All Dragonfly instructors have a background in their discipline and experience and training in teaching those circus arts. Dragonfly takes seriously our commitment to help everyone safely experience circus arts.
Lissa McLeod has been playing in circus arts for over ten years. Lissa primarily teaches aerials at Dragonfly and coaches kids performance groups. Lissa has taken teacher trainings through Nimble Arts/NECCA in fabrics, trapeze, lyra and sling, including earning teacher certification in fabrics. Lissa's teachers include Elsie Smith, Molly Graves, Serenity Smith Forchion, Melissa Knowles, Jamie Hodgson, Sandra Feusi and Lauren Bruenig. Additionally, she has taken workshops with Susan Murphy, McKinely Vitale, Rain Anya, Sarah Beebe Holmes, Rebekah Leach and Girls on Trapeze. Lissa has completed training in Circus Arts Therapy with Carrie Heller, with a focus on working with differently-abled children and adults.
*Photo courtesy of Chris Alley
*Photo courtesy of Chris Alley
Jake Weinstein has been teaching and performing circus arts for more than 20 years. Jake is an experienced aerialist, stilt walker, clown, juggler and unicyclist. He has trained with the New England Center for Circus Arts, the Circus Arts Institute, and Celebration Barn/Eccentric Performing, among others. Jake worked as a clown with the Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit, and has taught circus, street theater and performing arts at public schools from New Haven, CT, to Knoxville, TN, as well as the Children's Circus at Middletown, CT, and countless circus workshops in other venues with children and adults.
Enchanted by dancing in the air in 2008 while earning her BFA in Dance Performance at UGA, Laura Burgamy has been joyfully climbing aerial apparatus ever since. She graduated from the Frequent Flyers Aerial Dance Professional Training Program in 2015 and Teacher Training Program later that year, continuing on to teach and perform with the professional company based in Boulder, CO. After spending a year in New Orleans with Fly Circus Space, Laura joined the Dragonfly team, and is currently a choreographer for Go! Contemporary Dance Works. Laura most enjoys voraciously cheering on her students and looks forward to returning to the Dragonfly community after her latest project, growing a tiny human.
Kat Itz is an aerialist, dabbler in all things circus, lover of plants, courageous dream maker, and an enthusiastic student of life. Kat completed her Introduction to Teaching Aerials and Foundational Level Training in Aerial Fabrics with Nimble Arts/NECCA in 2019. She currently teaches aerial fabrics with Dragonfly and taught and performed with Aula Circo Tropical Crew in Palomino, Colombia in 2019 and 2020. Outside of the studio, Kat is a Licensed Massage Therapist, Herbalist, and Yoga Teacher with a whole lot of wonder and a hearty sprinkling of wanderlust.
Young fell in love with aerial silks in 2016 and hasn’t left the studio since. She is so grateful for all the amazingly wonderful people she has met at Dragonfly! She has completed her teacher training for Level 1 Silks with Paper Doll Militia and looks forward to completing Level 2 Silks in 2021. Outside of the aerial studio, she is an Assistant Professor of Music at Lincoln Memorial University.
Evelyn fell in love with aerials in 2013. She completed level one training with Necca aerial teacher training in 2016 and focuses her teaching on beginner and kid fabric classes.Evelyn loves spinning fast, hanging upside down, and climbing high! In her down time Evelyn owns a private massage practice, South Knox Healing Arts, and is a mom!!
*Photo courtesy of Chris Alley
*Photo courtesy of Chris Alley
Whitney Jones has been hanging upside down since she was four years old. As a competitive gymnast and team gymnastics coach, she learned the importance of strength, proper technique, and pointed toes. And she'll make sure you remember all about the pointed toes, too. She discovered aerials after a gymnastics draught of five years and has been obsessed with the artistry and difficulty of it ever since. In 2016, she completed Dragonfly's in-house teacher training program. You can find Whitney teaching kids aerials classes, tumbling for ground circus, parties, and fitness classes.
*Photo courtesy of Chris Alley
*Photo courtesy of Chris Alley
