Institute for Performing Arts— a school co-founded by famed singer, songwriter and former Beatle Paul McCartney.
Later, she danced professionally and started to make a name for herself on the Bollywood circuit and was part of several Indian films. While considering staying in India after her initial contract was up in 2014, Laura saw an ad from Circus Vazquez, saying that the circus had an opening for a female performer, so she decided to give it a try.
“ When I joined the circus, I was thrust into a whole new world and I knew I wanted to bring more to the show than just being a dancer, so that’ s when I started to train on( aerial) silks,” Laura said.
“ Growing up, my family might have went to the circus once, so it was so much more than I ever thought it was going to be and through it, I met Visan,” Laura said.“ It changed my whole life.”
While performing is still a passion for both Visan and Laura, the two decided to scale back from being full-time circus performers when COVID-19 first hit in 2020.
Around then, Visan began working for Freedom Solar Power, but he continued to regularly perform globe of death at various events. In January, he traveled to the Dominican Republic, where his brother, Ricardo, owns a circus. Together, they performed Globe of Death through multiple rounds of“ Dominicana’ s Got Talent.”
As for Laura, she has spent the last four years focusing on teaching through her studio, Rise and Fly Fitness, which began in Sulphur Springs but recently opened a location in Greenville.
“ We offer a wide range of aerial and fitness classes, including aerial silks, trapeze, lyra, hammock, pole fitness and bungee fitness. Our oldest student is 84, so it’ s truly for all ages,” Laura said.
In addition to regular classes, Rise and Fly Fitness also hosts summer youth circus camps, where students ages 5-17 have the opportunity to take lessons in not just aerial acrobatics, but also trapeze, handstands, juggling, contortion stretching and tumbling.
“ I feel really blessed to have had this experience with the circus, so I feel like with this studio we get to let more people have some of that experience to enrich their lives, as it did ours,” Laura said.
Those interested in learning more about Rise and Fly Fitness and its offerings can visit its website at www. riseandflyfitness. com.
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