An aerial arts performer qualified as a yoga and gymnastics coach said that leading a children’s summer camp has renewed her motivation to help grow the niche aerial arts scene on the island.

Kallie Marcus, of Natural Movement Bermuda, hopes to build a community of gymnasts and inspire them with the opportunities she has had since she took up aerial arts in 2014.

A teacher at Saltus and Bermuda Gymnastics, Ms Marcus hopes to establish a permanent home for the discipline, train future instructors and create more opportunities for young people.

Ms Marcus, who also offers contracted sessions at Snorkel Park in Dockyard, said the goal is to build a sustainable community and space for expression and opportunity utilising movement to build confidence.

“If I can create a performance pathway for students, that is kind of the direction that I am going in,” she said.

One of the few active instructors in Bermuda, her long-term vision extends beyond camps and classes.

“The current exposure, again, it’s minimal, I think because, you know, it is just myself.”

Ms Marcus said yoga and gymnastics became the foundation of both her teaching and her own life, helping her to better understand herself through periods of personal loss, parenthood and the challenges of growing a business.

She said yoga ultimately changed how she understood those experiences.

Rather than describing movement simply as exercise, she said, it taught her to become more aware of her thoughts, breathing and physical responses to life's challenges.

“Whatever trauma I went through, yoga helped me to understand that whatever I was holding on to, it actually had nothing to do with me.”

Asked what it feels like to perform, Ms Marcus described the experience for herself as almost meditative.

“It’s a whole other world. I hear nothing. I see nothing,” she said.

Having often been the only Black woman performing in professional circus environments, Ms Marcus said visibility matters for young people considering the discipline.

“I think it says a lot for the kids that are at camp looking up to me. This is possible.”

She added: “You do not have to be of a certain colour in order to get in the air.”

Ms Marcus’s return to summer camps marks a renewed spark to engage the wider community of gymnasts and performers in aerial arts.

“I’ve just restarted the camps”, which she said had been held more frequently before a four-year hiatus. “Four years ago, people saw me out in the public more; the camps were happening a lot more frequently. But now I’ve picked that back up.”

She made clear that the Natural Movement does not promote any religious or spiritual beliefs, but instead encourages participants to better understand themselves, their bodies, and find healthy outlets for expression and physical health.

“We don't touch on anybody’s beliefs”

Additionally, the influence of TikTok and social media on movement and dance is embraced in respect to young people, Ms Marcus herself seeing it as another avenue for self-expression.

“I give them the tools, the movement, the technique, the safety, and then they kind of put their own twist to it,” she said. “Whoever they are, it comes out expressively in their movement.”

Many beginners, she said, arrive believing they are too weak or too afraid to try.

“Some of them may be afraid to go upside down … may not feel like they're strong enough.”

With careful guidance, she said, they often leave with something far more valuable than a new technical skill.

“You don’t have to be strong to start,” she said

While the safety and risks of aerial arts may deter some, Ms Marcus, who is certified in safety rigging, said safety is central to her teaching philosophy.

“Rigging safety is key … I wouldn't go anywhere or perform anywhere without performing a safety evaluation,” she said, adding that she had never suffered an injury through aerial arts or experienced any accidents or mishaps while supervising students.

“With the proper technique and guidance — nine times out of ten they've all left feeling stronger.”

She also hopes to dispel misconceptions that aerial arts are only for children or elite athletes or those with slimmer builds.

Ms Marcus said most of the equipment used can support between 2,000 and 5,000 pounds, making the discipline accessible to a wide range of body types.

She believes greater exposure is key to changing those perceptions and inspiring more Bermudians to explore aerial movement.

Ms Marcus credits international performance opportunities, including circus work alongside former mentor Montana Debor, with showing her what aerial arts could become beyond Bermuda.

She said those experiences reinforced the importance of exposing young Bermudians to possibilities they may never otherwise encounter.

A three-day international performing event proved to be a defining moment in her performance career, a moment where she felt “if they could do it, I could do it”, detailing that she had to perform an act multiple times each day. “That was crazy for me,” she said.

“With the interest I’ve gotten this summer, I do have to take this further. I’m hoping to train others and grow the team properly, so the kids can stick with it like I have, which has allowed me to travel and perform and earn extra income”.

Ms Marcus acknowledges that building Natural Movement has not been straightforward.

Family life paused the programme's momentum, while parenthood, the loss of a previous space, and loss of her father forced her to rethink its future. Rather than slowing her ambitions, she said, the setbacks clarified them.

Her next goal is securing a permanent studio, a place that provides the public a consistent avenue towards aerial arts while allowing the programme to grow beyond a single instructor.

She believes greater public awareness, more instructors and a permanent home for the discipline could eventually allow local performers to pursue opportunities beyond the island.

“I believe I have to create the federation,” she said.

Ultimately, Ms Marcus hopes to create more than classes. She wants future teachers, future performers, greater public awareness and hopes for sustainability in the discipline that has given her so much opportunity to be herself and travel.

“Seeing them use the tools I've given and watching it come to life on a Friday afternoon when their parents come to watch the showcase, that is heart-warming to me”

• Kallie Marcus can be contacted on 441-704-0701 or info@naturalmovementbda.com. She conducts sessions at Snorkel Park on Mondays and Thursdays from 7pm to 9pm as well as utilising the BGA and Saltus gymnasiums