Instructors
Erica
Instructor
Erica
Erica began her pole journey at Bittersweet Studios in 2015 and in that time has competed in several pole competitions and brought home multiple medals. She enjoys both sport and exotic styles. She has a passion to create flowing movements through the art of pole and her infectious energy always makes for a great class!
Summer
Instructor
Summer
Summer began her Pole and Aerial journey after she moved here from the West Coast. She began her journey in 2010 and has trained with athletes from all over the world. As the Founder and President of the US Pole Sport Federation (2014 – 2020) she began to pave the way for athletes in the USA to compete at an Olympic level on a world stage. She continues to be a huge supporter and advocate for Aerial Sports and is a certified trainer and judge for pole and aerial. She also manages a full-time career as a business owner as well as an instructor in all disciplines offered at the studio. She believes that perfecting the fundamentals is the best way to gain strength and mobility which allows you to achieve a higher level of fitness and poise.
KT
Instructor
KT
KT began dancing at the age of 3 and has held a passion for the performing arts ever since. She spent the next 13 years studying ballet, jazz, tap, and modern and became heavily involved in the Ballroom and Latin Dance community in college. In 2013, she discovered Bittersweet Studios and in 2014, she joined the Bittersweet team as an aerial silks and aerial yoga instructor. KT loves being a part of students’ aerial journey and is forever grateful to have found a home with Bittersweet Studios.
Anna
Instructor
Anna
I was born and raised in Milan, Italy. After graduating from the University of Milan in Human Sciences for Communication, I began working as a graphic designer. I began Pole Dancing in 2011 and fell in love with it. To improve my skills, I focused a lot on stretching, and body conditioning, and studied the fundamentals of Aerial Arts and Calisthenics.
I had so much passion for Pole Dancing that in 2013 I quit my job and opened a Pole Dance & Aerial Arts school in Milan. I kept teaching until the end of 2020 when I decided to move to the U.S. and begin a new adventure. I now manage my school from a distance and teach at my new home Bittersweet Studio.
I love to experiment with new disciplines and apparatus, such as rings and aerial spirals that I have practiced for a few years. I have a big passion for performing and visual arts and am also a photographer, with my favorite subjects being performers and dancers of any kind.
Andrea
Instructor
Andrea
Andrea is a long-time teacher and practitioner of fitness, yoga and movement classes. After about 20 years of yoga practice on the ground, she fell in love with doing yoga in the air and started her own company, Flying Colors Aerial Yoga, to share aerial yoga in Jacksonville. The hybrid practice of aerial yoga expanded her horizons and eventually led to a deep dive into the wider world of aerial/circus arts. Though she loves to train on hammock, dance trapeze or whatever happens to be rigged up at the moment, the aerial hoop (Lyra) is by far her favorite apparatus.
Andrea brings the sensibility of her yoga background to teaching aerial arts; she emphasizes alignment, body awareness, and intentional movement. Training, teaching (and sometimes even performing) as a yogi and aerialist is a second act to her first career as a corporate lawyer. She’s having so much more fun now.
Michelle
Instructor
Michelle
Michelle has been dancing since she could walk, she was primarily trained in Ballet from her mother. She also studied at various company schools around the country, including the Boston Ballet, Virginia School of the Arts, and was part of the trainee program with the Joffrey Ballet. She also has explored many other forms of dance including Jazz, Modern, Flamenco, and Tango, and currently trains in aerial arts. Michelle has studied with world renowned bellydance teachers such as Zoe Jakes, Moria Chappell, Amy Sigil, Mira Betz, Kami Liddle and many more. She also has completed and passed Phase I and Phase II of The 8 Elements™ by Rachel Brice.
Daniela
Instructor
Daniela
Born and raised in Brazil, Daniela brings a world of experience to Bittersweet Studios where she has called home since 2015. Daniela began dancing at 8 and has spent the last 7 years teaching pole to students of all skill levels. Understanding the reservations that new students may have, Daniela creates a non-judgmental environment for all students to feel free and express themselves. She believes being a fitness apparel owner and a Sports Mental Health Coach give her all the skills needed to make her classes fun, energetic, and welcoming.
Jason
Instructor
Jason
Jason is a former gymnast of eleven years and a former US Navy Hospital Corpsman based out of Jacksonville, Florida. He was honorably discharged from active duty in the United States Navy after serving for ten years to pursue his dream of becoming an aerial artist. He relocated back to his hometown in Jacksonville, Florida and in October 2015, joined Bittersweet Studios. Jason has had a successful teaching and performing career and has traveled the world performing with AIDA cruise lines. He is currently coaching with Circus Smirkus and performing with AirOtic Circus Cabaret.
Kasey
Instructor
Kasey
Starting her training at the age of 3, Kasey has never known a life without dance. She started in Classical Ballet, Jazz, & Tap from The Shoshannah Arts Dance Conservatory. Later adding modern and hip hop to her repertoire. Over 15 years training and performing with SDC, Kasey has danced all throughout Jacksonville as well as Europe. Kasey was also a company member for a Chicago based dance company, the Massive. During her time in Chicago, she took various styles of dance classes at renowned studios such as Lou Conte Dance Studio, Visceral Dance Chicago, and Joel Hall Dance Center. She came to Bittersweet Studios in 2014 and has loved every minute of it! Sharing her knowledge of dance & childhood dreams of running away to join the circus have finally come true. Her goal for all her classes is to spread the joy of dance, watch the confidence it can give, and the friends you can make while learning different styles & levels of technique.
Christa
Instructor
Christa
Christa began her aerial journey with us just a few months after we opened our doors. She immediately gravitated to the silks & now lives for her "daily dangle." Her favorite aspect of teaching is seeing the excitement in her students when they learn a new skill. While she also enjoys kayaking & riding bikes, climbing the curtains is her preferred activity. She also performs with BSweet Entertainment and is an avid foodie who will always be more than happy to get something to eat with you after class!
Lexis
Instructor
Lexis
Lexis Potter is an addict of all things aerial. She began coaching circus arts in the fall of 2017 and has gone full steam ever since. Apparatuses she has trained, performed, and coached on include but aren’t limited to aerial hammock, silks, lyra, dance trapeze, triple trapeze, and a variety of partnering/doubles work across multiple apparatuses. Lexis considers herself an aerial generalist but specializes in aerial fabric (hammock and silks) and wrap theory.