I have been a performer all of my life, I started in dance/theatre as a young child and was immediately in love. I took many acting, dance, modern dance and ballet training for many years and loved it. However, I found myself seeking something more. I wanted to fly! Finding aerial and pole dancing brought me to a whole new level of creativity and athleticism, this seemed to be the platform I had been chasing! So, I started taking aerial classes about 4 years ago and less than a year in I was hooked! Eventually I joined performance troupe and began to share my new found love and skills on the stage.

I want to share my passion with everyone interested in expressing themselves through aerial dancing or even just dancing in general. Sometimes it can be intimidating, you think I am not strong enough, or I don't have the skills. These things are absolutely attainable for anyone. Beauty and strength are something unique to each person, performance is about doing what you love with passion, not about trying to be the "best". I try to encourage my students to be THEIR best and love what they are doing. Our brains can be critical, our hearts can be fearful, through using and connecting with our bodies, we can begin to find truth.

I am also a senior at Naropa University finishing my BFA in Performance, I am a total foodie and I love art of all kinds! A surprising fact about me is that growing up I wore leg braces (a la Forest Gump) and had to have a lot of therapy for back problems as a child, but I was always a dancer!

One of my favorite aerial moments was my very first performance in Mobile, AL. I was so beyond nervous, in a city I had never been to, with a group of girls who I had become very close with but had only known a couple of months. I didn't feel like a real aerial performer, I felt like I was a "wannabe", and then we performed. I did it, my heart opened and my body did not fail, I knew then that this was meant to be, I was an aerialist.

The community and growth I have found at Vertical Fusion is simply amazing. I hope that you will join me in class!