New Aerial Arts Studio Gives Local Kids Wings

Le Studio owner and founder Nathalie Gaulthier is famous for getting people to do what they think they can't do—taking kids from shy wallflowers to fearless flyers who hang upside down secured only by one ankle. 

"It's changed a lot of lives," says Gaulthier of her "cirque-style" aerial arts theater, which opened in Culver City on June 1. "You have people who walk in my door, and you can tell by their body posture that they don't have a voice. A lot of people who come in here are 'pale lavenders.'

"Pretty soon, they learn to stand up straighter.  The kid who sat in the back of the class is now running for class president. An adult who wore baggy clothes because she thought she was ugly is now applying for jobs and wearing sexy clothes. That's Le Studio."

One can hardly keep up with Gaulthier when she is in her dream world. One minute she will be having a conversation; the next minute she'll train one of her students on the trapeze; the next cuddling with a child in need of a little bonding time.  She prides herself on having a family environment at the theater, insisting on giving some talk time at the end of every class so that kids and adults alike can express their feelings.

The Gaspe, Quebec native had a long and varied road before she hit Culver City. A naturally artistic child, she wrote her first play at age 7, founded her own organization called "Kids in Action" when she was 15 and founded "Gaulthier Artists" –a talent agency—at age 16. She has written hundreds of rock shows, rock concerts and circus inspirational shows that have debuted throughout Canada, and her influence is as far reaching as P!nk's aerial performance at the most recent Grammy's. 

But she didn't get into the circus world until age 25—and has been love with it ever since. "I saw a flying trapeze and went ballistic," she said.

The flying trapezes that Gaulthier fell in love with in her early years hang from the ceiling, ready for eager and flexible kids to leap on them. Large hoops hung by colorful silk fabric drape from strong wooden beams. Balance balls are in the corner,  ready for a kid to walk on them like a bear from the circus.

 A "dream room" is near the front entrance, serving as the function of a space for kids to have fun and relax in as well as wait safely for their parents to pick them up.  And large lights donated by the "Dancing with the Stars" television crew sit in the back, ready to be used for Gaulthier's next production. Characterized by color, Gaulthier's studio is an ideal space for any kid who loves to climb.

"There's something magical about this place, and to have this as your job is amazing," said Jayme Darling, who coaches kids at the theater and has been doing aerial arts for 20 years.

Le Studio is mainly geared toward the 3- to 17-year-old crowd—and loyal parents love the organization for what it does for their children.  Adults who want to try something new will get a "serious workout," Gaulthier says.

"It's been great therapy for her," said Nancy Rankin of her daughter 7-year-old daughter Tarah. "When she started circus, she was adopted from a foster home and used to pull out her hair. Look at her now."

"She's creating a family. Le Studio is all about allowing kids to find themselves and is a mixture of physical fitness and expression," said Marc Levis-Fitzgerald, whose 8-year-old son played the King of Hearts in Gaulthier's recent "Alice in Wonder(Cirque)land" production. "It's great for the kids' self-esteem.  Nathalie and the trainers are all really supportive."

Children who want to be in her program have to get three letters of recommendation--one from a school official, one from someone in the program and another one from a "reputable" association.

And while Gaulthier stresses that she is not training professionals, some of her former students will be performing next summer for the International Institute of Circus Arts.  Many of her trainers are former performers for Cirque du Soleil.

As for her plans for the future, she has her eye on the Kirk Douglas Theatre, is thinking of doing an aerial fashion show and has many television pilots currently in production. She is also looking for Culver City kids who do musical theatre to be in a new show called "Barnum and Free to Be You and Me: All CirqueStyle." Casting will be this fall and the show is projected to debut in April 2011.

But for now, she is making her home in Culver City, which she said reminds her of her native Montreal. 

"Someone once told me that Culver City is exploding with arts," she said. "I have a feeling something big is going to happen here, and I am ready to build from the ground up."

Coming soon: Watch kids from Nathalie Gaulthier's troupe do aerial arts in an exclusive Patch video!