INTO THE ORB

Orbsoul Community Spotlight Series

Kristen’s Aerial Journey: Weaving Art and Strength. Student Roots to Aerial Champion.

A New Path Unveils

Kristen has always been drawn to creativity—whether it was drawing, painting, or playing music. Dance first called to her during her time at the University of Ottawa, but it wasn’t until 2020 that a friend invited her into the world of aerial arts. Here, she discovered a practice that wove together everything she loved.

"I was immediately hooked. Aerial combined everything I loved: strength, expression, creativity, and discipline. I found myself able to communicate emotion while pushing my body physically and engaging my mind in new, technical ways. It was the perfect fusion of art and athleticism, and it sparked a passion that continues to grow."

That passion carried Kristen onto a new path in life as an aerialist. What began as curiosity grew into a calling—one that reshaped her journey, both personally and professionally. She has since embraced the role of performer, teacher, and leader, guiding inclusive classes that welcome students of all levels while also stepping into the spotlight earning multiple aerial championship titles. Defined by creativity and resilience, her story continues to unfold in powerful ways.

Crafting Stories in the Air

Kristen’s aerial expertise spans across multiple apparatuses, each offering a unique way to explore and master aerial movement. Silks were her first introduction to aerial arts. Then she quickly fell in love with the versatility of lyra, which remains her favorite to train, perform, and teach. Static trapeze, with its balance of strength and artistry, rounds out her top three disciplines.

Kristen thrives on experimentation: the playful challenge of mini lyra, the elegant geometry of aerial sphere, and the daring rawness of chains. Lately, she has been drawn to dance trapeze for its unique blend of fabric and bar, a hybrid space that opens new creative possibilities. While aerial silks will always hold sentimental value, Kristen finds herself most at home on bar apparatuses, wrapping herself around the steel and transforming the stage into her canvas.

For Kristen, performance begins with a story. She starts by choosing a theme and identifying the skills that highlight her strength, flexibility, and dynamics. From there, music becomes the heartbeat of her piece—its swells, drops, and tempo changes guiding her storytelling. She layers in character and emotional tone, shaping transitions, and facial expressions to reflect her piece.

"For example, I might use slower, more flowing movement to express sadness, and shift into sharper, more staccato dynamics to show anger or intensity."

The Path to Becoming an Aerial Instructor

Kristen trains hard. She dedicates 7–11 hours a week, splitting her time between choreography for performances, experiencing new movements, and apparatus-specific conditioning. This paired with regular stretching and four weekly strength sessions targeting lats, arms, core, glutes, and hamstrings—the muscles essential for both power and longevity in the air.

For Kristen, cross-training has been key, with hamstring conditioning unlocking even greater flexibility in splits. With several years of dedicated training and refined expertise, stepping into the role of aerial instructor was a natural progression.

In 2023, Kristen completed the instructor mentorship program at her home studio, 3Sixty Dance and Fitness. Through this program, she refined her spotting techniques, observed diverse teaching approaches, and gained the knowledge to lead inclusive, effective classes for a wide range of students.

Kristen's teaching style creates a learning environment where students feel both challenged and empowered to grow.

"I believe in balancing more difficult tricks or transitions—which help build strength and expand skill sets—with more accessible moves that offer a sense of immediate accomplishment. It’s incredibly rewarding to see students succeed. There’s joy in nailing a trick for the first time and there’s something truly special about watching someone achieve a goal they’ve been working toward for weeks. That kind of progress builds not just ability, but confidence—and that’s what I aim to cultivate in every class."

Kristen's favorite class to teach: Advanced Hoop. "I love the challenge it presents—not just for my students, but for me as an instructor. Teaching pushes me to keep exploring new movement patterns and creative transitions that will continue to challenge and inspire my students."

Soaring to Victory: Aerial Championships

Congratulations to Kristen, who has earned not one but two championship titles in regional aerial competitions. Despite multiple wins, Kristen admits that she’s always shocked to place. "For me, competing is not only about medals and winning, but also about growth and measuring progress against my past self."

Kristen leverages competitions as a driving goal and a testament to her personal progress. Through competing, she sees how far she has come and the growth, and the feedback she receives along the way, is the true reward for her.

Winning is exciting, of course, and once the adrenaline rush wears off, she feels lasting gratitude for her journey, her coaches, fellow performers, her students, and friends and family. "Every routine I create is shaped by the people who support and inspire me, and I owe so much of my success to them."

Kristen’s Guidance for New Aerialists

1. Never give up—everyone starts somewhere. Struggle is a part of the journey in reaching your goals.
2. You don't need to be naturally strong to start. We all get stronger by training and working on aerials.
3. Very few people start out as strong or flexible as they eventually become.
4. Progress isn’t always linear. Some weeks you’ll see a lot of growth and achievement, while other weeks might feel like nothing is working, and that’s completely normal.
5. Every step, no matter how big or small, is a victory and worth celebrating.
6. The key is to stick with it, because you never know how far you’ll go.

Balancing Passion and Sustainability in Aerial Arts

Kristen shares "One of the greatest challenges professional aerialists face in present day is sustainability of performing as a full-time career. More opportunities need to exist to allow performers to fully support themselves financially through aerial arts alone." Kristen feels fortunate to have a full-time job that provides stability and flexibility to perform and pursue her passion on the side, but she knows this isn’t the reality for everyone.

Kristen adds that another important issue that often goes unspoken is the pressure to perform through injury. It's such a physically demanding art form, it can be tempting, or even expected to push through pain in order to meet expectations or maintain opportunities.

"I've been very lucky to work with great companies like The Iron Cabaret and Olivia Carey Aerial Entertainment, both based in Ottawa, who truly prioritize performer health and safety."

Stepping in the Spotlight: Aerial Photography

One of Kristen’s greatest joys is collaborating with her friend and aerial photographer, Timpossible. Through their work together, she showcases her technical mastery while deepening her connection to aerial practice in a playful and expressive way.

"Finding the beauty in simple poses that can be held for a very long time and ensuring that lines are beautiful, toes are pointed and hands are "fancy" as we call it. The process really allows me to experiment with different variations and movement within a pose and the ability to create something new and unique."

The Future of Aerial Arts

Looking ahead, Kristen hopes to build an even more inclusive aerial community, one where everyone, regardless of age, strength, or body type, feels welcome and supported to grow.

“Aerials aren’t just a sport; they’re an art form, and art is something everyone can create, share, and interpret in their own way. I want everyone to know that you are capable of starting, growing, and achieving, regardless of where you begin."

Kristen's goal is to inspire aerialists to embrace the journey. Whether they are beginning in aerials or mastering advanced skills, it is important to ensure that the next generation of aerial artists know that they have a place of freedom in the air.