Her toes hang off the edge of the platform, as she stretches out over the void, grabbing the bar with one hand. The breeze brushes at the sweat on her brow. She decides to look out toward the horizon, since looking 40 feet straight down probably isn’t the best strategic decision at this moment. She grabs the bar with your other hand and takes a deep breath. As the instructor lets out a deep, throaty “HUP!”—she jumps from the perch. This is how humans learn to fly.
You no longer need to run away in order to join the circus. Washington, DC has its own franchise of the New York Trapeze School that offers aerial classes for all ages. And it’s not just trapeze. There are also classes in silks, aerial hoops, juggling, acrobatics, and trampoline. Everything you need to build your own circus troop. It’s the trapeze classes, however, that are the real draw.
“Climbing the ladder is actually the scariest part,” says Jen as she prepares for her second class at NYTS-DC. “When you’re up there, you’re really concentrating on turning the moves you’ve learned on the ground into something that doesn’t embarrass you in the air.” The session is also a workout. “After my last class, if felt muscles in my back and core that I didn’t even know I had.”
Location: NYTS-DC, 1299 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington DC. (One block from Nationals Stadium)
Nearest Metro Station: Navy Yard-Ballpark
Trapeze Classes: $65 for a two-hour group lesson on weekends (indoor or out); $58 during the week; multi-class packages are available for a discount. To book online, visit washingtondc.trapezeschool.com.