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Life Academic

Balancing Act

For two faculty members, aerial arts improved not only their health, but, surprisingly, also their teaching.

When faculty Deanna Caveny and Lauren Hernandez-Rubio ’14 (M.S.) first found themselves hanging upside down in midair, they didn’t know what to expect. They certainly didn’t suspect that, suspended somewhere between athletics and the arts, they’d find an interplay of physics, anatomy, movement and performance – of strategy and creativity – that would provide both self-expression and professional perspective.

Those connections were grounded soon after they began studying aerial arts at Aerial Fit studio in Charleston.

“I was originally drawn to aerial arts because of its balance of strength and grace,” says Caveny, associate provost for faculty affairs and a mathematician. “As an academic, I live in my head. I wanted to become stronger physically, but I also wanted to find a little escape.”

Hernandez-Rubio knows the feeling: She was working on her dissertation when she joined her first aerial class several years ago.

“I needed a break,” says the adjunct biology faculty member. “I thought this would be a great new form of exercise, and it has been. Practicing and performing aerial arts has become an important part of my life, both as a source of personal fulfillment and as an avenue for creative self-expression.”

Hernandez-Rubio swears that she didn’t have the strength for one pull-up when she first started with Aerial Fit: hard to believe, considering the control, poise and grace she shows as she moves inside, outside and around her aerial apparatus of choice – the lyra, aka aerial hoop.

While there are four main types of apparatuses at the studio – lyras/hoops, silks, trapezes and slings – there are dozens to choose from, including supplemental apparatuses like ropes, chairs and umbrellas. Each apparatus is rigged onto the I beams 25 feet above the ground – and each is professionally installed and engineered for circus arts.

Regardless of the apparatus they’re using, aerial arts performers must quickly develop a keen grasp on what their bodies are doing – which gives them greater control.

Lauren Hernandez-Rubio sits in a lifted aerial hoop smiling, Deanna Caveny, a smiling woman with dark blonde hair, wearing a turquiose sports bra and leggings, stands on a large mat beside her, holding the aerial hoop with one hand

(l-r): Hernandez-Rubio and Caveny find strength and grace in the aerial arts.

| photos by Heather Moran |
“I’ve definitely seen a difference – not just in the fluidity of my moves and the strength of my upper body, but in how attentive I am to movement,” says Caveny. “It really connects your mind and body in a different way because you have to always be aware of how every bit of your body is positioned and engaged – and also be thinking a few steps ahead: What do I need to do next in order to transition to my next pose?”

Body awareness is especially important in aerial silks, where knots, aka wraps, in the fabric are used to both secure the performers and propel them into their next move. The idea is to move seamlessly from one wrap to another without getting stuck. And getting unstuck takes a lot of strategy.

“It makes me think about the way we learn in general – how we create a beginner’s mind and get unstuck. That’s key in a lot of learning,” says Caveny. “It has shown me a lot of ways I’ve never learned before – listening to the instructors, watching and translating their instructions from your brain to your body. It has made me a richer learner.”

Hernandez-Rubio agrees: “I love that it has taught me a new way to learn. Aerial arts appeals to the analytical part of my brain. It translates well to our mission as educators, too.”

And this is where both Hernandez-Rubio and Caveny have seen the most crossover between the aerial studio and their College classrooms.

“There’s a lot of interplay between my work as a teacher and being a student here at the studio,” says Caveny. “I’m getting to experience learning and teaching in new ways, which informs how I teach others.”

Hernandez-Rubio encourages people to give aerial arts a try. “To me, training aerial arts supports the idea of lifelong learning,” she says. “It feels great achieving something I never considered a possibility. If I can do it, you can do it.”

And, if you do, warns Caveny, while occasional silk burns (“fabric kisses”) are to be expected, you should also “be prepared to get hooked and inspired.” – Alicia Lutz ’98