1. Fun Exercise
The thing about aerial arts is, it’s SUPER fun. If you have any trouble motivating yourself to go to the gym or go for a run, you may actually find aerial to be a perfect fit for you. There are all kinds of physical and mental challenges and puzzles to keep you engaged and interested, and there are so many different skills to work on! Getting a new skill in aerial always feels amazing, and you will never feel like you are merely “working out.” Meanwhile, you’ll find yourself building muscle, gaining flexibility, and feeling more and more body aware.
2. Community
It’s a really special feeling to be upside down and talking to your friend who is hanging by one ankle. Training aerial with others is an amazing way to make new friends and build relationships with people you may have otherwise never met. Because you are all working on challenging skills together, it is easy to connect and form bonds. If you perform together, you will get some amazing feelings of collaboration, encouragement, and excitement.
3. Confidence
Once you start to learn how to wrap yourself up into pretty shapes, drop 10 feet from the ceiling, and climb so skillfully you rank among primates, your confidence can’t help but blossom. Aerial arts show us that we are capable of more than we ever thought. We really CAN be that magical person hanging from the ceiling looking like outright royalty. We really CAN climb to the top relying only on our own strength, and we really CAN become experts in what is safe and what is not. Aerial arts are amazing for bolstering confidence and self-esteem as we overcome challenge after challenge.
4. Creativity
Aerial arts open up worlds of possibility. You can dream up any act you want. An apparatus has the power to organize our creative minds, providing structure at the same time as it offers endless possibilities. Even if you’re not choreographing a performance, you will find that opportunities for creative movement are always at hand. How many ways can you move on your apparatus? How many different ways can you think to wrap up a single skill on silks? The imagination can run free in aerial arts.
5. Become a Professional Aerialist?!
You can take aerial arts to whatever level you want. If you train with discipline and consistency, you can become a paid performer or a professional instructor. You might be able to find performance gigs locally or you could travel the world. It all starts with that first day in the studio. Beyond that, even the sky’s not the limit!
Why do you train, or want to train aerial? What makes you say YES to this challenging and rewarding art?
