Christine Van Loo | dragonflyaerialcomp

Aerial Spotlight on:

Christine Van Loo

I met Christine Van Loo almost two decades ago and at the time I had no idea the incredible artist, athlete and performer she was! My husband had met her at an event and she, after he expressed my passion for wanting to learn aerial, invited me to join her to train with some "friends"! My life and career path changed that night because of Christine Van Loo.

Brand new to aerial, I had no clue that this laid back, casual and warm aquaintance of my husbands was the only acro-gymnast to win 7 consecutive National Championships. She was also the first American to medal at World Cup, which she did at age fourteen! She represented the US in World Cup and World Championships every year until she retired competitively at nineteen. Selected Olympic Female Athlete of the Year and Athlete of the Decade, she was inducted into U.S.A. Gymnastics Hall of Fame and the World Acrobatics Society Gallery of Honor and is considered a Legend in her sport and has devoted her life to merging art with athleticism, first as an acro-gymnast and later as an aerialist.

....my first aerial class ever, was taught by a legend. It took only a second to see her play that she was not just an LA aerialist working a weekend Bar Mitzvah. She was an elite artistic athlete, the culmination of a lifetime of training. If anyone deserves the spotlight on the ripples they have made in the aerial world it would definitely be Christine Van Loo. Christine went from leveling national competitions to becoming one of the most successful and accomplished aerialists in the world. She has opened solo for Paul McCartney before 100,000 people, performed at the 2002 Olympics, two Grammy Awards (w/ No Doubt and with Ricky Martin), the American Music Awards (w/ Aerosmith), the Miss Universe Pageant, as well as several feature films, television shows and music videos. For Cirque du Soleil’s press launch of Zumanity she performed her aerial act 80 feet off a nine story building from a hot air balloon. She also performed off a hot air balloon with Sarah Mc Lachlan and Josh Groban singing live. She has performed everywhere from the Sydney Opera House to Madison Square Garden to the Kennedy Center. She has been featured on ESPN’s World Class Women and she appeared on the cover of International Gymnast Magazine and in National Geographic World Magazine and Time Life books. Currently she is on tour with Cirque de la Symphonie. However, never a sense of elitism in her attitude, her practices have always been: be nice, be professional and be on time. Never a sense of scarcity in her willingnes to give, share and broaden the aerial community and she is always encouraging and promoting performers artistic individuality. She is the quintessential aerialists aerialist.

Fluent in Italian and Spanish and conversational in French, Christine regularly performs before more than 250,000 people a year. She has a contagious passion to inspire and empower those around her. She gives back as a guest speaker from educational organizations to women’s groups to conferences, athletic clubs, non-profit more, Christine’s keynote speeches leave a lasting impression by giving people tools to empower themselves, rewrite their life scripts and fulfill their own greater purpose.

Christine has also produced a series of instructional DVD's titled, Secrets of the Circus Acts Revealed. It is A MUST for anyone interested in circus artistry. Secrets of the Circus Revealed makes learning circus acts fun and easy. It is perfect for adults or children, with or without circus experience. Dancers, gymnasts, cheerleaders, athletes, professional performers or anyone interested in circus artistry can learn from these great DVD's. The techniques are broken down in an easy to understand format. You will increase your fitness level, strength and coordination while learning impressive skills. I can attest to this first hand as her Corde de Lisse vhs tape was the first aerial instructional in my library years ago and I wore it out! This informational is solid, foundational and its timeless.

Together with her husband Jonathan, Christine has created an aerialists heaven in Costa Rica, Airborne Arts. Here you can fly on trapeze over a lush valley and practice new aerial sequences in front of a 600' waterfall. You can listen to the song of howler monkeys while practicing your down dog.

...and learn a true athletic art from the best the aerial world has to offer.