Charlotte Dawson is a circus artist, dancer, and acrobat who specializes in aerial straps – a suspended apparatus that allows a performer to show off both their strength and flexibility.
She even has a Bachelor’s degree in Circus Arts from the National Centre for Circus Arts. And her honors performance “Straight to the Point” has been viewed over 1 million times since it was uploaded in 2014.
Music box
The creative choreography involves Dawson in the character of a music box ballerina.
And as the performance begins, two performers stand on stage with a sealed box.
As the music begins, they slowly open the box to reveal Dawson inside, who pops up as if she’s on a spring.
This should be an interesting performance!
Stuck in place as if she’s made of plastic just like the toy, she begins to twirl.
No doubt most little girls remember dreaming of being the dancer inside their own childhood music boxes.
And here come the straps.
Since we know this is an aerial performance, there has to be some way of suspending her in the air while giving her something to grab onto.
And like a toy escaping its prison, she holds tight to the straps as she’s lifted far away from the stage.
Sky ballet
Once she’s fully airborne, Dawson begins a series of acrobatic maneuvers that make you hope she’s got a good grip on those straps!
Luckily they’re twisted around other parts of her body as well as she performs more complex skills.
But some viewers wanted people to know just how much this hurts, despite how graceful it looks:
“For anyone who doesn’t know, aerial straps feel like agony and torture when you’re suspended from them in the air,” said one commenter.
For being in agony, she sure makes it look easy!
And while gravity may be working in her favor, there’s no doubt Dawson has incredible strangth and flexibility as she glides through the air and suspends herself in the splits.
Down to earth and up again
Halfway through the performance, Dawson is lowered back down to the stage to do some ballet on pointe.
It’s clear she’s a gifted dancer and acrobat.
In fact, she inspired some young viewers watching her performance:
“Beautiful, I am 13 and taking trapeze and aerial I hope to be as good as you. I also used to take ballet people said it was impossible to combine aerial and ballet but you proved them gracefully wrong,” wrote one young commenter.
But drawn to the sky once more, she takes some final glides before being let back down to earth for good.
At the end of her performance, she is lowered back into her box like a ballerina that had a dream of flying but is now drawn back to reality.
Viewers found the whole performance magical while still acknowledging the immense skills it takes to pull off such a routine:
“Ooooh I got chills. She looks so graceful, yet I know how much work she has put in, and the pain the straps can put on you. I’m in awe.”
We’re in awe of her as well!
Be sure to scroll down below to see her magnificent performance for yourself.
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