Weekend Classes 2025
WORKSHOPS
Directing and Creation Tools 
/ with Jennifer Patterson (2026)
TBC
TBC
/ with TBC (2026)
TBC
/ with TBC (2025)
CLASSES
Aerial Burlesque
/ with Emma D'Lemma (2026)
The art of the tease— in the air!
We will go over some beginner-intermediate friendly movements on silks, sling, and lyra and how to make them burlesque. There will also be a short talk about performance, stage presence, is it funny or sexy or both, and some history.
Be sure to wear a comfortable under layer that you will keep on, and feel free to bring any thigh high socks/ stockings, undies, bras, or anything you deem easy to remove to this class! I will also bring some things to share.
Prerequisites: some aerial experience preferred
Spin Lab
/ with Kat Doherty (2026)
Join me for this 90-minute spinning lab on aerial straps! If you don't love spinning, but you want to love spinning (or, you already love it but want to work on your technique!), we'll spend this time talking about how we condition our vestibular systems (for those who struggle with spinning faster and longer); and increasing speed and endurance for 1-arm and 2-arm spinning. Time permitting, we'll explore some accessible straps vocabulary that requires fast, strong spins (starting from flares as a foundation, up to inverted 1-arm positions).
Folks taking this workshop should be comfortable being weight-bearing on straps (on one arm or two arms) for at least thirty seconds or so!
Mental Health Skills for Circus Communities
/ with Janelle Peters @cirque_psych (2026)
Mental health struggles have been stigmatized in western culture, and in many athletic and other training spaces for generations. However, they are just as common as physical health struggles. This workshop helps coaches and students to dismantle stigma, and learn skills for supporting their students’ and classmates’ mental health while maintaining appropriate boundaries. Participants will gain vocabulary, specific strategies, and a better understanding of how common mental health difficulties can impact circus humans. You will leave feeling more confident and empowered to work with your community members even when they’re struggling, and with resources for when their needs exceed your capacity.
Intro to Contortion Technique
/ with Janelle Peters (Janelle Dinosaurs) (2026)
This class is for students who have a significant baseline level of flexibility and strength. We will begin to explore concepts of contortion technique, and progressions for working toward oversplits, deep backbends, and balances.
Pre-requisites are: Approaching flat splits on both sides. Toes to head in cobra. 1-minute hollow body hold, 1-minute reverse hollow body hold, 10 pushups. Participants who meet some but not all pre-req’s are encouraged to reach out to me for guidance on whether this workshop will be helpful for them.
*materials: please have on hand 2 yoga blocks, a foam roller and/or peanut, and a strap or resistance band.
Sensory Joy
/ with Alma Schlegel and Julie Anne O'Connell Kent (2026)
This 1.5 hour workshop will fuse Julie and Alma’s passion for expressive movement with an aerial apparatus. You will be guided to tune into your body: following sensations of movement, pressure, and release – subsequently allowing emotions to surface and take shape through motion.
No tough guy stuff here. You’ve been tough enough all week. This is a space to soften, explore, and reconnect.
Come find ease and joyful sensation in your apparatus of choice. We will move through gentle prompts designed to help you find an emotional connection to your apparatus and movements that feel right for you.
Think of this workshop as a fusion of a creative aerial class and a guided meditation session. Our intention is simple:
that you leave feeling warm, connected, and open.
Julie O’Connell Kent is a Chartered Counselling Psychologist who spends most of her time exploring grounded movement while up in the air. Her specialties are aerial silks and rope, and helping people find their own movement quality. Her workshop, Grounding The Aerialist, marries wellbeing practices with aerial movement.
Alma Charlotte is a multidisciplinary circus artist, coach, and psychodrama therapist in training, who has found her passion in the points of contact between creativity, body, and psyche. Authentic expression and a confident vulnerability are always her primary aims – on stage and as a teacher. Her workshop, Authentic Circus Practice for Everyone, aims at self-discovery through bodily expression and connection to the apparatus.
Hoops Spins & Flares
/ with Kat Doherty (2026)
This hoop class does exactly what it says on the tin: spinning and flares.
Untangled - Self-esteem and Body Image
/ with Emma Poole (2024)
Untangling the thoughts and stories about ourselves and our bodies. This workshop is for aerialists who are interested in learning more about self-esteem and body image, and how this impacts us in this unique aerial world. Emma will share her psychological research on this topic and explore ways of helping you feel better in your own skin. It will include discussions, journal prompts, and tools to help build a better relationship with your body and yourself.
All you need is pen and paper. We are not going in the air for this one.
Getting Your Shit Together
/ with Rachel Strickland (2024)
This workshop is for emerging and already working artists. It is designed to arm you with the best practices for a career as a professional physical performer, and how to succeed once you get there.
If this is your first time in the air, if you don’t know a straddle from a side-pickup, then this is the level for you. All classes are tailored for those who just want to give it a go. These can also be open level classes that adapt to all skill levels.
If you have caught the flying bug but are still very much learning your trade, this is your level. Typically these classes are for those who train in aerial at least two hours per week.
This is for confident and competent aerialists who know their stuff. If you are looking to improve your technique and find your own creative voice in the air, well, you’ve found your level right here. This level might require submission of a video to demonstrate skill.
For professionals or highly skilled practitioners only. These are exclusive classes taught by internationally renowned tutors. All classes at this level may require video submissions to demonstrate skill and suitability.