Our Team

Waverly Jones

Waverly Jones

As a versatile aerialist, Waverly Jones specializes in several apparatuses including Aerial Tissu, Aerial Hoop, Duo Aerial Arts, Spanish web, Corde Lisse, and Dance Pole Arts. Waverly began performing professionally in January of 2011 when she became a company member of Asheville Aerial Arts. She has since performed at countless festivals, galas, fund raisers, carnivals, corporate events, weddings, concerts, and private parties. In July of 2015 Waverly and dear friend Heather Poole opened Asheville’s first and only certified aerial and movement arts studio: Empyrean Arts. Empyrean Arts provides students with a safe and supportive environment for anyone wanting to explore personal development through movement art education. Waverly holds a Master Trainer Instructor Certification in Pole Dance and Fitness from Dakota Fox’s Aradia Fitness USA, and in the spring of 2017 she collaborated with Dakota Fox and Heather Poole to create Aerial Silks and Aerial Hoop teacher training programs for Aradia Fitness. More than anything, Waverly deeply enjoys connecting and growing with others through the performance and instruction of aerial arts.

Heather Poole

Heather Poole

Heather Poole, co-owner of Empyrean Arts, specializes in nervous system regulation work and creating a felt sense of safety with hyper-mobility. She is endlessly fascinated with the convergence of trauma and its byproduct of nervous system dysregulation, hypermobility strength training, and movement expression. Heather is passionate about weaving these fascinations together into her movement life’s work titled Slither Sessions and creating good medicine for herself and others seeking healing. One of her values is being a forever student of life and staying curious. She believes that movement is life and is interested in helping others expand their capacity for movement with the aim of being able to experience a well lived life filled with aliveness. Heather is available for 1:1 and small group sessions currently for movement medicine, and she is also available for supporting folks with the biology side of trauma through nutritional guidance, plant medicine and supplementation.

Trainings & Certifications

Biology of Trauma Healing Certification 2025

Self Study of Trauma and Nervous System Regulation Work, Attachment Theory, IFS and Parts Works since 2020

Elevated Flexibility Teacher Certification with Marlo Fisken 2017

Liquid Motion Certification in 2016

Created & Opened Empyrean Arts 2015

Aradia Fitness USA Certified Pole Instructor and Master Trainer with Dakota Fox 2015

Bromelia Aerial Dance Collective Member

Professional Performing Artist and Managing Director of Asheville Aerial Arts 2011-2018

Teaching Movement Since 2005

Hatha Yoga Teacher Training Ceritifcation 2002

Mat Pilates Teacher Training Certification 2002

Mx Battles

Mx Battles

Mx, aka “the ghost in the machine”, began their aerial journey in early 2017 at Empyrean Arts. Mx taught a variety of apparatuses at Empyrean Arts until September 2023, when they moved to Philadelphia for the pro-track program at Circadium School of Contemporary Circus, where they’re majoring in corde lisse and circus education. You can still find them answering studio emails, text messages, and updating the schedule! For current photos and videos, follow them on IG @mx.batt

Lauren Willingham

Lauren Willingham

Lauren took her first pole class in 2015 and was instantly in love with the art. Having Ehlers-Danlos syndrome left her looking for activities that would increase muscle mass but wasn’t a traditional workout and pole provided the answer! In 2018, she began teaching classes and her passion only grew. Helping others learn pole skills and grow in strength and confidence has been extremely rewarding. Lauren teaches students from Intro to Level 4 and loves to watch her students success through each stage of their pole journey.

Jennifer Dow

Jennifer Dow

Jenn is originally from Baltimore, Maryland and now calls Asheville, North Carolina home. She started her aerial training in Carrboro, North Carolina and mostly concentrated on Aerial Silks. Since moving to Asheville, her aerial repertoire has increased to include Trapeze and Lyra (and two flights so far on flying trapeze!). Since the opening of Empyrean Arts, she dived head first into learning pole fitness, absolutely loves it, and is now a certified Aradia Fitness Pole instructor! Jenn is also a certified Empyrean Aerial Arts instructor, and loves teaching everyone how to play in the air. She works as a veterinary nurse at an emergency clinic nearby and enjoys kayaking, hiking, and traveling in her free time when she isn’t up in the air.

