Meet Jordann Baker of Concord Aerial in Glendale

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jordann Baker.

Jordann, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I saw my first aerial circus performance in 2006 when I was living in NYC, at a new year’s eve event at the Brooklyn Lyceum. I kind of knew about aerial silks, but I had never seen it performed live and it simply blew my mind! Watching the performers twirling and dancing and dramatically tumbling in the air inspired everything artistic and athletic inside me and I knew I just had to try it! I took a few classes with the performance company who I saw that night and after a short while, I was offered an apprenticeship. I was a year out of college and didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life and what direction I wanted to take, so I accepted the apprenticeship and figured I’d see what happened, and I’ve been doing aerial full-time ever since!

I’ve performed in many places and at many types of events in the US and abroad over the last 14 years, and I’m a regular performer at an amazing weekly show here in LA called Scot Nery’s Boobie Trap. If you haven’t seen the show, I would highly recommend a visit to this weekly Wednesday night show in Hollywood that has been running for over four years.

I love both the physicality and creativity of aerial circus arts! My passion project is Shapeshifter Circus, which is a theatrical rock-n-roll circus collaboration that began in 2014. I wrote, directed and performed this show with the LA band The Shakers and other circus performers at the warehouse where the LA Derby Dolls used to be located on Temple in Echo Park. Our show was in the round, and multi-disciplinary, with an interactive art installation that audience members could participate in pre-show and six circus performers as well as the band. The show told the story of 4 Souls, journeying from a place of darkness to a place of light and finding inner freedom along the way. It was super fun and rewarding to design and fabricate the costumes, props, and several lighting effects for the show! We produced and ran another sold-out run of the show again in 2015 before the Derby Dolls warehouse got demolished and turned into condos.

Two years ago, I had the opportunity to begin operating my aerial business out of a warehouse space in Glendale called The Concord. The Concord is a mixed-use warehouse that is home to Starmakers Costumes, a costume rental business with an epic collection, Meyer 2 Meyer Entertainment, who produces amazing live events and marketing attractions, and a few other artists and makers. I was very excited to rehearse and perform Shapeshifter Circus’ new show, The Carnival Underneath, at The Concord in 2018. The band wrote new original music for the show and we took a turn into the macabre realm of “the underneath”, where witches roam, pet birds turn into giants, and creepy clowns scalp themselves and eat their own brains!

Since my first year of being an aerialist, I have also been an aerial instructor and have taught hundreds of adults how to do aerial from the ground up! I began teaching in NYC and have taught here in LA for the last nine years. I have also had the opportunity to teach workshops at various studios around the country and I have a retreat that I host every year in TX called the Aerial Ranch Retreat. When I first began my training, I could not begin to do a pull-up or to invert (go upside-down), but I loved the challenge that aerial offered and the fitness journey that I was on. With dedication, I saw the results of my hard work and it made all the cool tricks I could do that much more satisfying! I’m truly a believer that anyone can learn aerial arts – all you need is a desire to try something new and to enjoy the journey!

I began learning aerial on the Silks apparatus, and over the years have trained on and taught many apparatuses, including Rope, Hammock, Trapeze and Hoop. My favorites are the vertical apparatuses, Silks & Rope, and most of my classes are on these apparatuses. The Concord has five aerial rigging points that are 23′ high, which is a really nice amount of height to work on! Many of my students are artists, dancers or performers who are looking to add to their skill-set. Many others are people who want to be fit but hate what a gym environment has to offer. My current student body ranges in age from 23-63 and it is amazing to see what they can all do!

In their first aerial class, students learn about body positions and correct shoulder and core engagement during ground warm up. Then, we work on the basics of climbing, footlocks, and inversions (going upside-down). Everyone gets into the air on their first day! Group aerial classes at The Concord are 90-min and $30 and capped at six students. It is necessary to register ahead of time to reserve a space. Private and shared private lessons are also available on any apparatus for $75/hr. My class schedule is posted on my website, JordannBaker.com, and is as follows:

Tuesdays 10:30am-12 Int/Adv Silks Choreography
Tuesdays 7:30-9pm Beg/Int Silks Technique
Wednesdays 7:30-9pm Beg/Int Rope Technique
Saturdays 12-1:30pm Beg/Int Silks Technique

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Aerial is difficult! You just get slightly better at doing it over time, but the journey is so worth it! I think what has kept me hooked is the challenge that it offers and the artistic and creative possibilities that can always be explored.

I’ve been fortunate to be pretty injury-free over the years and to continue to do what I love.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Concord Aerial – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
My name is Jordann Baker and I am an aerial performer and instructor. I love to create dynamic, site and event-specific performance art 30′ in the air! I really love the intensity of performing – defying gravity while telling a story to beautiful music and giving audiences something extra-ordinary. I think bringing the extra-ordinary to life is the definition of circus!

I also teach weekly beginner-advanced aerial circus classes in LA at The Concord in Glendale. I have taught my craft to regular folks and professional dancers over the last 14 years and am a very technical instructor, which I know my students like. Being good at going aerial is one skill, but being good at teaching aerial is another skill. I have honed my teaching methods for the last 14 years and have a unique ability to help people realize their potential in the air!

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I look forward to creating and performing future incarnations of Shapeshifter Circus at The Concord! I’ve been working on a new rope act to premiere in a few months and also creating fabricating a new costume for it.

I also love teaching and plan to continue offering classes for years to come. One photo I attached is of 3 girls in the air and a few girls on the ground…that is from this past year’s student show. I look forward to holding another student show at The Concord later this year and watching all of my students shine!

Pricing:

• 90-min Group Aerial Classes $30
• 60-min Private lessons $75

Contact Info:

• Address: 241 Concord St. Glendale CA
• Website: JordannBaker.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @aerialjordann

Image Credit:
Bruno O’Hara, Stephen Albanese, Ira Meyer, Rowan Metzner, Cliff Baise

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