Learn to do aerial silk acrobatics.

“My first class was surprisingly hard. I went in feeling pretty confident that my flexibility and years of playing sports would help me not struggle too much. Since it was a Level 1 class, I was expecting everyone to be fairly similar beginners, but some of the others in the class had been there for at least a year. At first I was intimidated by everyone doing these incredibly hard skills, but then I realized how cool it was to see the progression of skills in people who had been there for different lengths of time. We started off the class with a warm up that included lots of core work, pull ups, and silk climbs (basically a rope climb) and I realized just how weak my upper body was. During that first class, I could barely climb, but now I can get halfway up the silks. It’s amazing to see how quickly the body can adapt and get stronger.”

“Having never attempted aerial silks before, I was surprised at how the essences of the practice — strength, balance, control, maybe a little showmanship — became immediately apparent. Once my fellow students and I had learned how to securely wrap a foot in silk, we practiced lifting ourselves off the ground and maneuvering around the taut fabric. The "aerial" part of the name is no joke. Although we were initially just lifting ourselves a short hop above the mats, we had to trust the setup. As a guy who's over 6 feet tall and comes from a family that doesn't trust wicker or molded plastic, I found myself instinctively flinching at the idea of putting my full weight on the hanging silks. My conscious mind, though, knew I was in good hands — and I lifted off, pulling myself upward and practicing the postures that Smith demonstrated. I'd seen aerial silk demonstrations before, and though I knew I was watching performers who were well-practiced, they always made the climbing part seem effortless. It is not. Although you may be flying in the silks, you're not a superhero. The only way to lift your body is to use your own muscles.”