Carmen Curtis is flying high as one of the premiere experts in the world of aerial yoga and fitness.
A zealous practitioner for more than two decades, Carmen first found yoga as a way to heal her body from the extreme sports of gymnastic and Cirque performing, and has been teaching it ever since.
Hailed as a “teacher’s teacher” who guides practices with great empathy, compassion and a desire to help serve, the highly sought after traveling yogi teaches workshops, retreats, conferences, teacher training and performs all over the world.
Carmen grew up in Oregon doing gymnastics, swimming and dancing. She attended UCLA on a full scholarship for gymnastics and was part of the National Championship team. Following the birth of her second child and wanting to return to her yoga and Cirque roots, Carmen designed AIReal Yoga™ to use a hammock, a looped fabric that swivels freely on a single point, as a yoga prop to align, deepen stretches and safely do inversions.
Celebrities are often among the thousands of people Carmen touches with her craft, most recently training Beyoncé and her dancers at The Aerial Studio, in the art of aerial dancing, including harness and AIReal Yoga™, for the superstar’s current Formation World Tour. In addition, Carmen choreographed and Gregg directed the aerial acts featured in what is Beyoncé’s biggest and most spectacular world tour to date. Other well-known students Carmen has trained and worked with include such incredible talents as Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, and Edyta Sliwnke, a professional dancer often appearing on the hit television series Dancing With The Stars
The duo also co-own AIRealistic, an internationally renowned aerial theatre and rigging company, that has worked with such prestigious clients as: Dancing With The Stars, Cirque Du Soleil, Julie Taymor’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The 2008 Beijing Olympics, The World Stunt Awards, The Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Bregenz Opera Festival, Toyota, Disney, Red Bull and many, many more.
When not traveling, Carmen can most likely be found hanging around at The Aerial Studio in Ventura, CA, a certified RYS that she opened in 2012 along with her husband and fellow former Cirque performer and creative, Gregg Curtis. A production company that creates shows and live events, The Aerial Studio is also a training studio that offers classes in the aerial arts and theatre, acrobatics, dance, AIReal Yoga™, parkour, trampoline, and yoga. A unique and inspirational space, The Aerial Studio is both a place to enjoy a fun form of fitness and a place to train to become a professional cirque performer.
A star in her own right, Carmen has performed in many incredible shows including De La Guarda, where she was drumming, harness flying and running the walls, in NYC, Las Vegas, and South Korea. and has worked for such high-profile outlets as Cirque Du Soleil, MTV, and the Olympics. So impressed with her talent and ability, the director of Cirque Du Soleil, Franco Dragone, hired Carmen to collaborate with the research and development team for Le Reve, in which she also performed, at the Wynn hotel.
A testament to the masterful-blending of athlete, art and yoga, Carmen, who is deeply influenced by the teachings of Shiva Rae, Gurmukh and Bryan Kest, has garnered a reputation as the go-to guide for self-love and healing through yoga and the aerial arts.
Follow her journey @carmencurtis1
