People upside-down, suspended in mid-air with only brightly colored silks as support describes a typical aerials class Brittany Storm, an instructor and performer at Cirque de Vol Studios, teaches in downtown.
Storm began teaching and performing for the studio, which specializes in circus arts and yoga, last year.
According to Storm, her “daredevil” nature started when she was born in the middle of a Colorado blizzard, which gave rise to the name “Storm,” her soon to be legal name.
“My father put me in gymnastics to keep me from breaking bones on the playground,” Storm said. “I was wild as a kid, and my father said I needed somewhere to put my energy.”
After years of practice, she went on to coach gymnastics for 15 years and opened up a gym in Apex with a friend.
But then Cirque de Vol came along, asking to teach aerial silk classes at her gym. After meeting Cirque de Vol co-owner Sara Phoenix, she knew she had to learn as much about the craft as she could, so she started taking lessons with the circus school.
Phoenix opened the studio about two years ago with her sister, Sheryl Howell. Already a hoop dancing performer and instructor, a few friends had invited her to go fire dancing at McConnell Studios in Raleigh.
“I was just totally excited, enthralled and entranced,” Phoenix said.
Then at a dance retreat for compositional improvisation, Phoenix came up with the idea of creating a studio after the instructor asked her to think about what she wanted to create.
Phoenix said she started an Indiegogo campaign to raise money for the project and received other generous donations, such as $5,000 from a woman who saw her perform and $10,000 from a private investor.
“We received a big response from the community saying we believe in this dream and we want to make it happen,” Phoenix said.
Before the studio even opened, Phoenix said she and her sister gained a following by teaching weekend classes at Kings Barcade in downtown Raleigh among other places.
Now at home at 300 W. Hargett St., the studio offers acrobatics, trapeze, aerial hoop, aerial silks, hand balancing, hoop dancing, Zumba and youth classes. It also offers a wide range of yoga classes at its studio next door called Celestine Movement Arts.
Sophomore biochemistry student Cassidy Slabaugh organized a trip to Cirque de Vol a few weeks ago with a group of University Scholars students, and now takes an aerial silk class there taught by Storm.
“It was so much fun,” Slabaugh said. “You just feel like you’re flying, as cliché as it sounds, and it’s almost like it’s stress-relieving, but it’s still testing you at the same time.”
Slabaugh chose to take aerial silks because it’s something most people haven’t heard of and it plays to her strengths of flexibility, unlike traditional forms of exercise, which often value tallness or speed, according to her.
“The experience itself is just awesome,” Slabaugh said. “Not a lot of people get that opportunity to do something like that, and circus arts are something a lot of people recognize, but don’t get to try, or maybe they don’t think that it’s available. Cirque de Vol is a place where they make it available to you.”
In addition to aerial silks, Slabaugh tried her hand at one aerial boot camp class.
“We had some silks and trapeze, and we did pull-ups and stuff, and so I did get to try hanging on to a trapeze,” Slabaugh said. “The trapeze is really painful because you’re holding on, but it was fun, and I definitely want to try to take some more intro courses with the other equipment.”
Storm said people come to these classes from all walks of life and fitness levels, including one acrobatics student who walks miles every Tuesday—no matter the weather—to and from class. Storm said she has seen this student improve since she started taking her class.
“When she started, she was not at the most peak physical level, but she was willing to come and try, and I’ve seen her accomplish lots and lots of things since I’ve started with her,” Storm said. “The fact that the drive for her to walk all the way to and all the way [back] from class every week is probably the one thing that stands out the most when it comes to my students.”
Storm said she appreciates the sense of community Cirque de Vol provides her.
“Everyone is open and sharing and willing to collaborate with each other,” Storm said. “There’s no drama or ugliness that happens. Everyone is full of heart and super talented and caring, and it’s kind of a place for me to go and escape. It’s my escape from real life even though it is my job.”
Phoenix said Cirque de Vol motivates people and trains them to become “everyday superheroes.”
“A lot of folks become really empowered, and more come, and it’s really cool to see the transformation,” Phoenix said.
For more information about Cirque de Vol classes or upcoming performances, visit www.cirquedevol.com. For more about Storm’s classes and performances, visit www.stormycircus.com.
Instructor Brittany Storm demonstrates a move in a youth aerial silks class at Cirque de Vol. The circus arts studio is located in downtown Raleigh on Hargett Street and offers various circus classes such as aerial silks, acrobatics, trapeze and hoop dancing.
