Our student profile this month is on a young lady named Katie, who is a 10-year-old aerial silks student
here at Be. I met Katie as she bounced up to me excitedly after an after-school kids aerials class with a
bright smile, and we sat down on the studio’s patio to talk about what practicing at Be has done for her.
Katie, like a lot of kids, has tried many sports: soccer, ballet, gymnastics, karate- but most of them didn’t
really stick due to schedule conflicts. Katie really likes the accessibility and flexibility of aerial silks since
she has a silk to practice on at home, and there are classes throughout the day at Be she can drop into
when she has the time. She says that she feels much stronger in her body since picking up an aerial
practice, but her Mom and teachers note that she has also developed emotionally from her aerial
practice as well.

Katie’s mom Lauren said of Katie that aerial classes have given her a confidence and self-assuredness she
hadn’t quite owned yet. Like many parents, Lauren always told Katie how strong and capable she is, but
she said that aerial classes allowed Katie to experience first-hand how strong and capable she truly is.
Additionally, Lauren said that now Katie has seen that even when things are hard or complicated and
challenging, that she has the capacity to work through it. Indeed, Katie remarked that some students
“are able to get drops on their first class, but she had to practice at the inverts and drops for a couple
weeks before she was able to do them, even though she was scared at first.” Like many of us, Katie can
be a touch anxious at times, and aerials helps her get out of her head a little bit, Lauren explained: “it’s
hard to get wrapped up in what you said in front of class or how much math homework you have to do
when you have to pull yourself up and flipping and twisting.” Katie loves aerials so much that she has
hosted a birthday party at the studio, and has gotten a couple of her friends into it as well! Bonding with
other students in the aerials community, along with harnessing her own power has been a source of a lot
of growth for Katie, and if you think your child could use a movement practice to breathe fresh life into
their routine, the kid’s aerials classes are a great place to start.

 What inspired you to try an aerial class?

My mom wanted me to try something new and I had seen it before and thought it was really cool, and my mom said “I signed you up” so I went.

How did you feel about your first class?

I saw others inverting and thought I wouldn’t be able to do it because it seemed really hard. I thought I was in the wrong class because I saw other students doing a bunch of really hard stuff

How do you feel about performing?

I love performing, I do a lot of plays and stuff

What motivates you to keep coming back to class?

I learned how to do the tricks that I thought were hard at first and I learned to trust myself and the hammock.

How do you feel about coming to class now?

I love it! I never want to leave class. It’s still scary sometimes but so fun and I get to be creative.

What’s your favorite part of class?

I like learning new tricks

What’s your favorite trick?

My favorite trick is cat’s cradle

What would you tell a new student who was thinking about trying a class but was feeling nervous?

I would tell them that they should give it a try! If they don’t like it, they don’t have to come back… but I think that they’ll like it!