AIR® Aerial Fitness: Kyla Bancroft
Happy Women’s History Month! This month, and every month, we’re celebrating women and change makers who are leading with consciousness, creativity and compassion. As we channel more movement and ease this year, we can’t help but champion Kyla Bancroft: Owner and Master Trainer at AIR® Aerial Fitness, Los Angeles. With a professional ballet background, Kyla shares lessons on her success including adaptability, staying true to your values and leaning on community.
Kyla, thanks for slowing down with us. From dance as creative expression, to being a professional dancer for 10+ years and establishing AIR® Aerial Fitness - we’d love to hear how you started your journey…
From a very young age I was attracted to dance, creation, and movement. It was honestly one of those “dance before you walk” situations. Before I found aerial, dancing (ballet in particular) was my passion: a way to express myself and feel connected to others. I've been lucky enough to turn my passion into a career, spending over a decade performing on stages all around the US and sharing my love of movement with audiences and now students.
I fulfilled my dream dancing at many professional ballet companies which was my absolute fairytale, but (if I’m honest) it was incredibly challenging and didn’t feel sustainable. I hung up my pointe shoes when I turned 24 and it was the best decision I could have made for my physical and mental health. It led me to a career in aerial fitness that five year old me would have never dreamed of or imagined.
I wanted to do more – I wanted to inspire other women to embrace their creativity and feel empowered in their own bodies. I wanted fit bodies to come in different shapes and sizes, and I wanted to feel strong.
I remember taking my first aerial fitness class and after a 10 year ballet career, I realised I couldn’t do a single pull up or push up! I quickly became obsessed and wanted to be as ‘good’ or as ‘fit’ as the womxn surrounding me. It didn’t take long for me to realise this was the business I belonged in and that's why I made the choice to open (now two) of my own AIR® studios with my incredible business partner, Michelle. We offer a unique workout experience that combines dance, aerial arts, and mindfulness. It's all about helping people unlock their potential and feel amazing, both inside and out.
I'm proud of the welcoming and supportive community we've built at AIR®, where womxn (and people!) of all ages, backgrounds, and fitness levels can come together to explore movement, push their limits, and have a blast while doing it. My goal is to make fitness and self-expression a fun, inclusive experience for everyone, and to show that the arts and culture scene is for all of us.
As a woman who's all about living consciously, creatively, and compassionately, I hope my journey can be an inspiration to others. I believe in the power of art to change lives and create positive vibes, and I'm committed to making a difference in my community and beyond. So let's keep dancing, dreaming, and making the world a more beautiful place, one step at a time!
Incredible. You’ve grown a thriving community in LA - with two aerial studios, how did you build back better post the pandemic?
It was my biggest priority to keep the studio open for the community we’ve built. Our studios have become a safe space for many of our clients that we couldn’t bear to see go. It hasn’t been easy, but the work is a worthwhile endeavour. When the pandemic hit, I had to quickly adapt to the new normal, try not to lose my mind and find silver linings where I could. Little did I know that it would help me grow my business even bigger and better. As lockdowns turned our lives upside down (no pun intended), I started leaning on tech to keep in touch with friends, family, and work buddies. Zoom calls, online classes, and social media became essential tools for staying connected while staying safe.
This experience with technology opened up new opportunities for my business. I was able to expand my reach by offering virtual classes and workshops, which attracted people from all over the country who were eager to join our community. Focusing on self-care and well-being during the pandemic led me to integrate these values into my business. This holistic approach resonated with our clients, and it helped set us apart from competitors. Not only did this help us stay afloat during tough times, but it also allowed us to grow and connect with a more diverse audience eager to practice in real life when it was ok to do so.
As we worked on giving back to our community, our brand's reputation grew stronger. People appreciated our commitment to inclusivity, support for the most vulnerable, and our dedication to promoting equity and sustainability. This translated into more customers and a stronger business foundation. I think it helps too that people were essentially stuck inside for two years and are now ready to be out and about but also catching up on the fitness they may have lost during the pandemic. People seem ready to workout and try new things.
In the end, my post-pandemic journey has shown me how resilience, adaptability, and compassion can drive business success. By taking care of ourselves, embracing new ways of connecting, and supporting our communities, we've not only built a brighter, more inclusive future for everyone but also expanded and strengthened our business in ways we never imagined possible. The limitations set by the pandemic turned out to be a blessing in disguise, pushing us to think outside the box and grow beyond our expectations.
Image: Michael Nguyen Photography
Thank you for all you do to prioritise inclusivity and mindfulness. Do you have any favourite moments from your dance career so far?
