Once the girls from the youth class were shuffled out, our instructor, Jill, gathered us in a circle in the middle of the room for introductions and a warm up.

I finally took the leap in September of 2014 and committed to an eight-week adult beginner course at The Flowjo in Carrboro, NC. I had no aspirations of becomingВ a performer, but the fabric acrobatics called to me to break the monotony of the gym, give meВ an unconventionalВ hobby strictly for my own enjoyment, and challenge meВ to move in ways I never had before. I had wanted to try aerial silks since I first watchedВ the incredible acrobats in a Cirque du Soleil showВ 14 years ago. We waited quietly, introducing ourselves and asking each other вЂњHave you ever done this before?вЂќ вЂњNo, have you?вЂќ as we stared up at the intimidating silks, trapezes and hoops hanging from ceiling beams. I darted through to joinВ the women my ageВ sitting to the side of the room. A 4вЂІ glittery spandex tornado whizzed around a table as more parents hastily signed waivers. I strolledВ across the street with mustered confidence that disappeared when I opened the door. Little girls in leotards bounced through the door, their parents chasing after them with tiny jackets and boots. Heartsinspyre is one of only 4 entities in Seattle that has paid and been vetted through the process of procuring an open flame permit by the Fire Marshal though this event we would likely follow flow as in do whatever other cities are doing in solidarity as it appears to be only flow.The gravel crunched under my tires as I parkedВ across the street from a nondescript door. IвЂ™ve been active in the circus/flow scene here ever since and also have been a part of producing 2 major theatrical productions, 1 we staged 5 times (same title/story but produced bi-annually), and the past year or two IвЂ™ve been a monthly club promoter and produced a cabaret show. I was a DPW project manager for B-man for 5 years up until 2004 when I came back to Seattle. I have a degree in theatre and in the span of my career IвЂ™ve established 2 fire troupes, been in 3, and 3 circuses, 1 in SF (Mystic Family). On me I started doing Fire performance before the word Flow or even Poi was ever used in 1997. I WANNA CO-ORDINATE A FLOW SHOW SEATTLE!!! Along with my troupe and business partners in Heartsinspyre Entertainment who are involved in and would be open to the whole community generally established under the banner Seattle Fire Gate who organizes the bi-monthly event Spinurn (spin/burn) Your local arts council would also be a good place to seek out resources. If you are looking to do this as a nonprofit, the national organization Fractured Atlas would be a good place to research what you need to do, and also they provide fiscal sponsorship services, which is a first step that most new nonprofit entities take (including ourselves). With our Seed Fund program, we seek to support projects that are firmly rooted in a nonprofit model, and they can be educational or artistic in nature, but they cannot be a commercial enterprise. Otherwise, the avenues for funding available to you would be the same as for any small business owner. In order to qualify for a grant from us or anyone, you would have to be a non-profit. Aside from circus schools, there arenвЂ™t a whole lot of spaces dedicated to what we do so we applaud you for taking this on. Exciting news about your studio! As the Flow Arts become more a part of peopleвЂ™s lives and get known by a broader community, we imagine that spaces like the one you describe will be more and more necessary! There arenвЂ™t many right now, we know of the Flowjo in Carrboro, NC and a space being developed in New York.

Flowjo carrboro nc