My Circus Journey Part II: The Year of the Snake
Wow, it’s been almost a whole year since I made my last blog post!
A lot has happened in 2025. This has been a very tough year for a lot of us, with the economic and political climate taking a huge financial, physical, and emotional toll. Despite the circumstances, I’ve seen a resilience in the circus community that is really unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. The joy, creativity, and raw authenticity of the artists around me never ceases to amaze me, and is and always will be incredibly inspiring. Getting to live within this biome of radical expression has been one of the biggest joys in life- I’ve grown as an artist despite the discomfort experienced in the world and daily life, and seen incredible strides made by my classmates and fellow artists. It’s no joke that this has been the year of the snake- shedding our skin, transforming, and thriving despite the discomfort.
I started circus in autumn of 2023, so September marked my 2-year circusversary! In 2024, I was focused on building foundational skills to have the strength, stamina, and skillset to create performances. 2025 was still heavily focused on skill-building, but more honed in on polishing skills I’d already learned, developing better technique, and finding my style as an aerial hoop artist. Having access to a school like Aloft is such an privilege. All of my coaches have been supportive, encouraging, and pushed me when I needed it. The community has embraced me in a way that has been incredibly healing and fulfilling- I cherish being part of the “Lyra Army” and hope to continue fostering collaboration and friendship amongst my peers.
I created a list of goals at the end of 2024 that I wanted to accomplish this year. So how have we done? I’ve recapped- goals met are in green, and ongoing goals are in pink (my favorite color- the color of opportunity in my opinion!!) It’s also not to say I won’t keep working on things that I feel I accomplished; rather, I achieved where I wanted to go this year and can build from here.
1. Create a New Act
I created not only 1, but 2 new acts in 2025. I performed in our ‘Heroes and Villains’ Student Showcase in March, as Hexxus from FernGully. This was a super fun act to create and I hope to revisit it eventually when the occasion calls for it. I also created a spooky themed act for our Halloween Communion, ‘The Devil You Know’. This act, while seasonally appropriate, was very personal to me and even though the vulnerability and heavy technicality was a bit scary, I’m glad I was able to translate my art into something the audience could understand and appreciate.
‘Hexxus’ March 2025- Photo by Clare Britt
‘The Devil You Know’ October 2025- Photo by Nancy Behall
2. Advance to Level 3 Lyra
Shortly after the student show, I moved up to the Intermediate 1 Lyra class (Level 3). This level is designed for aerialists who have built solid foundational skills and want to challenge themselves with higher level skills and concepts. This might sound strange to some, but I love coming to class and learning something I’m not able to do right away. Part of the appeal in aerial arts is starting from zero and building progress every week. I enjoy the camaraderie with my classmates and look forward to performing in my first ever ensemble act for the student show this year.
3. Learn a Ground Skill
I took some workshops last December for double staff, and while I didn’t have the time I would have liked to dedicate to flow arts, I was able to take a dance class with Thwack Dance over the summer. This was an adult beginner contemporary class, and I greatly enjoyed it. I feel that it 100% with my movement quality on the ground and in the air, and I highly recommend taking any sort of dance class to aerialists looking to have better artistic form. I’m planning on taking a juggling workshop this month and seeing how it goes! More to come.
4. Acquire a Lollipop/Lyra Pole/Plyra
This is a large investment, both monetarily and space-wise. I’ve started a fund to save up for this, and in the meantime, am taking any workshops available to me so I develop foundational skills on this apparatus. The goal to have my own is still within reach- eventually I would love to be able to perform ambient lollipop at events and having my own equipment would be the ideal scenario.
5. Become More Flexible
This was one of my toughest goals to accomplish. While I still don’t have a full split, I am significantly more bendy than I was at the beginning of the year and when I started circus. Flexibility classes have been very helpful in helping identify areas that need more attention, and which areas are strong points. Turns out that I have a pretty bendy back- it’s just trapped between the blocks of cement that are currently my shoulders and hips. Flexibility as an adult is always challenging, but not impossible. The key is consistency and steady progress.
One of my favorite warm-up stretches
I also performed in the holiday market this year. This was a new kind of performance for me- I have been used to creating 4-5 minute acts with the highest level tricks available to me. Ambient was a little intimidating at first, knowing that I needed to be in the air for 15 minutes each set. After coaching from Stacie and Megan on how this kind of performance was done, and seeing others around me preparing for ambient holiday gigs, I felt much more comfortable. It also helped having my classmates also performing, as we were able to observe and encourage each other throughout the experience. I scored this gorgeous costume on eBay for a super affordable price; I believe it is a gently used dance or figure skating leotard that also works really well for aerial. I even made the elbow covers to match! I love the performance opportunities that Aloft provides for all of its students- it really helps us build an understanding of the industry and choose our paths as artists. There is no wrong answer and makes the experience infinitely rewarding.
So what does 2026 bring? While I still have some goals from 2025 I want to keep working on, I have a few new aspirations to add to the list:
Train an additional apparatus
Lyra is my drug of choice so to speak, but I’ve become interested in adding a secondary apparatus to my skill set. While I wish I had the time to become more of a generalist, I am setting the goal of adding (1) new apparatus this year. My plan is to build more skills on sling/hammock, and translate this to aerial chains. I’ve been obsessed with chains for the past few months and I rarely see them performed. My plan is to start training on this after the student show season concludes. You can follow me on Instagram to see my journey! Wish me luck.. I’ve heard that they are very painful, but really so is any apparatus when you first start. You just have to get used to it.
Think about where I want to go as an artist
I never thought I would be at this point when I started circus. The idea of performing, spinning, dropping, and bending all over a metal hoop just seemed so distant to me when I got on a trapeze for the first time. Seeing how far I’ve come in only 2 years has been surprising and very empowering. There has never been a day where I’ve walked into Aloft and felt like I didn’t want to be there. Despite any emotional hardships, physical hangups, or even just a lack of energy hasn’t stopped me from doing this thing that I love so much. As I enter 2026, I want to think about where I want to take this journey as a progress my training.
2026 is the year of the Horse. While the year of the Snake was about transformation and leaving things behind that were hinderances, this year will be about dynamic changes, progress, and success. I hope to full encompass that philosophy in my mindset and training.