McKenna Young as Alice in the 2022 production of SOUL Aerial and Performing Arts’ “Alice in Wonderland” (Photo by Gianna Grace Photography)
For more than 150 years, readers have traveled with Lewis Carroll’s titular Alice as she tumbles down a rabbit hole to discover a world filled with astonishing beings and confusing sights. On March 24 and 25 at the Dominion Energy Center in downtown Richmond, viewers can watch as Alice encounters this new realm onstage — and in the air — thanks to a local performing arts studio’s production of what they cheerfully refer to as “Aerial Alice.”
“I want to be that person who created ‘Aerial Alice in Wonderland,’ ” says SOUL Aerial and Performing Arts owner Flynn Cross. “ ‘Alice’ is our ‘Nutcracker.’ ”
In the show, more than 60 children ranging in age from 5 to 17 bring Alice’s story to life via dance, gymnastics and aerial skills executed only after months of training and rehearsal. Because the show is set to music and has no dialogue, the performers are directed in how to communicate through movement and facial expressions. The difference is that, in addition to using the stage, the actors use the air, telling the story while using aerial silks, hoops (called lyra) and a variety of rope configurations. With those, performers launch themselves into the space above the stage, spinning and stretching themselves in unexpected ways.
Members of the Alice’s Nightmare cast carry the Red Queen, Annelies Lippman, during a rehearsal. (Photo by Jay Paul)
McKenna Young, 15, is Alice for a second time, having earned the part for last year’s production as well. (“Alice in Wonderland” was first performed in 2019 and then had a pandemic hiatus.) She was surprised with her casting last year. “I was auditioning for one of the main roles, but not the Red Queen or Alice,” Young says. “It was a complete shock. I never thought I’d get that role in eighth grade.”
Young came to SOUL Aerial five years ago after a friend from gymnastics class recommended it to her. She says her gymnastics background helps her “tremendously” even as she continues to learn. “My stamina is better” this year, she says. “Gymnastics helped me, but there’s a lot of training here. I’m definitely getting stronger and building endurance.”
Young says she enjoys her time at the studio not just because of what she’s learning, but because of the teachers and fellow students around her. “I love it here,” she says. “It’s hard to find a welcoming community, and this is [one].”
(From left) Alena Marciniak and Ava Loewe rehearse the Jabberwocky scene. (Photo by Jay Paul)
Zachary Bricks, 17, is one of the few male students in this year’s production and will be onstage as the Walrus, part of Tall Alice, a Tea Party Guest and the head Card. As a young child, he was fidgety, and his preschool teachers observed that he couldn’t sit still for circle time. His mother, Liath Bricks, says he was also fearless. “He would climb up my body and flip off my shoulders,” she says, laughing.
The Bricks family, then in Atlanta, found an aerial studio where Zachary could get the sensory stimulation recommended by occupational therapists: pressure, cross-body movement and joint work. After the family moved to Richmond in 2013, they looked for something similar; when they didn’t find what they wanted, they created a “sensory room” for Zachary in their house. “Once this studio opened up [in 2015], we were like ‘OK, here’s our kid,’ ” Liath says.
Zachary notes that his size — he’s now 6-foot-1 — affects what he can do in the air, but also creates other possibilities. “I don’t move as gracefully [as the girls], but there are some things that come easier for me, especially in acrobatics,” he says. “My body has been conditioned in the movements.” He also enjoys that he can serve as the “base” for many aerial stunts, literally providing an essential foundation for someone in the air. “I love this so much; I dedicate my school year to this,” he says.
Director Cross is a Richmond native who went to New York for a professional dance career and returned in her 20s for a more manageable life. She taught at VCU and was lead dance instructor at Henrico High School’s Center for the Arts. In 2015, she opened SOUL Aerial in a storefront on Ownby Lane and began offering instruction for children and adults in dance and aerial arts, centered on curriculum and training.
“We are performance-focused, not competition-focused,” Cross says. “ ‘Aerial Alice’ was simply an idea I had to create a large-scale aerial cirque production that we do each year. I have another one in the works for our adult clients.”
Zachary Bricks, McKenna Young and Flynn Cross (Photo by Jay Paul)
Beyond instruction in dance and aerial skills, Cross aims to give every student lifelong lessons. “I want these children to look back and say, ‘These people made a difference in my life,’ ” she says. “We have expectations here and also a gentleness here.”
While most performances are held at SOUL Aerial, where ropes and silks hang from 15 feet above the ground, ‘Aerial Alice’ will again be held at the Dominion Energy Center, where the height increases to 27 feet. Final rehearsals on-site will help students get comfortable with the different space, Cross says, adding that she’s looking for a second studio location where advanced students can work with longer silks and ropes on a regular basis. “The kids got so good during COVID, they need a bigger space,” she adds.
That would suit Young, who gets to perform a skill called Spanish web at the end of the show. “I love learning new drops on silks,” she says, “but I think I’ll pass on [the] Jabberwocky [role], because there’s a really big drop at the end.”
Never miss a Sunday Story: Sign up for the newsletter, and we’ll drop a fresh read into your inbox at the start of each week. To keep up with the latest posts, search for the hashtag #SundayStory on Twitter and Facebook.
