Student Spotlight: Kelsey Seay

Welcome to our first Cirque Wonderland Student Spotlight! Today, we introduce you to Kelsey Seay, crafter, photographer, and lyra-girl.

Tell us a little about what brought you to aerial/circus arts?
I was looking for another way to stay active that didn't involve the impersonality of the gym or running (blech). I grew up taking dance classes and was never a star dancer. But I enjoyed the atmosphere in which you were much closer to your classmates like a team, but it stayed a highly individualized study as well. I dabbled in dance classes/groups in college and never had the time to stick with them. After I saw my first aerial silks act, I knew it was just a matter of time until I got sucked into it.

What is your favorite apparatus or class?
Although silks were my primary draw initially to try aerial, I'm a lyra girl. I never thought I'd enjoy static apparatuses, but they give you a bit of freedom from the get go to work on some finesse that I don't feel like I have while I'm still learning fabrics and trying to just hold myself up!

What is a favorite aerial memory?
I'm still fairly new, so just about every time I nail a new move right now, haha. I did my first pull over mount a month or so ago and just about everyone in the class yelled for me, so that feeling of having camaraderie and people really rooting for you to get that mount or pose is really exhilarating to feel.

What do you find most challenging about aerial/circus arts?
As with everything, it is definitely the struggle with mind over matter. I have to stop telling myself I can't do a thing, because in reality I probably can, my head is what's keeping me back.

What are your aerial goals?
To perform on a semi-regular basis. I was in theatre and I miss doing shows, so getting back into a show setting is a big priority for me.

If a friend was thinking of starting aerial, what advice would you give them?
I've tried to convince so many, it's getting them to realize that if I can get myself up there, they surely can too!

When you’re not hanging out at Cirque Wonderland, what do you do for fun?
I like to make things. Crochet, photography, jewelry, you name it. I constantly have 20 different projects going. I even applied to Making It, the crafting contest show with Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman, I've tried just about every craft discipline at least once. I'm also the Associate Director of the Iowa Brewers Guild and a sales rep for Best Case Wines, so I like to be involved in the restaurant/bar industry. I love a good meal, and a good glass of wine or beer is icing on the cake.

What is something we couldn’t find out about you from Google?
My pupils are naturally different sizes and its actually pretty noticeable in low or really bright light. So if I hit my head and they're actually the same, that's when someone should worry, haha.