Aerial Silks Studio in Bishop CA

Short version: You can help bring aerial silks to the remote mountain town of Bishop, CA.  Aerial silks is an acrobatic discipline that is known for its empowering and inspiring qualities. Aerial silks strengthens local community and expands into an international community. It offers a form of exercise that is so fun you forget it's exercise, and it opens up pathways for performance opportunities. Thank you for supporting the vision!

-Receive a high quality aerial silks photo print with a donation of $50 or more

-Receive a 1.5 hour private aerial silks lesson with any donation of $100 or more

Full version: Thank you for checking out this campaign! My name is Sara Kaiser. I'm inviting you to be a part of an exciting vision that offers meaningful, tangible local community impact and connects a small, remote town to a global network of artists and athletes; this campaign will make it possible to introduce the beautiful art and discipline of aerial silks to Bishop, CA. 

Aerial silks is an acrobatic discipline that involves climbing on and dancing in fabric that hangs from a high point to the ground (see images and video). I fell in love with aerial silks in 2014 when I took my first classes in Santa Cruz CA. Silks has opened me to vibrant local and international communities,  connected me with my body, nurtured self-appreciation, discipline, and gratitude, has helped me through difficult times, and has provided a beautiful outlet for creative expression. Naturally, when I moved to Bishop, CA and discovered there were no aerial silks studios, I saw an exciting opportunity to share this wonderful art. When I performed at the City Park on Earth Day, at least a dozen women approached me to ask if there was a place in town that they could take lessons. "Hopefully soon!" I responded. You can help turn that uncertain phrase into a confident "YES! Here's where you can sign up."

Thanks to the tight-knit network and collaborative spirit of people in Bishop, we have been able to set up the ceiling infrastructure needed at our local yoga studio at very little cost. But to take the next steps, we need help raising money to purchase equipment, including fabric, hardware, and safety mats. Any extra earnings will be allocated to teacher insurance costs, marketing, merchandise, training advancement, and equipment maintenance.

Once we have raised enough money to purchase the equipment thanks to your generous support, we will hold classes that will provide quality instruction and inspiration toward learning the beautiful, challenging, and rewarding art of aerial silks. As the program evolves, we will be able to consider ways to integrate into community events with performance. The aerial silks studio will enrich the community, provide a healthy and empowering activity available year-round, and spark creative action by creating performance opportunities. Furthermore, the presence of an aerial silks studio offering quality instruction is likely to attract out-of-town visitors who will contribute to the local economy. 

How does Aerial Silks in Bishop fit in to the greater network of aerial arts? Aerial silks is uncommon enough that those who do it will find and connect with one another through travel and social media. Silks is a wonderful activity to bond over--playing on the fabric together, exchanging ideas, technique tips, etc--and offers a straightforward pathway into a community. Just moved across the country  for a new job and feeling lonely? Find the local silks studio and you will be feeling at home and nurturing friendships before you know it. Furthermore, the network of aerial arts exposes participants to performance opportunities. For a Bishop local, this could present an unprecedented opportunity to branch out and make artistic impact in unexpected places.

To bring aerial silks to the beautiful city of Bishop would be a dream come true. With such an achievable start-up cost, every single contribution makes a difference. Your contribution will become part of a beautiful legacy of community enrichment, learning, empowerment, and creative expression. 

There's no saying what kind of talented creative acts will emerge from a person who is introduced to the fabric. I for one never expected to be choreographing routines to raise money for disaster relief or to celebrate a wedding engagement, and I never dreamed that I would one day be working on projects to integrate poetry and silks into creative projects.  

I could never fully express how grateful I am for the peace, inspiration, joy, and self-love that the art of aerial silks has nurtured in me. Silks showed me that I can feel graceful and make people joyful with the simplest movements. I am excited to share this beautiful art form and see where others take it. Thank you for making this vision a reality!

-Receive a high quality aerial silks photo print with a donation of $50 or more

-Receive a 1.5 hour private aerial silks lesson with any donation of $100 or more

Peforming with the San Francisco Golden Gate Quartet to support the Sonoma Relief Fund in 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyanbzL_dEc&t=1s