Aerial Journeys: Tessa
Meet Tessa, one of Brass Belle’s Aerial Superstars! She is an amazing ambassador in promoting what our studio is all about: confidence and community.
Interested in starting her aerial journey, she did a quick search on the Internet, narrowing down her choices to two studios in Mississauga. “Where do I fit in?” she asked herself, scrolling through the photos of each place.
“There is representation here,” Tessa said of why she ultimately chose Brass Belles. “It’s hard for being a black woman, plus-sized, and you want to go learn something and there’s no representation.”
Battling with social anxiety and the anxiety of driving, Tessa bravely showed up to her first class on a Sunday in 2022 where she met owner, Cassandra Thompson, for the first time face-to-face.
“[Cassandra] even checked in to make sure that I got home safe,” said Tessa. “And I was like, ‘Who does that?’ So that was really cool.”
A seasoned triathlete, Tessa already had a strong athletic foundation in swimming, cycling, running and weightlifting, but aerial fitness was a whole new experience for her. “I didn’t think it was going to be easy, but I didn’t think it was going to be as hard,” she said, chuckling. “I couldn’t even lift my body.” Now, Tessa celebrates her two year anniversary as a Badass Belle, living life upside down, spinning around, and dancing it out in class and in our student showcases.
When asked what made her continue her aerial journey, Tessa credited the studio’s welcoming community, the instructors, Cassandra and fellow students as positive experiences that influenced her decision. “Everybody was going on a journey of wanting to help themselves,” she said.
It is not uncommon for aerial fitness to be intimidating at first—after all it is a sport where everything is inverted and one has to wrap themselves around an apparatus like a human vine—but for Tessa, seeing advanced moves on her first day were seen as goals and motivation to one day reach that level. Trying all the different classes available at Brass Belles to see what worked for her, Tessa ultimately focused her training on pole and aerial hoop. Following her first nine months of training not only did Tessa perform at her first showcase, but she did her first solo!
“Try it. All you have to do is just give it a shot. Make this your thing.”
