On any day of the week, you can find Paige, Bailey and Heather flying gracefully over Nashville. They are aerialists – dancers who have amazing upper body strength and grace, who ply their talents 10-feet above the ground.
MEET THE AERIALISTS OF NASHVILLE
Nashville is a town experiencing crazy growth in food and entertainment. It’s here the aerialist wave is following the city’s meteoric rise.
These ladies are clearly committed aerialists; an activity that creates such a rush that you could say they are addicted. And at the same time, they hold down regular careers to feed their silk-flying habit.
They are artists in a collective called Suspended Gravity Circus. Along with their own special performances, they also work for hire putting on shows for a variety of events. Their recent productions include Wavelength at Kindling 2019, Night Out at Cheekwood, Supernatural at 21c Hotel, and Paris 1900 at the First Art Museum.
The aerialist community is buzzing in Nashville – both as a fitness craze and an artistic craze. Those with a fear of heights need not apply. For the aerialist, it’s all about conquering fear, expressing passion, and finding strength.
These ladies are artists; first they fly and spin from one beautiful pose to the next. The strength required to glide so effortlessly means these ladies are strong and skilled athletes. Gliding on a variety of apparatuses.
They climb, spin and fly with ease. Watching them is like watching an eagle fly. They make it all seem effortless.
FOR THESE AERIALISTS, FLYING IS A WAY OF LIFE.
Aerialist Bailey Freeman, a travel writer by trade, has been perfecting her skills since the summer of 2014. She hated going to the gym so she got a Groupon to an aerialist studio. Today, Bailey focuses much of her energy on teaching aerial arts and training her own favorite apparatuses, aerial rope and hammock.
Paige Muirhead found her passion for flying in 2013, shortly after moving back to Nashville from London. She’s a thrill seeker who grew up dancing. Her aerialist skills have lead to her teaching, performing, and producing aerial shows around Nashville.
Heather McAlister, trained as a dancer, has been an aerialist for three years. She finds flying the perfect way to express her artistic side. She’s an expert on the ring; something the ladies refer to as the Ring of Torture, because of its unforgiving frame.
Aerial arts are growing everywhere, but it’s really thriving in Nashville. It was an honor to photograph these ladies who are great at what they do.
Here’s to the high-flying ladies of Nashville.
Gear
- Sony A7r III
- 85 mm 1.4
- 35 mm 1.4
- Profoto B10
STAY CURIOUS.