6 things I wish I knew before becoming a professional aerialist
Shot from a gig at the One world observatory , 102nd floor with Cirque Central 💖
Being a professional dancer for work was my main goal in life since I was a weeee little babyyy. Ciara was an icon to me, and her music videos literally had me watching them on repeat. The movie “Step up“ for some reason made me believe I had what it takes to be a successful dancer (😂). Did I ever imagine I would be an aerialist? Absolutely not.. Like I could never have imagined this - especially since I didn't find pole or aerial until I was in my 20’s. But I thank sweet baby Jesus and all the stars in the universe for youtube, as watching Felix Cane (one of the best pole dancers in the world) is what sent me on the path to finding this career. It has truly been the light of my life that has saved me in so many ways and challenged me in even more.
Now because being an aerialist is soooo niche, and soooo expensive, and soooo dangerous, and sooooo competitive - there are soOo0O many things about choosing this career that I did not know ahead of time that I really REALLY wish somebody told me. I did have mentors, but there were some things that you can’t exactly tell someone about unless you create some type of guide and write it all down. There is so much to remember and consider , and what is important to you may be less or more important to someone else. But I tend to be a very detail oriented person when it comes to giving information, so when I receive information I really prefer it to be detailed so that I can ease my anxiety of not knowing something that would eventually cause me stress or lead me to make a mistake I could have avoided.
SO, without further or due - let’s get into some things I wish I knew prior to becoming an aerialist for work! First up issssss
TAXES!! : Oh my lord. Oh gooooooood grief. I really really wish someone encouraged me from early on in my career to understand what is necessary to have an easy breezy tax season, the upkeep it takes, the detail it takes, and just how much damn money it is going to cost you!!! I work for about 7 different entertainment companies, and per 1099 that you have to file - it can cost anywhere between $60-$90 PER 1099 to get filed. Ya’ll.. I was not ready!! I was not ready for how steep not only the payment to get your taxes done would be, but the work it takes to track every single expense, and not to mention because you’re an independent contractor and your income is not tax deducted, you have to pay the government usually if you do not claim enough to offset what you owe!!! My first year being a full time aerialist and doing my taxes was… a time. Ion wanna talk about it 😩. So my advice to you? Create a spread sheet in google, log every single thing you purchase applicable to your career. Down to the hair accessories, massages, makeup, food, gas, space rentals, classes, gym membership, tolls, gas mileage, etc etc. And the most important one - SAVE.YOUR.COINS! Sis, please put money aside from every paycheck for your upcoming taxes you are going to have to pay. If you take any of my advice from this blog, save your damn money shorty.
Physical Upkeep and Respect : You must , and I mean mustttt - have a cross training and a body work plan. When you do this for work, not only are you training heavily and working long sets, but you are now going to be subject to very painful costuming. I did not understand how important this was in the beginning, and I injured myself so often. Cross training is going to keep you in the game longer, make you stronger in your craft, and with less injuries because you're creating a well balanced foundation - especially considering how upper body focused and how one side dominant it can get (especiallyyy for my pole dancers!). Cross train in the gym. Make sure to offset all your pulling with push exercises. Train your legs. Strength train with dumbbells. Resistance train your core. Do your CAR’s. Do your mobility. Take epsom salt baths. And for the love of Jod, do not skip out on soft tissue work! Can’t afford massages? That's ok, a lacrosse ball is known as a poor man's masseuse, and it is literally the reason I am still in the game today! You are putting your body through incredible hardship, you are an athlete. If you do not take care of your home, your body, it will fail you (because you failed it). This is your vessel we’re talking about, where you will reside until your time will come. Treat her with gratitude, with love, with respect and admiration for all she allows you to do. Treat her as a sacred temple, because she is one! The only one you will get. I will be releasing some type of video or guide on all of my favorite workouts and movement preps that I deem essential for me as an aerialist - stay tuned!
Networking - Support - Connection : When you are in a small niche community, it so very important that you go to any and all events you can attend that are created by people you admire. Try all different studios and classes with different instructors. Support any and all events happening in your community that are run by people in your community. Not only because they’re literally creating a space for artists to exist and show their art, but because it is such a beautiful way to meet people. Connections are one of the biggest ways to get work, to meet lifelong friends, mentors, and even life changing experiences . It is all about who you know. Being outgoing and easy to talk to takes you sooo far in this industry! An interesting truth about the circus world is that it is not always the most talented artists who get booked for work, it’s usually the one with the most connections (OF COURSE you need a baseline of skill and technique). Plus, supporting the community that supports you is like watering the tree you enjoy eating the fruit from. It is how we can show our love for this beautiful culture that we were fortunate enough to have found and benefit from in this lifetime.
