Crissy Langhammer knows how it feels to lean into the tension. As an aerial silks instructor, there is a physical tension being up on a silk or rope: Your body isn’t used to being up in the air, wrapped in ropes, with pressure on all sides. But somehow, she makes it look graceful.
The 10-year aerial silks veteran started her own program at Capital City Cheer in January 2021 when there were no existing ones in Jefferson City. Through trusted participants and support from Capital City Cheer owner Ron Swanson, she went from teaching tumbling to defying gravity — at least that’s how she describes it.
“I would describe it as suspending yourself from the ceiling and flying … without actually breaking the laws of physics,” Langhammer laughed.
It’s just as much an art form as it is a sport, she said. The craft began in circuses and slowly rose to popularity in the 1990s. Performers climb gracefully up silks or cotton ropes to perform complex moves in the air — drops and flips included. It’s accessible to all ages: The instructor has students in her course ranging from age 7 to their mid-30s.
Some of her most successful have been the youngest. Kenzie Asberry, 7, is her go-to student for trying challenging moves — she knows if Kenzie can do it, her other students can, too. The young performer recently won second place at the Aerialympics, which is currently the largest aerial silks competition in the world.
There’s an increased confidence in Langhammer’s program, and the gym is planning on expanding her program to Columbia. Kenzie trusts her coach, too: You have to believe your coach knows what they’re doing when you’re suspended 7 feet in the air with one way down.
“I’m always like ‘Are you sure, Crissy? Are you sure?’” Kenzie said. “She knows what’s best for us and what to do (if we get stuck).”
During practice, Kenzie gets stuck in a split roll-up. Langhammer reminds her to breathe, and that if there is a way into the pose, there is a way out.
“Nothing you see is impossible,” she said.
Gallery: HER Magazine aerial silks
