We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Megan Alice a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Megan, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
How did I learn what I do? I started aerial arts training with Kelly Vanleeuwen at Maya Movement Arts on aerial sling/hammock. I then attended private lessons with trainers on lyra and other apparatuses at other studios until I was able to practice safely here in Greenville. I do think that my background in Gymnastics and dance gave me a leg up, but it is definitely not a requirement for those who are interested and may not have a significant movement background! I’ve trained with so many great coaches and then took hours, days, weeks, months, YEARS, of my own time to condition and practice, practice, practice. So much so, that it’s really second nature now. While I love flowing in my free-time and performing, the students I see also help me learn so much! I get to see how people learn differently, how bodies move differently, and how to adapt the classes in every way to meet students where they are.
What’s the most essential? Safety and professional training. Aerial arts can be a dangerous activity, but when done with the right coaches, it’s beautiful and fun. Once you have that, all you need is drive and curiosity! It’s not easy for anyone at first. Accept that this is something new and different. It takes time to learn but it is so worth it once you do.
What has gotten in the way? Access and time has always been difficult. Obviously having to travel when first learning on my new favorite apparatus was a pain, then once I was trained and ready to do it on my own I still had to work around to get my time in. Rigging safely is not as easy as it seems and making sure you have the right equipment and the right space is imperative. Then, finding time to coach, practice, and go to classes while also working full time is always a bit of a struggle. But I wouldn’t give it up.
Megan, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Growing up, I was involved in dance and gymnastics up through most of highschool. Once I went into college and grad school I would try out different activities here and there, but nothing caught my interest. After finishing school and moving around a bit, I came to Greenville where I had accepted my first “big kid job” in my field. While here I went out on a limb and tried an aerial sling/hammock class with Kelly Vanleeuwen with Maya Movement arts and I fell in love with it. The class offered the perfect mix of adventure, challenge, creativity, and beauty. Admittedly, the challenge is what got me the most when she showed me a move I couldn’t achieve right away and I decided then and there I wouldn’t stop until I could. Shortly after, I started training directly under her and began teaching aerial yoga and sling/hammock.
Kelly recommended I try lyra or aerial hoop after some time, but with it not being offered in the area I had to travel to test it out. One private lesson later and I was researching where to buy one for my own practice and how to rig safely. Once I had the equipment I trained as often as I could, traveled to studios in North Carolina, Michigan, Florida, Colorado, Georgia, Tennessee, Hawaii and even Thailand to learn more. In addition to completing multiple aerial coaching courses along the way.
After creating M.Alice in Flight Studio, LLC. (named as a combination of my first and middle names and a small nod to “Alice in Wonderland”) and coaching alongside Maya Movement arts and some other great coaches for a few years, we lost our studio space while I was recovering from a wrist surgery. I had to search all of Greenville to find a new space, many of which fell through at the last moment or after I’d gotten settled, they closed down. Throughout all of my moves and changes I have kept a fantastic group of committed students who follow and grow with me wherever I go. I’ve also met so many great people and groups in Greenville who have invited me to perform in their beautiful events which I always love!
I have completed a multitude of coaching courses and am certified to safely teach aerial yoga, aerial sling/hammock all levels, and lyra all levels. With my education background and working as a Speech-Language Pathologist, I feel comfortable working with a variety of people including those who may have diverse needs and feel that I can offer a space that is welcoming and supportive to everyone who comes through the door!
Now, I offer private lessons, or shared lessons (2 people) on lyra as well as conditioning classes. I release a schedule monthly where people may sign up for these classes in the upcoming month. The lyra classes are all levels and are kept to 1-2 people in order for me to truly mold the class to each student’s needs rather than a group. Lyra classes consist of a short warm-up and then after an introduction to the apparatus and safety, we learn a variety of movements, poses, and flows on the hoop! Conditioning is a slightly shorter class where I help you to learn simple, minimal-to-no equipment exercises that can help you improve your aerial practice as well as overall fitness and strength.
I also perform for a variety of events including charity fundraisers, birthdays, galas, etc. These are my favorite! If you check out my website you’ll see where you can reach out to discuss what you may want for your event. I most love “ambient” performances where I am on and off the lyra throughout the majority of your event providing lovely entertainment for your attendees. I’ve gotten to meet so many fun and interesting people in these events and the party holders have always been so kind and expressed such gratitude following my performances!
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
A few years into practicing and coaching I started having some serious wrist pain. I’m pretty stubborn so most aches and pains didn’t bother me much. I would work through them and move along. The wrist however, just kept getting worse. Come to find out I had damaged some cartilage in my wrist and needed surgery if I wanted to practice without the severe pain. Even more unfortunate, it was my dominant hand. I finally gave in and decided to have the surgery and while I was recovering I was unable to practice at all, that was hard enough, then came Covid, the loss of a good friend, and then we got kicked out of our studio space. I searched for a new space and after thinking I’d found one, the gym owner backed out the day before I was supposed to move in. I thought the universe was telling me it was time to pack up. Thank goodness I had a supportive group of friends who told me to keep going and I am so grateful that I did. I started training again out of Crossfit B2L and they have been my new “aerial home” ever since! Even bringing me with them when the gym itself changed spaces.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
To understand that while we LOVE what we do, it can’t be considered cost-free. I hate that this is something that even ever gets brought up, but I feel like people don’t understand the work, time, energy, etc. that goes into everything that an artist does behind the scenes and then we are asked to perform or teach without proper compensation. Thank goodness I have found this happening less and less, but still hear from other artists time to time that they’ve been asked to provide their work for far less than it’s worth. It’s also up to us to acknowledge what our experience, work, and creativity is worth and to make sure not to settle.
Contact Info:
- Website: maliceinflightstudio.squarespace.com
- Instagram: @M.Alice_InTheAir
- Studio page: @M.Alice_InFlightAerial
Image Credits
Kadie Austen Nice Life Photography Famzing Noveli Photography Queen 3 Photos