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 / Company class/workshops

Cherie Carson, Company classes and workshops, performed her first aerial dance piece in 1990. Cherie created her first dance film in 1992 which was a finalist for the Robert Bennett Award in Los Angeles that year. She choreographs dance works that have been performed in a planetarium, on stilts, on rollerblades, in sculpture gardens, reflection pools, in a dress of 11 yards, on a bungee cord hanging from a Banyan tree, flying in a Redwood grove, on trapeze, tissu, slings, rope & harness, and invented equipment. Cherie has created more than 50 aerial pieces. Her last seven dance-for-camera films (2020 – 2024) have collectively been festival selections by 95 festivals around the world and have won 21 awards.

Gina Goldblatt

Adults and Youth teacher

Gina is a rope and silks artist who has been training as an aerialist for thirteen years. She loves how aerial provides an opportunity to be both silly and strong. Gina also teaches at Athletic Playground in Emeryville, and has performed locally with groups such as Smoke and Mirrors Menagerie and SkyBox Aerial, as well as at events ranging from art openings to private events. She has trained all over San Francisco and the East Bay, dabbled in clowning and contortion and loves to find where aerial and storytelling intersect. By day, Gina is the owner of a dog walking and training company in Oakland, a writer and an entrepreneur. Her latest venture is an online writing support business called Coterie of Writers.

KC Hyland

Company Dancer/ Adjunct Teacher/workshop

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

Linh Vu

Adults/Workshop teacher

Linh began training in aerial arts when she studied for her PhD in history at UC Berkeley. She is now in love with all the aerial apparatuses, especially lyra, pole, and silks. As a budding contortionist, she adds splits to all her sequences. She enjoys creating unique transitions and poses, and adjusting them according to each student's level. Come to her classes and you will learn how to flow seamlessly in the air.

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.

Kiran Haithcox

Company dancer/workshop teacher

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

Carrie Karlovic/ on leave/Adjunct Teacher

Carrie was diagnosed with a chronic illness soon after discovering aerial arts, and working on silks and rope helped her relearn her body and feel pride in what it can do with the apparatus as a dance partner. Carrie enjoys supporting students as they learn the principles behind wraps, mobility, and movement pathways. Her ambition is for her students to leave with a strong foundation on the apparatus and a deeper understanding and appreciation of their bodies.

UpSwing Teachers