Julia Frith seems to be an all-encompassing performer. She sings, she acts and just recently, added aerial dancing and fire spinning to her repertoire. The 19-year-old, who is heading off to study performing arts in the UK this autumn, spoke with The Royal Gazette about her love of the arts and the circus camp that piqued her interest in it all.

Q: Why fire spinning?

A: I’ve heard about RockFire Productions so many times and actually worked with [its founder] Adrian Kawaley-Lathan in the past. Our family is very close with him. So when I had finally came back to Bermuda and was planning to stay for a while I was looking for something different to do. This seemed like the perfect fit. I’d definitely say I’ve always had somewhat of a fascination for fire. The thing about working as a pyro is you either love it or you don’t. There are very specific people who can do it and there are others who just don’t understand.

Q: Weren’t you scared?

A: No not at all. I’ve always loved fire. It’s never been an obsession, but I have such a respect for all nature’s elements that when I first started I couldn’t imagine anything better. There’s a little charge that you feel and when you spin it and light it the sparks start flying; you start to create what looks like fire flies. It’s a lot of fun, but it can also be extremely dangerous and you need to be highly trained.

Q: How long did it take to learn?

A: It took probably a week-and-a-half to get a couple of skills under my belt before I started actually spinning fire. For other people it’s different. You have to begin with the basics, like building awareness of your own body and developing hand-eye coordination and go from there. For me it always felt quite natural.

Q: Do you have any other unusual talents?

A: I learnt how to perform with aerial silks recently. I actually did circus camp when I was a kid, maybe from age eight to 11, in California. I learnt how to do some of the different circus acts like the trapeze, getting four or five people on one bicycle, how to do tight rope, juggling, tumbling and things like that. [It’s a coincidence that] when RockFire was talking about bringing aerial silks to Bermuda, I was in New York doing [the same thing]. I was in final callback auditions at Julliard and found a place that gave lessons in aerial [dancing] and attended three of those classes. I learnt all the basics and when I got back started training myself everyday. There’s a lot of information online on YouTube and the thing about aerial is if you have the strength, flexibility and self-discipline then you can teach yourself. Or at least I’ve been able to.

Q: What’s it like using aerial silks?

A: It’s been a thrill. It’s very hard but the reward is unbelievable. You are twirling yourself to these great heights and you are accomplishing things both physically and mentally that I personally didn’t know I was capable of until RockFire gave me that avenue. We had our debut at Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute when they had a gala fundraiser on April 25. It was cool because most people haven’t seen it before in person. Plus, I think there is something special about a performance that takes place 30 feet in the air that’s not only death-defying, but passion-filled. At least for me, when you watch a performer who loves what they’re doing, it catches your attention.

Q: How do you think you built the courage to do such things?

A: I’ve been raised to be quite fearless. My mother tells me I was always comfortable speaking in public. When I was three years old my parents would take us out to a restaurant to eat dinner and I would go off around on my own and sit with people at other tables. It’s a theme that’s continued throughout my life.

Q: What else have you been up to recently?

A: This past year has been all about service before I go off to university. RockFire ended up being the perfect way for me to do that. Through them you can learn how to develop new skills and we do a lot of film work and theatre and we regularly do castings for new talent. You don’t have to be a fire spinner to be part of the team. Some young people come in as stage managers or film assistants and then get trained in new skills. RockFire gives them real-life work experience in the arts industry, which can be hard to find in Bermuda. I also get to do a lot of other work in the community with youth and children. I’m a part of the Baha’i faith and we have a community programme [focused on youth empowerment] that I’m quite involved in.

Q: So what’s next for you?

A: I’m leaving soon for university and I’m going to be gone for a while so my mother [Christina Frith] and I decided that it would be really wonderful to do something musically together because we might not get another chance anytime soon. We will be performing [Thursday] at a special concert at Spirit House. The event is also a celebration of my mom’s birthday, which just passed. We’ve been encouraging her to get out there and sing her songs because she has an incredible voice and this is something we’ve wanted her to do for a long time. I’m just really excited that she’s taking the leap and doing it.

Q: What can people expect at the concert?

A: We’ll be singing a variety of songs — mostly original music that my mom has created. She has been singing her entire life and has been recording and working in LA. She did concerts every month when we lived in California and worked with many different famous artists like Chaka Khan and Bonnie Raitt.

Q: Would you say you’re mom was a big inspiration for you in your own career?

A: Yes, definitely. She has inspired me in every way possible. If there was something I wanted to create or something I wanted to pursue she would encourage and support me like no one else. I was set to perform at the Premier’s Concert in 2013 and had written my own original dramatic piece while I was in Canada. I had come back to Bermuda just to perform it. I was extremely nervous and everything that could have possibly gone wrong in the rehearsal did. It was a really depressing time. I didn’t think I could do it, but my mom sat me down and went through everything that needed to be worked on. We ran through it over and over again until I had it all down.

• You can catch Julia and Christina Frith at Spirit House on Thursday at 7.30pm. Tickets are $35 and available by e-mailing christinafrithsong@gmail.com.