It might sound cliche but every moment just before I stepped out from the wings and onto the stage in any given performance was my favourite. I loved being in the green rooms, having hair and make up done, shooting the sh*t with my fellow dancers and putting on a magical production. I never tired of the hundreds of Nutcracker performances I did!
I did try my hand at a Broadway audition once and it is one of my silliest and most cherished memories I am happy to share: I went to an audition for a new show and I was very excited (and nervous) that Paloma Garcia-Lee was one of the auditioners/judges. I was auditioning as a “dancer who can sing”, essentially auditioning as a back-up dancer and not one of the more prominent characters that would have a singing or speaking role (a singer that can dance). The audition had several portions to it, an all-day experience, where cuts are made after each round. The first round was a dance portion - one of the auditioners teaches movement and then groups of 10 go at once; cuts are made. This process continues for maybe an hour or so. After the first round, if your name is called you have made it through and on to the next round. My name is called, I’m feeling high, I am ready for round two.
Round two is another dance portion - I am feeling great, thinking: ‘YES, I’ve made it to the next round. It’s dance again, I’ve got this, LET’S GO!’ The second portion is much more challenging. The movement you are meant to learn is shown ONE TIME and no questions are permitted; you either learned it or you didn’t. Same process occurs, smaller groups of 3-5 show at a time; cuts are made.
MY NAME IS CALLED! I’m ecstatic! What happens next? Do I get a call-back? Do I wait to see if I am cast in the show? I’ve never done a Broadway audition before, only ballet companies, so I am not entirely sure what to expect.
Well. The next round is… singing. I didn’t realize that I would have to PROVE that I was a dancer that could sing. I naively thought as the back-up dancer I wouldn’t have to audition in a singing round, and boy was I wrong. I now have 15 minutes before round 3: singing. I had nothing prepared. The auditioner asked us for our sheet music to give to the accompanist and mentioned we had to have 32 bars prepared. It was like they were speaking a different language to me - I had no idea what kind of duration 32 bars was. Was it the chorus of a song? How many 8-counts was 32 bars? I panicked. I had never felt more under prepared in my life. I called my friend who was an opera singer and asked her for her advice; she told me to just pick a song I liked to sing and that I’d have to pretend I had intended to sing it acapella (with no music). This was all back in 2012… the year ‘Pitch Perfect’ came out. You guessed it, I sang the ‘cups’ song, and I did it without the cups.
The auditioners knew I came in unprepared and I was fully expecting to be scolded for it. Well, I wasn’t. The judges commended me for still trying, for being bold and singing without music. One of them told me I had ‘so much soul’ in my voice that they weren’t expecting from looking at me. I had never sung in front of anyone in my life, and it is a compliment (I still don’t believe), but am proud to have received.
Long story, but I got the show. I didn’t end up performing because the dates didn’t align with my other ballet performance. It is a small regret I’ll always have but it will forever be one of my most cherished and favourite memories. I put myself out of my comfort zone, and proved that I could do anything I put my mind to. That lesson hasn’t left me and it’s often what gets me through my toughest days in my current life.
For me there isn’t one best performance, or one greatest moment, it is the many small moments accumulated that will always be with me. The lessons I’ve learned along the way are the ones that have shaped me into the human I am today. I can be proud of myself and be proud to be a leader in the community.
Agreed. As a young woman coming up in the dance world, how did you experience the industry? Looking back, is there anything that you would like your younger self to know?
My journey in the dance and ballet world has been one wild ride, filled with ups and downs that have helped me grow as a dancer and a person. From tough rehearsals to the excitement of performing on stage, ballet really pushed me to give it my all (and sometimes more). If I could go back and tell my younger self anything, it'd be this: always remember the pure joy of dancing, remember who you are here for and why you are doing this - even when it gets tough. Remember that it’s okay to trust yourself, be yourself, and that there IS more out there, there IS help, and you can do anything.
Back when I first started ballet, I was so into the whole world of it - the history, the storytelling, and of course, the incredible moves. Ballet consumed me'; my every day and every thought was focused on how I could further myself, how to train harder, be better. As I continued to become serious and started dancing with professional companies, I faced some seriously challenging parts of the industry. Long hours, achy muscles, and competing for roles could be a real bummer sometimes. The heartbreak of not feeling good enough was not an easy one to shake. It’s really interesting getting a job at a company where you have to understand that you do have talent, otherwise you wouldn’t have been chosen, but then in the same breath you aren’t chosen for roles you’ve worked so hard to get. It’s a limbo of imposter syndrome I can hardly explain.