Bullies and Meangirls : An unfortuneate truth is they exist everywhere. Being a bully or a mean girl doesn’t just disappear when you get older. In fact, sometimes it festers even more as we age. It gets more sneaky, manipulative, and subtle. Being an aerialist is a highly competitive line of work. If someone deems you as a threat to their work, they will act accordingly to their mean girl programming. My biggest advice that I can offer is to be so vibrant, welcoming, and authentically yourself that it is blinding to the darkness. Darkness cannot live where there is light. Radiate kindness, empathy, and authenticity. Meditation and journaling allow me to self audit and ground myself regularly. Furthermore, I believe in being the example of how I wish the world were to operate. So when and if I make a mistake, I take full accountability and put my ego to the side. Something many bullies never had examples of growing up. In my experience, bullying is usually always an expression of low self esteem, low self worth, or fear. So I have found that when you create a safe space of “this is me, this is exactly what I stand for, and this is the truth” , they feel safe enough to let the mean act go for a while. Their walls fall down, and they slowly become warm. Now if someone is outright targeting you and being cruel - that’s a whole nother ballgame. I am lucky enough to not have really encountered that behavior to a large extent. But my block and disengage game is STRONG. I encourage that for you as well 😉 But when it comes to the aerial world and the world in general, just do onto other as you would have them do onto you. Be the example.
Being a creator is soul work: I - as an individual - have never come across so many personal challenges and obstacles than when I started creating acts, producing shows and teaching workshops. When it came to advertising myself and taking my creative ideas seriously?? Wow I was not prepared for internal obstacles I would face. When you are your bussiness, there is a special kind of vulnerability that comes with the territory. After all, everything I am creating is an extension of me. It is me bearing a piece of my soul for the whole world to see. It is a mirror. If a workshop doesn’t sell out , if a concept doesn’t get recieved well, if something was executed incorrectly, it’s on ME. Theres no one to blame. No corporation or fellow employees to push the project on. I am the CEO, the marketing team, director, the accounting department, it’s all ME. This is what initially drew me to this career, the freedom and the ability to answer to no one. But it takes incredible drive, direction, discipline, honesty, integrity, and self work to find your way. I have come face to face with insecurity and uncertainty more times than I can count, and from 100 different angles. Just when I start to feel confident in one area, another one is shown to me that needs love. So, my advice to you is to not skimp out on soul work. Like deep work. What aspects of yourself would you like to improve one? Read books about it, listen to podcasts about it, journal about it, medidate on it. Educate yourself and make it a regular practice to do a self audit about the type of person you wish to be. This is something I guarntee you will see make the biggest difference in your creative indevours.
Know your values, because not all money is good money:In my earlier days of performing when I was just eager to get work, there was a time when I would work for an individual and his entertainment company even though my gut told me that he was not a safe man to work for. I’m a great judge of character, and my first feelings are usually always spot on about someone. Now he never put me in any type of danger, but he did say or do rude and inconsiderate things to me and to other people while working with him, and he would often try to soften you up while booking you - such as promising pay bumps in the future for certain scenarioes that never happened. He would say sneaky and low ball insults to people occasionally. These things never go unnoticed by me. So that told me he’s a manipulative liar from jump. What sealed the deal was one day at an event, I witnessed him scream at the top of his lungs cursing, insulting, belittling, and bullying a women he used to date and own the company with. She still worked as entertainment and still helped book gigs, so they continued to work together. Mind you, he did this all while we were actively at an event. With customers and guests everywhere. I remember walking by seeing that, stopping to stare in disbelief, and when he made eye contact with me he immediatly stopped yelling at her. I made sure he knew that I saw him. I had to work a second event with him that same day as I was contractually obligated, but I knew that after these events I would never work for him again. At the second event he made sure to play the extra super nice guy. He knew my perception of him was tainted for good and his grounded cool dude who “went to India” act was ruined - and yet he still found ways to say rude things to this woman and be mean. Injustice is something I will never tolerate. The values that I choose to live my life by will always come first. I don’t care how much money I would be offered, I don’t care if I was behind on bills. He has a dark character, he is a dark energy, he’s an abusive manipulative person, he is a dark person, and the light that I carry I will hold precious. I will never work with abusive people or establishments. No matter the clout attached, no matter the “stakes“, because not all money is good money - and if you choose to overlook it all for a paycheck ? (pay wasn’t even all that grand to begin with) - Well you just checked your soul at the door. Your morals and values might as well mean nothing. No matter how desperate you are to work, please understand that who you associate yourself with is a reflection of your character. Choose who you work for wisely, if not for me - for yourself.
What are your core values that you choose to live your life by? Write them down on a sticky note and put it somewhere you will always see. Keep them at the forfront of your mind, so that you may always live in accordance with them.
Thank you for being here 💖
With Love,
Katie Torres
