Bet You Didn’t Know: Coach Shannon!

Hello everyone and happy Sunday!

And now we have Coach Shannon! Many of you might not know her yet, but she is one of the coaches who will be helping with Tawni’s classes while she is out of town. 

What is your name, position, and how long have you been working at Akrosphere?

My name is Shannon Stanley and I am substituting Tawni’s Wednesday night 7:00 and 8:00 classes while she is out being awesome. I will be conducting these classes through May.

What is your apparatus of choice?

I tend to bounce around on “anything that’s vertical”. Silks, sling, and straps are my main loves. 

What is your background?

I am a classically trained ballet dancer. I began my training at 3 and became professional when I was 14. When I chose a career change, I wanted to stay in shape with a hobby in which I could use my knowledge and experience, so I started training silks. That quickly grew to other apparatuses and another career change to professional aerialist. 

What was your first circus job? 

My first circus job was a private gig with an Atlanta celebrity. I know I was nervous, but I had been performing for so long it wasn’t so much being in front of people that was scary, it’s that I thought I would second guess myself with my wraps. Once I got up there every doubt went away. I had trained for this. I knew what I was doing. After, I felt energized and started thinking seriously about performing professionally again. 

Any difficulties in your training/working?

Isn’t training in general hard enough?! I have gone through invasive surgery and the balance between personal and professional life especially when that means traveling and being away from your family for long periods of time. Trying to stay humble when strength declines and staying focused on short term goals. 

Despite difficulties, why do you love it?

Because there is no greater feeling than flying through the air! It NEVER gets easy! There will always be another hurdle, another movement, another fear to keep me going forward. 

Words of encouragement for our students?

Stay focused on your goals you set for yourself. Don’t let anyone else set goals for you.  Support each other in class, pay to see your peers perform, and promote each other’s accomplishments. That is the only way circus can grow and evolve. 

Doesn’t Coach Shannon sound great! We haven’t talked much, but she seems very knowledgeable and sweet! I cant wait for you all to meet her!

Catch you next week!

Mar