UpSwing is a contemporary aerial dance company that features the repertory of Artistic Director Cherie Carson. The Company has been presented locally and nationally, performing & teaching to audiences and students in Atlanta, GA; New York, NY;  Seattle, WA;  Santa Barbara, Sacramento and San Francisco, CA;  and San Antonio, Austin and Houston, TX.

“Cherie's productions are consistently creative and beautifully done. I am happy to witness UpSwing's contributions to the field of aerial dance, and appreciate the spiritual feeling of Cherie’s work.” Terry Sendgraff

Cherie Carson

Artistic Director / producer / choreographer / Visionary / collaborator / Interdisciplinary Artist

Cherie Carson performed her first aerial dance piece in 1990.  In 1992, Cherie incorporated video into her choreography for an underwater dance and that video collaboration was a finalist for the Robert Bennett Award in LA.  In 1998, Cherie performed to sold-out houses at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Edinburgh, Scotland.  Upon arriving in the Bay Area in 2000, Cherie met, studied and taught workshops with Terry Sendgraff and in 2005 she took over Terry's aerial dance business.  Cherie has performed and studied with 30+ national & international dance makers including Molissa Fenley, Merce Cunningham, Bebe Miller, Tanztheater Rubato, Bridgeman-Packer Dance, Douglas Nielson and Dwight Shelton.  She has choreographed dances that have been performed in a planetarium, underwater, on stilts, on rollerblades, in sculpture gardens, in reflection pools, in a dress of 11 yards, on a bungee cord hanging from a Banyan tree, on Redwood trees, on trapeze, tissu, slings, rope & harness and invented equipment.  Cherie has created more than 50 aerial pieces for herself, UpSwing Company, other companies and individual artists.  

"My work explores imagination and intuition. While I am not always sure where the sparks of insight come from that drive me to continue to create, to feel passionately about something that doesn't exist yet, to try things to see if they work, to ask questions, this is how I view life and how I view my art form. I like dancing and creating dance at eye level yet defying gravity. It makes me feel more real and yet super human to defy and float above the earth. Eye level is more human scale.”

KIRAN HAITHCOX

COMPANY DANCER/TEACHER

Kiran Haithcox is a Pilates instructor who has always loved to dance. Growing up, she studied ballet in Chicago and took modern dance classes at Connecticut Wesleyan University, where she earned a degree in Earth and Environmental Science. Moving to the Bay Area, she discovered trapeze and circus arts, and fell under the spell of aerial dance. She was lucky enough to have had Terry Sendgraff, the "mother of aerial dance" as a teacher and mentor, who also taught her how to walk and dance on stilts. 15 years ago, she joined the UpSwing Company, directed by Cherie Carson and danced with them for a decade. She is overjoyed to be rejoining the Company again in 2021

KC Hyland

Company Dancer/ Adjunct Teacher

KC Hyland is an actor and aerialist specializing in dance trapeze and aerial hoop who performs in a variety of live and virtual shows for audiences seeking unique storytelling experiences. Fifteen years of competitive rugby have given KC a fierceness which manifests as passionate, soulful movement. Performing on dance trapeze and her custom red Tiny Hoop around the San Francisco Bay Area, KC can also bring her humor, room-filling personality, and a grinning charisma to any stage. Her playful wit and expressive face make her one of the most charming and engaging immersive actors in the Bay Area scene

Carrie Karlovic

Company Dancer/Adjunct Teacher

Carrie started on aerial silks in 2014, but a few months later, after training corde lisse under Allie Cooper, she turned into a momentum junkie and sequencing nerd. Since those early days, Carrie has performed solo pieces for cabarets, charity galas, and music festivals. This year she started sharing her passion for aerial as an instructor at SF’s Circus Center where she also trains tumbling and single-point trapeze.

Dorian Maffei

Company Dancer

Dorian Maffei developed a penchant for going upside down by age three and went on to be a top competitive gymnast into her late teens, competing regionally and nationally. It wasn't until her college years in Santa Cruz that she discovered her love for aerial. With the combination of her gymnastics and dance background, she naturally gravitated toward rope, finding its dynamism and beauty in strength addictive. Her training has taken her to Santa Cruz, New York, and the Bay Area. We welcome Dorian as she brings her enthusiasm and skills to UpSwing.

Elizabeth Scotten

Company Dancer/Adjunct Teacher/on maternity leave

Elizabeth Scotten is a middle school teacher and project-based learning expert who integrates the arts with academics. She is a graduate of U.C. Santa Cruz, majoring in Community Studies, and holds a teaching credential and MA in Education Leadership from Mills College.  Her early training was in gymnastics & ice skating. She began working with Terry Sendgraff in 2000, performing with Cherie Carson, and later with Miranda Company in Santa Cruz. She has been dancing with UpSwing since its inception.  Elizabeth looks forward to one day introducing her young daughter, Elliot, to aerial dance.

