Up & Above: Intro to Duo Lyra

Join us for an Introduction to Duo Lyra that will take you above the hoop in this 90 minute workshop taught by Upside Aerial Lyra instructors, Ashanti Jennings and Mollie Rose Canzona! We will explore partner communication and weight sharing dynamics necessary to begin working on more complicated shapes and transitions. Students will expand their duo lyra skill set and creative movement possibilities by learning flying and basing positions as well as moving to the top bar and spanset to create multilevel shapes. Spinning is encouraged. Sign up with a partner or on your own!

NOTE:  We will offer two Ground Up: Intro to Duo Lyra workshops on July 30th and August 6th, but each workshop will include different shapes and pathways. So you are welcome to take both! While these workshops are recommended to help prepare you for some of the more advanced skills covered in Up & Above: Intro to Duo Lyra Workshop on August 13th, they are not required as long as you meet the prerequisites below. 

Be sure to register at least 7 days before each workshop to save $10 per workshop! (coupon codes: EARLYBIRD1, EARLYBIRD2, and EARLYBIRD3 for each of the 3 workshops, respectively)

Prerequisites:

Age 18+, previous lyra experience including the ability to mount and pull into the hoop multiple times with control, the ability to safely lift to Skirt position and hold a Hip Hang, comfort with being in close contact and sharing space with another person

About Your Instructors: 

Ashanti began her aerial journey as an Upside student in 2017. A lover of health, movement, and teaching others, Ashanti has been a personal trainer and pole dance instructor since 2015. She has also trained in belly dance, hoop, ballet, and burlesque. After discovering the beauty and challenge of aerial silks, she completed her Aerial Silks Teacher Training with Upside in 2019. She was introduced to lyra during an Upside workshop with Gena DuBose, and she discovered she loved that too! So she completed her Lyra Teacher Training with Gena in 2020, and she's been teaching and growing the Lyra Program at Upside ever since! 

Mollie began as an Upside student in 2018, and was also introduced to lyra during a workshop with Gena DuBose. She began training lyra regularly with Ashanti, and together, they started building their duo lyra repertoire, performing duo lyra at multiple venues. Building on her background in belly dance, silks, and pole, Mollie appreciates how lyra facilitates mind-body connection and self-expression. Mollie is also a professor at Wake Forest University where her research interests include Narrative Medicine and the therapeutic value of telling stories through movement. With this same passion animating her desire to share circus arts with others, she completed lyra teacher training and certification through Spin City Aerial Fitness and the Upside Aerial Mentorship Program in 2022. You can take Mollie's lyra classes at Upside on Thursdays at 5:45pm!