Tori Bailey

Tori Bailey

Tori began her flexibility and contortion journey in 2018 after taking classes at Empyrean Arts and quickly fell in love with movement — the curiosity of the body and the presence it invites from the mind. Movement is one of the few things that consistently brings her home to herself, and she loves sharing that experience with others.

She currently teaches flexibility/contortion and floorwork classes weekly, and her favorite part of teaching is facilitating growth, awareness, and confidence in her students. Movement can be vulnerable, and she finds her students endlessly brave and inspiring.

Outside the studio, Tori enjoys spending time with her partner and his children, making art, antique hunting, and traveling. She also manages a collaborative tattoo studio where she offers tooth gems and cosmetic tattooing.

Julie Noblitt

Julie Noblitt

Julie Noblitt has always loved to move! After leaving competitive dancing, Julie found her niche as a runner, yogi, and fitness instructor with ACE, AFAA, & Les Mills certifications. Since beginning her career as a group fitness instructor in 2002, Julie has developed a passion for helping people set and achieve personal fitness goals. In 2015, Julie began performing as a circus artist. When her contortion coach asked her to sub a few classes at Empyrean in 2018, Julie fell in love and never looked back. One thing Julie loves about teaching at Empyrean is the way bodies vary and weaknesses become strengths in different circus disciplines. All bodies have strengths.

Rigel Pawlak

Rigel Pawlak

Rigel Pawlak is a clown, comedian, contortionist, and aerialist. He loves circus arts with a passion. He’s been going to classes at Empyrean Arts, since the beginning. You can find him on all social media and RigelPawlak.com

Skylar Bee

Skylar Bee

Skylar entered Empyrean Arts for the first time in late 2023 where she first began her aerial journey and hasn’t looked back since. Skylar has a background in theatre and performing arts, and loves the freedom of expression and endless possibilities for innovation the aerial arts brings. She’s incredibly grateful for the community she’s found at Empyrean, and most days there’s no where she’d rather be than spinning on her hoop. When she’s not hanging upside down, you can find her working on models to accelerate the energy transition, adding to her photography portfolio or geeking out over her favourite anime.
Jessica Smith

Jessica Smith

Jessica has been training and performing aerial arts for over a decade. She has been teaching aerial arts for almost as long. Jessica loves trapeze best, but enjoys rope, lyra, cube and acrobatic dance as well. Jessica’s favorite mix is dynamic skills interspersed with clever transitions. Jessica creates fun and light hearted classes where you get a healthy dose of challenge.

Queen April

Queen April

April LeQueen is a performance artist specializing in burlesque and variety arts entertainment. After falling head over heels for the art of the tease in 2006, April worked her way into performing and producing entertainment as a career. In 2017, she began her aerial journey at Empyrean with silks, eventually finding her way to pole, as well. She hopes to inspire others to step outside their comfort zones and try something new and challenging.

Kim Melon

Kim Melon

Kim is a multi-disciplinary circus performer and coach with a specialty in bending gravity to her will. She chooses to triumph over that overwhelming force via contortion and vertical apprarati. Ever since she learned how to climb fabric, in 2014, she has hardly been able to come out of the air. While living in the Chicago suburbs, Aloft Circus Arts was her circus home. There she worked with aerial and flexibility coaches: Hayley Larson, Natalie Abel, and Julie Marshall. In 2021 she started training full time at the renowned New England Center for Circus Arts, where she switched her focus to contortion under the guidance of Stephanie Abrams. 

From 2022–2024, Kim performed as a company artist with Caroline Calouche & Co, further honing her stagecraft through ensemble work and theatrical circus productions. In 2025, she debuted her self-produced pop-up gallery and performance project, I Am Woman, Watch Me Bleed, an exploration of contortion as feminist protest art, using the body as a medium to amplify conversations about autonomy and resilience.

​ As an adult sized child, Kim just wants to have fun and do cool stuff! To her that means big dynamic movements, death defying drops, intricate wraps, and splits for claps (ha that rhymes)! She enjoys creating high energy acts with a lot of personality and a healthy helping of corny humor. 

