EAW Newsletter

So that being true, when you’re in these shows and you’re basically a dancer, but you are athletic enough and you’re interested in aerial, how did you discover people that you could spend time with and actually start to build your skills under some sort of supervision? That didn’t get you hurt and at the same time, you know, started to lay the foundation for your aerial work. How did that come about? Was there a particular teacher or somebody that you hooked up with?

It was really difficult in the beginning because it was so early on for aerial in Las Vegas. There were a handful of us that were doing the aerial silks, so trying to learn anything was a challenge. You just couldn’t find any content, unlike today where it’s all over Instagram. Back when I started, there wasn’t even YouTube(that didn’t start until 2005), so it was VHS tapes if you could get your hands on them. It’s been 22 years and it’s so different from what it was when I started and the amount of access and information that’s available. I had to be motivated to do it on my own and to learn. As far as mentors or teachers, I was dancing in a show and we had a straps duo and silk artist. The silk artist was Vitali Tomanov, who currently performs in the show Kurios by Cirque du Soleil. Every night before the show Vitali would warm up on his silks and he would let me join him. I got a good introduction to a nightly aerial warm up, an aerial friend and the opportunity to work on the silks in a large theater.

For aspiring aerialists, what would you say is the most important foundation that they should start with? What do you think are the most important qualities for an aerialist starting to really train? Is it stretching? Is it strength work? Is it just being on the apparatus? How do you look at that?

I think that the strength is always going to come if you’re on the apparatus and consistently training. I think that really one of the important things, if you want to be a performer, is technique. For me, I notice the legs and feet first, are the legs straight, especially in splits or an invert and are the toes pointed? Starting from a foundation of good technique will set you up well because strength and endurance will follow. Stretching will help the lines and positions in the air but people don’t have to be contortionists in the air to be considered good aerialists. Spending a lot of time on the apparatus is going to give you that extra familiarity that lets you seamlessly move with it. Combine that all together and you’re going in the right direction.

So I know that Elite Aerial Worx is your baby and it’s your company, what is the point of Elite Aerial Worx? What is it that you are trying to put out there for people and why should they attend and look into the Elite Aerial Worx workshops and intensives?

My goal is to offer an educational experience that includes training, creating and observing other working professionals. Las Vegas has so much to offer from an entertainment and training perspective with all of the shows and opportunities we have here. I would like aspiring aerialists to come and have an experience at the workshops that includes training with working artists, learning about creating (acts, transitions, new skills), and then have the opportunity to go and watch those teachers work in their respective shows. I did my first camp in 2012 for some students of a very good friend of mine and it was so fun to watch them really get into it and enjoy doing aerial. Elite Aerial Worx offers week-long workshops consisting of multiple classes and multiple apparatus. We do weeks customized for individual schools and weeks open to all aerialists. I just love watching people enjoy doing aerial and feel about it the way I did when I was starting out. Now that I’m towards the other side of my career, I want to help people have the experiences that I got to have.

I know that you were an artist coach on your show and you were involved in not only running rehearsals but cleaning up acts and making suggestions. I know that Elite Aerial Worx offers workshops and the attendees are all in development. For those people who are trying to really build an act, and maybe they’re at a point now where they have enough skill that they can do a lot of moves, what do you recommend to people when they want to try and build an act and find music and costuming and a concept? What would you recommend to those aspiring aerialists who were at that point?

I think you have to figure out what your connection is to the act you are building and what inspires you. Some people are inspired by the music. Some people are inspired by the idea of a theme or costume and some are inspired by a particular apparatus. Sometimes you are creating for yourself and other times you might be given a set of criteria as far as specific music or theme. I think there’s not a one-size-fits-all approach for that. I think you consider your strengths and what inspires you and build from there. I also think having an open mind and being open to suggestions helps when in creation mode.

So coming full circle, you know that you were just happy to be in Cirque and all of a sudden, you’re an artist coach on top of being an act. What was it like working with other aerial acts and other acts in general, some of whom are very accomplished Olympians and that type of thing and you have to coach them. How do you feel about that and how did you feel about having to make comments to acts for people that you really greatly respected?

I think that I was lucky in that I worked with a lot of very talented people and I think they respected me enough to know that if I made a comment, it was because I truly believed it and I was there to help. These artists were professionals and I was offering an extra eye to what they were doing, maybe some spotting if they were working on a new skill, but most importantly, I was there for them. I could make a comment on the position of an arm or a leg or the musicality of something and give them feedback that way. I really enjoyed doing it! I just really like helping people and I really like being able to contribute. I found that working with the other artists was a learning experience for me too. If it was an act or an apparatus that I didn’t have much experience on, I got to learn from them.

My final question to you is, we know you’ve got some exciting things going on in 2023 and know you’re looking to expand. How do you see Elite Aerial Worx positioned moving forward in terms of, what are your goals with your company and your workshops moving forward?

The goal is just to continue to help and inspire people and I would like to expand the workshops as far as offering more weeks so I can help more people and offer unique and memorable experiences. I keep the class size small so that people can get a lot out of them. I know how much I have loved being a part of the aerial arts and the circus community and I want to continue to be involved. I would really just like to share my enthusiasm and love with other people and help them improve, further their education, get jobs if that’s what they want, and overall to help inspire them.