Tribute held for former Tooele High baseball player

These were the first words that came to mind, as I pulled up to the corner of Garnet and J Street in the Tooele Industrial Depot. It wasn’t the first time I had been out there, nor was it the first time I did a lesson for this column.

However, this time my nerves were going wild since I was really going out on a limb — I was going to try aerial gymnastics.

Just hours prior to my lesson, I made the mistake of watching a video about this particular type of gymnastics (if you aren’t familiar with the technique, think Cirque Du Soleil).

Thankfully, when I walked into the Tooele Gymnastics Academy the environment was very inviting and the instructors assured me that I was going to be fine.

As a student of the sport for the last three years, and now an instructor for nearly two of them, Halle Gans’s love for silks aerials

“The first time I ever tried aerials as a student I was hooked,” she said. “Now, as an instructor, I love being able to bring this unique sport to our community.”

Having recently moved from their old gym on Main Street, Halle and the other instructors from the gym see a pretty good turnout, with seven classes offering lessons to students from beginner to advanced skill levels.

While speaking with aerial silks instructor Gans, who teaches for Trio Aerial Fitness at TGA, she told me students from all ages and ability levels come through her doors.

“We normally teach from (ages) seven to 16, and I have a couple of three and four-year-olds who do it in the “mommy and me” class,” she said.

I showed up for the Thursday night drop-in class along with a few other adults, which was also a relief since I, a 38 year old, wasn’t prepared to get embarrassed by a bunch of children — though embarrassing myself was imminent anyway.

Following a period of doing some stretches to get everyone limbered up (which already had me feeling the burn), we took to our individual silks and started the class. Our first lesson was pretty basic, with Halle and the other instructors allowing the beginners (a.k.a, me) and intermediate aerialists to warm up.

One of the first moves was something called “skin the cat”, which is similar to a backflip with the silks wrapped around your arms.
It took me a good six tries before I got it down. On that sixth attempt, a sudden wave of accomplishment hit me and I was determined to try and keep up with the class.

After I kept working at the moves, it did really feel like I was getting somewhere. Instead of dangling upside down, stuck, we transitioned to something called a “man in the moon.” I only got stuck midway through the move and felt a little more control in my suspended, hammock-like state.

If it weren’t for the encouragement of the instructors, and their unwavering patience with me, it might have been easy to “hang ‘em up” after my first few failed attempts. Not only did I defy my personal expectations (as long as I didn’t watch how far up the silks my peers were), I was given a new perspective on how difficult it truly is to be a high-flying gymnast.

As the hour wrapped up, and I labored through the post-class stretches, I reflected on the experience and how much I actually did. While it’s going to take me a week to allow my muscles to recover there’s a good chance I will go back again, or at the very least look for another class to sit in on.

Even though they say a teacher is only as good as their student, my ability to do even half of the moves was due, in large, to the staff. And if I can do it, anyone can.

“The beauty about this sport is it is all individual-based skill growth,” Halle said. “You can go as fast or slow as you need.”

I can’t give enough thanks to Halle and her crew, it was a really great time and I’d recommend that people give it a try — trust me, there’s nowhere to go but up during the lessons.