15 years. 15 years of sisterhood being built. 15 years of creating a space for women.  A space where women are celebrated. A space where women are supported, without a doubt, sometimes for simply showing up.  A space where women can escape the day to day stress of life and be with other women who are also on the journey we call life. 

15 years of creating a space which produces some of the strongest women I have had the privilege of knowing. 15 years of creating a space with some of the most supportive instructors.  Instructors who are not only devoted to the sport, but devoted to seeing other women achieve success. 

If you are unsure what I am talking about.  Aerial Dance Wi recently celebrated 15 years of existence.  15 years ago, Paula Brusky PhD, with the support of her amazing parents, started teaching other women the sport of pole.  And, maybe more importantly, she began teaching other women how to show up for themselves.  

She opened the doors to an organization which has fostered an environment where women learn far more than a sport; where women gain far more than muscle mass, flexibility, and bruises.  Women learn their strength.  Women learn their value.  Women learn to embrace their bodies.  Women learn to love their bodies.  Women learn to take care of themselves.  Women learn to support other women.  

I took part in the 15 year celebration party and it was more than a party.  It was a celebration.  It was women dancing. It was women moving and loving their bodies. It was women celebrating a place that has changed countless lives for the better. We danced. We got hot and sweaty.  We danced some more.  We remembered to breathe.  And then we took some time and chatted, most with cake in hand.  Because, while you work hard, you should also celebrate and love yourself hard, including having the cake. 

In 15 years Aerial Dance, the amazing instructors, and two studios have impacted, what I can only guess is hundreds, if not thousands of women.  The impact does not end there though.  While Aerial Dance impacts the women who are students, it also impacts everyone the women are in contact with and how the women go about this world.  

Helping to create strong women does not have a small impact.  It has an impact that will continue to do amazing things.  Amazing things for women and amazing things for the community as a whole. 

While it has been around 15 years, again, every woman is celebrated. So if you have never danced, or “are not strong enough” or any other thing you are telling yourself, you are still, not only welcome, but encouraged, to come and join us as we dance through life, building stronger women, one day at a time.