strength and artistry in a different way from other dance forms. I trained in studio dance (ballet, modern, jazz, character) throughout my childhood and into college, but hadn’t done any studio dance in years when I started aerials. It was a great way to get back in shape and use my body in a completely different way from dance on the floor. The shapes that can be made in the air range from just easy and amazingly fun to more challenging ones, which require some problem solving to do correctly and then become great fun once solved. I enjoy that there is such a range of skills.

What are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on perfecting a solo piece that I choreographed during this summer’s performance lab. I’m also in the student performing company and we are rehearsing a group piece for the upcoming Flight of Fancy show on October 20 and 21!

How did you get interested in aerial arts?
I have always been interested in the circus arts, but was under the impression that you had to be born into it, or be a professional dancer/gymnast who is recruited. When I was living in Kansas City, I saw a performance by the local aerial dance group Quixotic. I told my friend who was at the show with me about how I always wished I could be a circus performer. She informed me that there were classes taking place at the gym she went to. I signed up for classes the next day, and haven’t looked back!

What do you love about aerial arts?
I’ve moved around the country quite a bit. Every time I move to a new place I find the aerial dance studio, and am quickly welcomed into the community. The circus arts/aerial dance community is the most friendly, fun, hard working community I’ve ever come across.

What are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on a group piece for the Flight of Fancy show, and a trapeze solo for Ring Around the Rose. And, personally, I’m working on becoming more graceful!

What do you love about aerial arts?
I started aerials at a time in my life when I wanted and needed change. What I love most about aerial arts is my relationship with the creative expression and the ability to change it depending on what is happening in my life. I find it very appealing that aerial arts can coexist and relate with everything else that I do day to day. The first photo in this post is from my first aerial performance. This performance really emulated my life and helped me to harness and conquer positives and negatives I was facing. Compare that to the second photo taken last month. I can literally feel the emotions coming through in each photo and feel what I felt at those exact moments. To me aerials is so potent and truthful, it has become a part of who I am and I can’t imagine not having it in my life.

What are you currently working on?
I’m about to start working on specialized strength training to improve aerial performance. I feel I’m at a point where I want to really clean up my movements and go through the air as if gravity didn’t exist. A girl can dream and I’m ready to work for those dreams!

How did you get interested in aerial arts?
How I became interested was seeing a troupe from NYC perform both silks and lyra at Burning Man in 2008, hanging form a 60 ft dome. I especially was mesmerized by the red silks, there were 5 performers in sync, and I immediately knew that I wanted to do that! This actually led to the beginnings of AAofU, because when Annie and I came back to SLC we took lessons for a year with Julianna Hane at Revolve Aerial Dance, and then agreed to take over the business when she moved away after a year.

What do you love about aerial arts?
Its beautiful, athletic, skillful, creative, liberating and FUN!

How did you get interested in aerial arts?
In 5th-grade Aerial Arts of Utah came and performed at my school and I thought it looked super cool and fun which is how I learned about it.

What do you love about aerial arts?
What I love about aerial arts is how unique and interesting it is, and how you can learn to move and dance in super creative ways.

What do you love about aerial arts?
The thing I love about aerial arts is all the variety of shapes and moves and how everything is a little different. You can really make any move look as graceful or as edgy as you want. It’s just really dancey and cool.

What are you currently working on?
I just started working on a piece to enter in the Reflections contest which is a national, PTA-run arts competition, the theme this year is “Within Reach”. Also I’m always working on new things with the student performing company.

What do you love about aerial arts?
I don’t remember when aerial arts was first brought to my attention, but I’d been interested in it for years before I ended up trying it. I had taken a few single classes at different places, but a few years ago I was given a gift card to the studio. I took the intro class, and have been taking trapeze every session since.

What are you currently working on?
I have a background in dance, and played with rock climbing in college. Aerials feels like it is a perfect merger of the two, bringing strength and grace into one art form.

What do you love about aerial arts?
Learning new stuff. I just like to learn all of the things that they teach.

What are you currently working on?
I’m trying just to work on one apparatus: the hammock. I’ve never done it before so I want to work on it. It’s kinda fun because Nancy Carter and Diana Madrian teach me. I like doing the fairy move.

What do you love about aerial arts?
I saw Adriane Colvin, an instructor at Aerial Arts of Utah doing a performance at a festival and was inspired to try aerials immediately!

What are you currently working on?
There’s so much I get from aerials but a few