Mover β’ making art by dangling off sh*t | Coach β’ nurturing aerialists to flourish | Nerd β’ PhD activist performance πͺ Aerial rope + slingπOnline + Cymru/Wales π΄σ §σ ’σ ·σ ¬σ ³σ Ώ
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Train like an artist π Art like an athlete
Published about 1 month agoΒ β’Β 4 min read
Hey everyone, β Below I've written finding balance between your creative practice and skill acquisition work, so scroll on down for that...
β yes we're into the final countdown... the doors of Flourish 2026 close at midnight (Pacific*) TONIGHT, Tuesday 22 September. Now is the time to ask questions or... go for it!β β β(*that's midnight Pacific because i'm not usually at my desk processing applications at midnight UK time. Whereas midnight Pacific = 8am UK time, so if anyone needs an extra few hours to apply before i get to my laptop, you're welcome... I could just say 8am UK time the next day but morning deadlines are... weird)β β
And I'm here to answer some of your questions:β β Why is there NO application form this time round?! Because experience has taught me that I can trust YOU to know what you want and need! Over the years I've only ever received applications from folks who are an excellent fit for Flourish - in other words i trust your judgement about whether this is right coaching programme for you at this time. If your gut is saying YES, listen to it! However, if you have any qualms or questions - you can always email me direct by replying to these emails and let's talk about it π
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Which Flourish strand is best for me?
β βObviously this will be specific to each individual (and I'm happy to help you work it out in a DM or a even a zoom call - hit reply to arrange!) but as a guideline β
GROUP STRAND - is for bitesizecreative tasks and assignments, practice audit, movement quality, accountability, community, consistency.β β β1:1 STRAND - is for all the above PLUS 1:1 skills focus or an in-depth creative mentorship. My eyes on your skills or your creation/movement. β βfind out more about the different strands -->
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Is Flourish JUST for rope and sling folks?
β NOPE! This cycle the Flourish GROUP strand is open to ALL aerialists (any stage, any age, any apparatus) who want to build a resilient + rewarding aerial practice. β The Flourish 1:1 strand includes 3 x 1:1 sessions which you can use IN ANY WAY YOU WANT. If you want skills coaching then, yes - my expertise is rope and sling. But if you want my input to creative process and movement quality, I can work across all apparatus.
Also nope!These classes are ground-based. β Each class is a mix of talking time, movement time (can be done in any space), technique nerdery and creative tasks to carry into your practice between classes. β Classes covers a different theme relating to an aspect of a versatile + resilient aerial practice including: β - goal setting - time management + consistency - movement quality - choreographic tools - injury coping strategies - nervous system tools - technical versatility β βfind out more about what's included --> β
Train like an artist π Art like an athlete (aka the hangry toddler)
tl;dr you can find a satisfying balance of BOTH skills + creative practice (it just takes some focus)
One of the reasons Flourish cycle 4 is now including a more conscious focus to finding a balance between skills AND creative practice is because a couple of years back my own aerial practice got out of whack. Because i wasn't giving this balance ANY conscious attention. β Somewhere between the single coil roll ups, the scorpions and the strength training, I lost sight of BOTH the art and the effortless enjoyment of early-days aerial.... β ...beyond the all-too-brief dopamine hit of achieving a hard skill. β (Then straight onto the next, harder one.) β I can defo describe one part of myself as a nerdy athlete, who loves an intense workout β β(fun fact: i was a distance runner for 15 years. Yes i am one of those aerialists who loves cardio). β But I'm also an artist and tbh a bit of a naughty toddler when it comes to movement play...
naughty toddler
And one side of me was getting all the love, while the other was shut in an empty room on their own. Until she kicked her way out one day, hangry and screaming. β I see a lot of aerialists getting a bit trapped in the headlights like this. It CAN be fun for the longest time, but it also maybe isn't exercising a part of us that wants to come out to play. β βOr it doesn't always leave us with a lot of energy left over for curiosity and play. β Or focusing our practice entirely on a reps and sets approach doesn't make it so easy to adapt to, for example, periods of injury or whenever we CAN'T train like that. β And our creativity is also a skill - a MUSCLE if you like - that benefits from training; it can be hard to suddenly bust out when we need it, to make an act for example. β
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β βI'm a BIG fan of BOTH/AND thinking. β β So of course you CAN TRAIN FOR BOTH beautiful badassery and creative brillianceβ β It's just about bringing your focus more consciously to finding balance. But it can be hard to fit 'train creative stuff' into your training in a focused way without help. β βThis season of Flourish is all about simple strategies, bitesize creative assignments, manageable accountability structures - to train your ART alongside your SKILLS... β βDoes any of this resonate? Hit reply and let me know!β β You can also check out Flourish in all its detail here - doors are closing in 18 hours...
Warmest wishes from West Wales, Jess β tl;dr Flourish 2026 closes its doors TONIGHT! If you're interested, get thee to the infosβ β As always, if you DON'T want to hear any more about Flourish this cycle (but want to stay on my mailing list) you can opt out with one click by using the big grey button below!
Here's the final call for any aerialists who'd like to join Flourish for 3 months of deliciously focused attention on your training and/or creative practice. Applications close at midnight Pacific tonight! (That's 8am UK time - so if you're keen to join but late and you find the website still here, then I'm probably i'm still drinking coffee on the doorstep βοΈ and you're in luck! π)Here are three quick links: πCourse contents at a glanceπContents in detailπ FAQ Some questions you might still...
Hey everyone,Flourish is still enrolling (but only for 36 more hours - you can get in on that here!) and one of my favourite things about onboarding is asking Flourish students to DM me their aerial mood board - that's up to 10 IG reels or posts which give me a sense of their current interests and goals. Because most aerialists tend to have a shopping list of 500000 skills, I stipulate ONLY 3 skills with the rest focusing on movement quality, choreographic detail, values, whimsy or anything...
Hey Reader, I'm here to talk about something that looms very large in my life: procrastination. So scroll on down for that.Before I do, here's the reminder that we are now into the final 48 hours of enrolment for this cycle of Flourish online coaching. If a three month immersive 1:1 coaching experience isn't of interest, this cycle there's also a group-only strand, for the same accountability, support, creative inspiration and nerdery without the 1:1 lessons (and therefore, less money). You...