Mary Langlois
Artistic Director, Lyra Coach, Sole Proprietor
Mary (her/she) has been dancing since before she could walk. Mary studied ballet at Festival Ballet of Providence in Rhode Island, where she performed in the annual Nutcracker. She also studied traditional Irish step dance, modern, and jazz. Mary received her bachelor's degree in dance from Rhode Island College, studying under Dante Del Guidice, Melody Ruffin Ward, Alexandra Beller, Sean Curran, etc. After college, Mary traveled to Ireland, where she first tasted aerial dance from Chantal McCormick. Mary's dancing took flight when she studied aerial dance with Frequent Flyers Productions in Colorado.
In Colorado, Mary enrolled in a 9-month aerial teaching and training program. The program was very intense, and she was thrilled to learn from many experienced teachers. She was exposed to many different styles of aerial dance. At the end of the 9- months, she was asked to apprentice with the company. After completion, she was then offered a position with the company as a full member. Mary continued to dance with them for the next 4 years. Every summer, Frequent Flyers hosted the Aerial Dance Festival. It was two weeks of aerial classes taught by people from all over the world. Mary attended these, and her education continued to grow.
Upon returning to the East Coast, Mary started to teach at Aircraft Aerial in Somerville and Overhead Arts in New Bedford. She is currently a dance member with Metamorphosis Dance company. The Dancing Loon is Mary's first Aerial Dance studio.
Erin Linebarger
Erin has been training in Aerial Dance and Contortion-style flexibility for 10 years and has been dancing since childhood. She is an L1-certified silks teacher through Aerial Physique. Her aerial silks classes emphasize active and dynamic stretching, flexibility-based tricks, and dancing through transitions. Contortion-style flexibility is not necessarily about one's current range of movement, but about a training style that highlights strength and control. It is a great conditioning approach for anyone looking to further their aerial repertoire, whether beginner or advanced.
Kara Olin
Kara (she/her) started learning Aerial Hammock in 2014 through aerial yoga classes and quickly fell in love with its versatility and began practicing on her own. With a gymnastic background and love for fitness, she found that it was a great strength-building tool that also allowed for relaxing inversions, supportive and calming poses, and dancing in the air. As her passion and knowledge grew, she decided she wanted to share with others. In 2018 she traveled to Chicago to complete an aerial fitness teacher training course and opened her own private studio in 2019 in Cranston RI. She was forced to close in 2020 due to the pandemic but found a new home teaching at a gym in Fall River, MA before joining the Dacning Loon. Kara will be sharing her love of aerial hammock, and continuing to learn and grow among fellow aerialists, deepening her connection with the aerial community.