Instructing her students to find their flow and learn the ropes — literally — at Ashland Aerial Arts’ studio, owner and artistic director Sonya Smith’s goals for her pupils go beyond learning the techniques behind aerial silks or bungee.

Smith opened Ashland Aerial Arts in late 2019 after purchasing the former Le Cirque Centre, establishing an inclusive space encouraging participants to challenge themselves and build confidence at their own pace while expressing themselves through aerial arts.

“I have done a lot of training as a teacher to meet everybody who’s in front of me where they are,” Smith said. “That process is a joy, it really is, and it’s why I keep coming back.”

Smith has performed across the country from Minneapolis to Portland, spending nearly a decade in the San Francisco Bay Area with numerous dance companies.

Originally a ground-based dancer, Smith switched to the skies after being wowed by the artform’s versatility.

While in the Bay Area, “I’d seen pictures of them doing this aerial dance thing, and it looked amazing,” she said.

Smith gave it a try and went on to dance for multiple organizations in and around San Francisco such as Project Bandaloop, Flyaway Productions and Zaccho.

“I performed in the Bay Area for 10 years before I decided I wanted to go get an MFA (master of fine arts),” Smith said. “I went and got an MFA in dance with an emphasis in aerial dance from the University of Colorado in Boulder.”

Initially interested in a career in academia, she decided to pursue a role with more teaching and action. That led her to an opportunity to buy the former Le Cirque Centre.

“I still really loved teaching, and so hearing about this place … I came up and met some of the kids and saw the space and was like, well, it being a youth program could be a sustainable business model,” Smith said. “When the opportunity came up I was like, ‘OK let’s do this.’”

After setting up Ashland Aerial Arts, Smith was blindsided by the pandemic but managed to survive and build on a dedicated community of aerial arts learners.

Today, Ashland Aerial Arts provides numerous classes for people of all ages and abilities such as youth summer camps that wrapped up in July, SOAR Over 30 for older learners, an after-school program for youths and performances and student showcases in the spring.

The aerial arts company has also collaborated with local organizations such as installing permanent anchors at ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum for outdoor lessons and performances.

While instructors will be taking a break for most of August, Ashland Aerial Arts will pick back up in September with its adult classes and after-school program, Smith said.

A key focus for Smith and her staff is meeting the needs of people of all abilities while providing a safe space for students to learn without fear of ridicule.

“I brought in an adaptive circus and disability training course specifically to make sure that my staff had a little bit more exposure to that language,” Smith said. “All of these things are tools in our belt for how to work with a body in front of us, whether they have learning disabilities, physical disabilities, are just 6 years old and a goofball or a teenager who needs to get out of their head and into their body. … It’s a spectrum of ‘what do you need and how can we make you feel successful at what you can do.””

While some dance-based academies have reputations for exclusivity and hyper-competitiveness, Smith’s objective is to curb that behavior at the door.

“The bullying, the competition, the snarkiness gets cut off,” she said.

Smith runs the aerial arts organization with her partner and technical director, Cian Murphy. Her staff includes instructors Maia Livingston, Susan Chester and Sam Veres.

At the end of the day, it’s all about helping her students grow in their skill sets and self-belief for Smith.

“When I hear them reflecting back that they have taken in that information and metabolized it and made it their own, thats cool, that is really cool,” Smith said. “This is the way that I feel like I can make the world better.”

To learn more about Ashland Aerial Arts and sign up for classes, visit ashlandaerialarts.org.