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.
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.
Clara Lafrance
Clara Lafrance is an Aerialist and Circus educator currently located in New England. There is magic in the space where people learn hard things together and use those things to create something new. There is magic and power in the art that brings people together. Clara is a believer in that magic! She found aerial arts by way of street performance in 2005, when she met a small but mighty group of aerialists in the greater Boston area. She pursued aerial art at New England Center of Circus Arts Pro Track in 2009and has been performing and teaching since. Clara has performed on tall ships, in various theaters and parks throughout the USA.
Her classes include technique work and creative work, with steps and levels throughout to fit all bodies and all levels. When she is not in the air, she is often caught bicycling in the area, or in her art studio making stained glass.
She is a NASM certified personal trainer and certified in cancer exercise.
