TAMPA, Fla. — Twisting and working with the fabric to pull off these moves is something these talented individuals have been working on for over a year at Aerial Dragons Studios in Tampa. 

The person behind their success is one of the instructors, Emily Fernandez. She's only been teaching there for a little over a year, but got her start in the world of aerial arts more than six years ago after a friend introduced her to the art form. 

Eventually, she got so good that she left her full-time job as a hairstylist and made teaching aerial arts her full-time gig. 

“I love moving with my body," Fernandez said. "I was a dancer, cheerleader and gymnast, and after that, sitting at desk jobs just wasn't doing it for me and I knew when I started this someday in the future I would be teaching.” 

Now, she teaches classes like this one where her students have been training and working with her for more than a year, gaining the skills to do acrobatics. 

At Aerial Dragons Studios, they welcome all experience levels and offer a host of unique classes from contortion to acrobatics, even fire dancing. 

“The first thing people notice is the height of the ceilings, because people that have been to other gyms, you'll notice the ceilings are not as high, so that coupled with the amount of classes we have really makes us stand out and this space is so great for aerialists in Tampa,” she said. 

It's a unique experience and one that will have you learning to do aerial arts like the professionals.

In addition to the classes they offer at the Aerial Dragons Studios, they also perform several times a year at the Straz Center.