“Aerial dance is more meditative and more expressive for me than gymnastics or circus skills,” Scotten says. “The artistry is more of a challenge, and that’s what I love about it.” Elizabeth looks forward to one day introducing her baby daughter, Elliot, to aerial dance.

Chris Spiteri

summer camp director / Company Dancer / guest teacher

Chris Spiteri has been described as a "force of nature like elegant steel". They love teaching and performing aerial arts, creating a safe learning environment where ANY BODY can achieve their aerial goals. They are a nationally touring workshop instructor and accomplished program director in aerial arts, as well as a community leader, choreographer and multifaceted performer. You can find out more about Chris at ChrisSpiteriRigged.com

Helium valentine

Rehearsal director/Company Dancer/ Teacher for Girls Who Fly

Helium Valentine began dancing in primary school with the Atlanta Ballet and continued technique even when she moved to the small town of Fresno in the 20th century. After a cold stint in Ohio to attend Oberlin college, upon graduation she she moved to LA. There she eventually found the aerial arts, completed the Protrack program in Boulder, CO, then came back to California where she joined UpSwing in 2017.

ARTISTS AND COLLABORATORS

RiggerS for UpSwing Company

MATT LEONARD Rigger for the Kunlin Project

ACACIA (JESSICA HOULE) Rigger for UpSwing’s snow globe for the Winter Solstice 2019 and film 2021.

MUSICIANS

DAN CANTRELL / Musician

DAVE WORM / Musician

FILM/CINEMATOGRAPHY

DAVID CREECH / Co-Director, Filmmaker and Editor

A.K. SANDHU / Filmmaker

LIGHTING DESIGNERS

Radiant Atmospheres / Dave Abel

Former/Company Dancers

KIRSTIN BROWN - Kirstin has a BA in Theatre Arts from Humboldt State University.  She has worked as a professional makeup artist and currently performs as a belly dancer. Kirstin joined the UpSwing company in 2015 as part of her continuing dance studies:  "The next step in my dancing career is to get off the floor, and into the air!."

HELEN FITANIDES - danced on the ground for many years and fell in love with aerial dance in 2009. She received her formative training with La Petite Chouette Aerial Dance Company in Santa Barbara and began performing and teaching with UpSwing in 2015. She currently lives in the Sierra foothills and works in the environmental field when she’s not flying. 

CARA ZEISLOFT - Originally from Portland, Cara Zeisloft began dancing at age four, and began taking classes when she was eleven. Cara first danced in the air at The Evergreen State College in 1992, then studied in Seattle with Robert Davidson. She has also danced on the ground with the Chimene Pollard Dance Group, and performed with We Players in site-specific theater on Alcatraz. Cara has a psychotherapy practice in Berkeley. While Cara makes dances of her own, she relishes the chance to turn over the choreography to the ever-inventive Cherie Carson, and just fly.

VERA BELAIA was born in Moscow, Russia, and grew up studying ballet at Ballet de Volee in Rockville, Maryland. She took a break from dancing while in college, focusing her creative energy instead on directing and acting with the Maryland Shakespeare Players. Her first aerial dance experience was in the spring of 2019 at an adult class here at UpSwing. Vera is thrilled to continue learning and developing as an aerial dancer as a member of the company! Outside of the dance studio, she has a masters degree in environmental engineering and is currently on the path to becoming a high school math teacher.

and ASHLEY FOSTER, SARAH STOLAR, JENIFER “GEM” ALVARADO

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

HANNAH DWORKIN

ADJUNCT TEACHER/ADVISORY COMMITTEE/FORMER COMPANY MEMBER

Hannah Dworkin is a skilled performing artist and educator with a strong background in modern and aerial dance as well as in opera. The Director of UpSwing Youth Programs, she is a fully credentialed classroom and music teacher. Dworkin holds a B.A. in Dance from the University of California Berkeley and an M.A. in Music and Music Education from Columbia University.  A regular performer in musical theatre, she has “flown” in musicals, from Aladdin to Peter Pan. “What I enjoy about performing with UpSwing is that the work unites what I love about the arts – both the visual and dance aspects,” she says. 

Alissa Kaplan Soto

VISUAL ARTIST/FORMER COMPANY MEMBER/ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Alissa Kaplan Soto studied aerial dance for six years with Terry Sendgraff and performed with her company until Sendgraff’s retirement.  She then began studying with Cherie Carson, and joined UpSwing Company, returning for this year’s season after 3 years in New York, where she performed with Julie Ludwick’s Fly-by-Night Dance Theater.  As an artist, Alissa works in many mediums such as, painting, printmaking, and fiber arts. Her artistic style can be seen in her choreographic work as she melds her fine art to movement. Alissa holds a B.F.A. in Ceramics and an M.A. in Cultural Anthropology from Hunter College. She is a working artist and teacher. www.alissakaplan.com

ELENA RONQUILLO

ADVISORY COMMITTEE/ FORMER LIGHTING DESIGNER AND THEATER DIRECTOR