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Red aerial silks hung to the floor at National Dance Academy in Coralville before Mimi Ke wrapped the silks around her forearms like candy cane stripes.

In a swift movement, she twisted her body, using the momentum to push her feet off the mat. As she spun, she held her legs towards her chest, performing an almost mid-air yoga pose. Then, she lowered her legs, slowing down the spinning of her body until she came to a complete stop, finishing the demonstration for her aerial dance students.

The class of about 10 adults spent the session trying out moves like this to build their aerial dance skills. They worked on how to wrap the silks around one’s foot to help ascend the silks, or how to maneu

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