At The Aerial Lab, we follow a scientific approach to the aerial arts. We believe that safety and understanding are the strongest foundations to building a knowledge of aerial dance and circus performance, regardless of apparatus. In our classes you will experience:
  • How and why your body moves how it does
  • How your movement is unique from other people's, and how to work with YOUR body
  • A syllabus based upon 15+ years of combined aerial teaching experience
  • The physics of aerial apparatus motion
  • A detailed understanding of wraps/movements through both theory and experience
  • Safe laboratory experimentation - we teach common moves for basic training, and guide experienced aerialists through the creation of choreography and unique movements
  • New aerial equipment design and creation
  • PLAY PLAY PLAY PLAY PLAY!
  • How motion becomes art...

Jerusha "Juice" Victoria
Jerusha (Juice) has trained in several dance forms for over 30 years, and added aerial to her studies over a decade ago. She has performed with AirAligned Aerial Dance group in all of their full-length performances, performed fire with Beyond Fire Tribe for the last 5 years, (including a fire lyra act), and has done countless solo aerial performances.

In 2009 Jerusha completed a year long self-directed Aerial Intensive in Colorado with many great teachers, including Cathy Gauch of Aircat Aerial Arts, teachers from Frequent Flyers Productions, the former Denver Aerial Arts, Aerial Fabric Acrobatics, and many others. She also has had the opportunity to take workshops with some of the most inventive aerialists in the industry. In recent years, Jerusha has been focusing on refining her dance training in ballet, jazz, hip hop and tap, and on bringing techniques from those forms into her aerial performances.
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Jerusha's teaching philosophy embodies helping students to truly understand what is happening in the air with their equipment and bodies, and she believes in giving students the tools to go forward and create innovations in their own aerial practice so that they may further develop the art of aerial dance. As an RN, she is fascinated with the body, and as a quantifiable science geek, she is excited to bring together an understanding of the mechanics of the body, and the beauty of physics.

Lucy "Looby" Haynes
Lucy began her aerial dance training with AirAligned Aerial Dance group in early 2009 and began teaching and performing within the first couple of years. She has performed in feature-length productions, local dance shows and many festivals and events. Having started her aerial career at 25 with only a varied, non-specific physically-active background, Lucy believes firmly that the human body is capable of much more than we often give it credit for and insists that age is no real barrier to learning this art form.
 
Originally from England, Lucy studied Business at the University of Wales (Hogwarts?) and has since traveled extensively. She moved to Nevada City to immerse herself further in a world of outdoor education, child development and psychology at Camp Augusta, and has been involved in their program now for 12 years. She has been the director of their aerial program for 8 years – introducing aerial silks, aerial rope, aerial bungee, bungee trapeze, lyra and aerial yoga to their already adventurous repertoire. She is inspired by seeing children and adults push themselves beyond the limits that they feel are possible.
 
Lucy has been working with children in this unique environment of personal development and adventure since 2006, and works closely with the Camp Director – Randall Grayson PHD – one of the most renowned authorities in child development and camping in the country.
 
In order to marry this love for child development and the human body, Lucy is also currently pursuing a Masters in Nutrition, and in her spare time thrives in teaching movement, fitness, health and art to a willing crowd.
 
Lucy has immersed herself in extensive aerial dance training through a variety of teachers, aerial schools and programs across the country, including: Athletic Playground, Kinetic Arts, Boulder Circus Center, Aerial Dance Festival (Boulder, CO), Wailana Simcock, The Aerial Classroom, The Loft, Rain Anya and Sarah BeBe (Paperdoll Militia), Rebekah Leach, Tanya Burka, Paige Wyatt, AirAligned and many more.

Sara Visvader
Sara has an extensive and eclectic background in dance, martial arts, and movement that she loves sharing in order to help people explore new ways to be creative, have fun, and feel good! 

In 2010, Sara began learning aerial dance at Kalani Oceanside Retreat Center in Hawaii with Wailana Simcock of Wai Company. These classes combined modern dance techniques with aerial dance. She trained there for three years and then later taught aerial dance as well. During this time she also learned from several aerial dance teachers at Seaview Performing Arts Center for Education (S.P.A.C.E.) and performed at different aerial theater and live music events .  She also performed with several fire-dance performance groups based in Hawaii that appeared at festivals like the Alchemeyez Visionary Art Congress (2010 and 2011), and other private functions. 

Sara has gone yearly to Colorado to train with teachers at Frequent Flyers Aerial Dance Company,  at their annual Aerial Dance Festival (with teachers from around the world) and the Boulder Circus Center.  She has also more recently been learning from and performing with various members of the AirAligned Aerial Dance Group in Grass Valley, California. 

In 2014 Sara trained as a yoga teacher at the Shambhava Yoga Ashram in Kona, Hawaii. In 2016 she also did an Aerial Yoga teacher training with Aircat Aerial Arts in Boulder, CO. She has taught yoga to troubled teens at the Pacific Quest wilderness therapy program in Naalehu, Hawaii. Teaching yoga, aerial yoga, and aerial silks is also part of her present (seasonal) job at Camp Augusta in Nevada City, California.  

​Sara’s goal as a teacher is to share her excitement for dance and movement and help her students learn technique, alignment, and breath awareness and bring their inner creativity alive through movement.

Paige Wyatt

Paige Wyatt is an Aerialist, A Yoga Teacher, A Healer, an Artist and a Poet. She's been an Acrobat almost as long as she's been a human. She has been somersaulting and standing on her head longer than she’s been able to read and write. She was a gymnast and Spring Board Diver in her youth. Her 20’s took her on a journey through the extreme sports world which landed her firmly in the Yoga and Circus Arts. She now teaches and performs Vertical Rope, Aerial Cube, and Aerial Yoga. She has directed small community circus shows for the past seven years.
 
Paige is an uplifting and inspiring teacher. Being a professional Circus Performer she has the ability to bring students to her level and beyond. Her aerial instructors include Kevin O’Connor and Terry Crane from the National Circus School in Montreal. Being a yoga instructor gives her a unique style of teaching Circus which cultivates compassion and self love. She encourages students to work where they are at physically and give themselves the space to learn being free of self criticism. She is deeply passionate about teaching and finds the process of helping each student attain their goals fascinating and extremely rewarding.

​Paige has developed her own Aerial Program specializing in Vertical Rope and Aerial Yoga. She teaches students of all ages and all ability levels. Having recently moved to Grass Valley, CA she is excited and honored to have joined the crew at The Aerial Lab. She works to inspire others to reach beyond what they think they can do and find that they can fly!