What kept me going, though, was never forgetting why I fell in love with ballet in the first place. Whenever things got hard, I'd remind myself of that first time I stepped into a dance studio or how amazing it felt to perform for an audience. Focusing on those happy moments helped me push through the tough times and made me a stronger dancer.
So if I could go back, I'd tell little me so many things: hold on to those moments of happiness and excitement that ballet brings. Don't let the hard parts of the industry get in the way of the joy that comes from dancing. It’s okay to look different from the people around you. It’s okay to be different. It’s okay to be yourself. I would also let myself know that there are other parts of life that can be fulfilling, that one art form might feel like the ‘end-all, be-all’ but it’s also okay to explore other creative expressions. I would tell myself it’s okay to seek help for the struggles I was facing mentally and physically. That seeking council doesn’t make you weak, in fact, it is what makes you stronger. Find the support system around you, and it’s okay to rely on them.
In all, my time in the ballet world has been a mix of challenges and amazing experiences, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. It led me to my current aerial career which wouldn’t be the same without my dance history. I've been able to stick with it and build a career I'm truly passionate about. To my younger self, and to all the young dancers out there, never forget why you fell in love with your creative expression – it'll help you keep going through all the ups and downs.
Image: Michael Nguyen Photography
Dance is a beautiful form of creative expression: it requires discipline, passion and vulnerability. As a dancer, trainer and business owner, are there any life lessons that you can share with us?
Being a dancer, trainer, and business owner has been an adventure filled with many ups and even more downs, and I've learned some pretty important life lessons along the way. If I had to narrow it down, I'd say there are three big takeaways that have presented themselves to me through the years.
Lesson 1: The power of perseverance & adaptation.
As a dancer, I've faced my fair share of challenges – sore muscles, tough rehearsals, and sometimes feeling like I'd never nail that perfect pirouette. I’d never be the best, never be thin enough, never be the girl next to me. But I learned that if you stick with it and give it your all, you can achieve amazing things. I learned that I don’t want to be the person next to me, I just want to be the best version of me I can be and that it is enough. The same goes for being a trainer and a business owner. There will always be rough days, but pushing through and staying committed can make all the difference in the world. Stick with something you believe in, be willing, adaptable, and open to change when something isn’t working well.
Lesson 2: Stay true to yourself and your values.
In the dance world, it's easy to get caught up in comparing yourself to others, but I've learned that it's so important to focus on your own journey and stay true to who you are. As a trainer, I've made it a point to create a positive and supportive environment for my students, and my staff, helping them embrace their individuality. And as a business owner, I've stayed true to my values, making sure my studio stands for something I believe in – like promoting inclusivity and giving back to the community.
Lesson 3: Don't be afraid to ask for help.
Nobody has all the answers, and that's totally okay! I wouldn’t be where I am today without support. My business partner, my wife, my family, my therapist, and my friends are the breath in my lungs that make this all possible. It truly takes a village and it took me far too long to learn that you can’t do it all alone.
I've had to lean on my people for guidance and support, for problem solving and problem facing. As a trainer, I've learned from other trainers' experiences and constantly looked for ways to grow and improve. As a business owner, I've reached out to others in the industry, built a solid team, and never hesitated to ask for advice when I needed it. I am constantly utilising resources that are available to me to try to improve.
My journey as a dancer, trainer, and business owner has taught me priceless life lessons. Perseverance, adaptation, staying true to yourself, and asking for help have all been game-changers for me. By keeping these lessons in mind, I've been able to grow and succeed in ways I never thought possible.
We love to share recommendations to our readers. What are you:
Listening to?
I go through a lot of musical waves. Winter bae listen right now is: Loveless, a pop punk band that brings me back to my angsty teen years. Summer bae: JORDY and FLETCHER - nothing beats a good queer band in my book.
Reading?
I read as often as I can - catch me in the bubble bath with a good book almost any night. My recent reads are:
‘Tender is the Flesh’, by Agustina Bazterrica. This one is a creepy but thought provoking read!
‘I’m Glad My Mom Died’, by Jennette McCurdy. An incredible story about overcoming hardship, mental struggles, and abuse.
‘The Change’, by Kirsten Miller. Such a fun story about female friendship and a revenge story that brings them unexpected new powers.
‘Recursion’, by Blake Crouch. Science fiction story about a broken reality and time travel.
Watching?
Lately, I've been hooked on travel blogs featuring Thailand, Costa Rica, and South Africa. I am dreaming about hosting aerial retreats in these stunning countries. The breathtaking landscapes and vibrant cultures have me itching to explore and share the magic of aerial arts in these unique, picturesque locations. Can't wait to make it happen!
