Take to the Sky

Hi. I’m Kate.

I’m an aerialist and performer in the Portland area. I’m also a deputy medical examiner and private investigator. I came to aerial arts over 11 years ago out of sheer coincidence. I had moved to Portland for work in 2010 and I had no idea how to make friends as an adult. I was lonely and bored and began taking an aerial silks class on a whim at the age of 35. I had never been athletic or coordinated, nor had I ever engaged in organized sports or fitness classes. But aerial arts offered me a whole new facet of myself that I had never met before. I remember the first time I climbed up to the top of a 20-foot silk and back down again. I thought, “I wonder what else I can do that I never thought I could do?”

I kept up with aerial arts throughout the life events that followed. The people I met and the strength that I nurtured as a result of my aerial classes carried me through the most difficult moments I’ve ever known. Aerial taught me to believe in my body as I fought cancer. Aerial provided a space to process the emotions and trauma that resulted from working at the medical examiner’s office. And it was a fellow aerialist who held my hand, the day I found my voice and decided to leave an abusive relationship behind.

I want to give the gift of these classes to others who are also facing seemingly impossible circumstances. I believe the confidence and connection that aerial arts can offer should not be solely available to those who can afford to pay a premium cost. My goal is to take everything that aerial arts has given me, and pass it on to people who need it the most. Please join me in, literally, lifting up the vulnerable and threatened. Together, lets show them that they can do things they never thought they could do. Help them make the journey from “fight” to “flight.”