So. You’re a bazillion miles away from a coach, much less a circus school. Aside from gluing yourself to YouTube and Instagram, what options do you have for learning? Turns out, more than you may think.

Your Options Spelled Out

Back in the olden days, before the circus revolution in the US, we had two options: Montreal, San Francisco. Small circus enclaves existed elsewhere, but unless you got lucky, you didn’t find them. Fast forward to now, where it seems a new aerial school is sprouting on every corner, and it’s a whole new world! You have more options for training than ever before – and that’s crazy exciting. BUT, you might not be near a studio, or despise the coaches that are in your area. Legit. What’s a circus lover to do?

• Move. I’m not kidding. When I decided I wanted to be a career circus performer, I moved – first to California, then to Montreal. If you want to perform full time, a dedicated program might be a great fit for you. Consider packin’ it up, and moving to be a part of a program or school.
• Commute. I have a 90 minute commute each way to teach, so I’ll admit – I’m not the person who’s gonna give you a lot of sympathy when you complain that the nearest circus classes are 45 minutes away (love you lots!). If you can’t commute weekly, what CAN you commit to? Monthly training is better than no training.
• Train-cations and Intensives. Like to travel? Nearest school a flight away? Try to schedule a few “train-cations” each year, or create an intensive for yourself.
• Skype. We live in the future, friends! Many coaches, myself included, offer Skype sessions to help with technique, vocabulary, and a variety of other sticky wickets. It does NOT replace hands-on coaching, but can help to tide you over until you’re able to train with a teacher again. Most teachers have an evaluation process to see if you’re a good candidate (aka not going to kill yourself in the first 30 minutes), and are strict about safety measures (always train with a friend, proper rigging & matting, low and slow, etc).
• Books, manuals, and online resources. There are a number of phenomenal books (my faves come from Rebekah Leach), blogs, newsletters, and forums for everything from aerial work to rigging. Again – they don’t REPLACE your coach, but they can supplement your training in helpful ways.
• YouTube and Instagram. You need to be at a certain training level to meaningfully grow your vocabulary off the internet. It’s no secret that I’m not a huge fan of students sourcing material & attempting to recreate it on their own, but let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Seeing what others are doing is fabulously inspiring! I think where online sharing really shines is when it helps us understand what we’re doing in classes a bit better – online tutorials, examples of other performers work, etc can inform our training in tons of helpful ways. BUT, don’t think for even a second that an online tutorial or a trick you swiped off Instagram replaces a coach. Train with live humans every chance you get.

But Laura, What About Safety?

Yep – I hear you. A few years ago, I took a great rigging workshop with Brett Copes. One thing that really stayed with me was the “cliff concept”. Imagine a cliff, with a steep drop off; every step we take back from the edge of that cliff is progress. Knowledge, understanding, and community all serve to take us a couple more steps away from the edge, and that’s a good thing. I liken it to abstinence-only education – you can tell the people not to try stuff they’ve seen on the interwebs, or not to train unless they have a good coach, but you guys – it’s happening. I hate that it’s happening, but it’s happening. If a student has to choose between training on their own with no input, or training with a skype coach and getting some input, I’ll always come down on the side of some input. BUT.

Students, hear me now. Nothing – nothing – replaces training with a good coach. In person. Private lessons are better than group, group are better than virtual, virtual is better than none. Training with a good coach will get you to your destination faster, with less wasted time and money, and GREATLY reduces the risk of injury – catastrophic, repetitive stress, and otherwise. I can always spot a self-taught aerialist – it’s in the technique. Do your damnedest to get to classes with real humans!!! But step awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay from that edge in every way you can. Love and pull-ups, Laura