When this bendy babe doesn’t have her feet over her head, she enjoys spending time at home with her husband and their dog. Their activities include but are not limited to eating food, watching reruns, and “attempting photosynthesis.”

Kathy Baynard

Kathy Baynard

A Brevard native, Kathy didn’t start dancing until she was in her early 40’s. After being skinny her entire life and somewhat active, she found herself overweight and not in great physical condition after reaching the age of 40. She began her fitness journey in 2016 becoming a Les Mills BodyCombat instructor and it was during that process it was recommended that she work on her flexibility. This led her to Empyrean Arts and started her love of Liquid Motion and pole dancing. She began taking classes regularly in April 2016 and has performed in several student showcases. With each class, she knew this could be something challenging that she could do long term to maintain her overall health. Along with BodyCombat, Kathy became certified in Liquid Motion in January 2019, Twerking in March 2020, and Pole Fitness in August 2022. She also does annual section hikes on the Appalachian Trial, swims, and runs the occasional half marathon. Kathy is in better overall physical condition than she’s ever been and although fitness hasn’t been easy for her, she believes the overall improvement in her health is well worth the hard work. She encourages people to find different activities to keep their body moving and to keep them motivated to stay active. Kathy believes that fitness can come in many different forms regardless of your age, fitness level, or dance experience.
Gena DuBose

Gena DuBose

Gena DuBose is a movement artist and aerial hoop coach who teaches aerialists how to move their bodies authentically through sequencing and mindfulness. She has had the opportunity to train aerialists at The Aerial Dance Festival, NECCA, The East Coast Aerial Dance Festival, and numerous studios across the country.

Zoe Sarvis

Zoe Sarvis

Zoe is a long-time athlete ranging from swimming, track to competitive riding. They are still currently teaching and training both young equestrians and horses. After attending a spinning pole class at Empyrean Arts in early 2018, she quickly found her new passion in aerial arts. Zoe’s main love is silks and will forever be all things fabric. However, she soon explored duo in not only silks but also trapeze, guiding her to her second love of dance trapeze. Zoe is well rounded in not only silks and trap, but as well as rope, sling, pole, and lyra. Some of her favorite things on all apparatuses include dynamic moves, drops, and a classic ankle hang. Zoe teaches both trapeze and silks at empyrean and loves bringing new folks into what she considers a sanctuary.

Morgan Rossi

Morgan Rossi

Morgan Rossi specializes in aerial silks and hand balancing/flexibility training. With over 15 years of experience in circus, she’s worked professionally for events across the southeast. Morgan has taken part in a variety of showcases, artistic recitals, and competitions, even winning the all-around prize at the 2020 Aerial Sport and Circus Competition in Atlanta. She holds a passion for choreography, emotional expression through movement, and collaborative creativity. After receiving her master of science in dietetics from the University of Georgia, Morgan moved to Asheville to complete her training to be a registered dietitian. She has always been fascinated by the power of food to influence not only physical ability but also to impact mind and soul. Morgan loves living in the mountains and hopes to never leave. Outside of aerial and dietetics, her passions include connecting with others, swimming holes, and her black cat Bear.

Jessi Simons

Jessi Simons

Jessi began her aerial journey in 2022 after a friend introduced her to it. She had some reservations, thinking her strength and flow were in need of some work; however, she persevered and fell in love with aerials. Her strength and confidence have grown over the years and Empyrean has become like a second home to her. She dabbles in lyra, trapeze, and pole, but sling and silks are her favorites (despite a fear of heights!). When she’s not in the air, she’s typically traveling, cooking, caring for her plants, or hanging out with her beloved cat, Egbert, and chinchilla, Boing

MysTree Sa

MysTree Sa

Tree is an expressive movement artist, an acrobat, and healer who is committed to transformation through play. To Tree, inspired movement is the way to happiness, empowerment, and self-realization. Tree is a Yoga & Circus Therapist and says these two endeavors balance each other out because fun is the best medicine. Tree is a skilled and supportive teacher, a teacher of teachers, a producer of inspirational events, and a high flying pro acrobat. When taking the stage, MysTree is sure to wow and inspire. Tree says, “practice anything, this is the key to transformation.”

Hilary Schroeder

Hilary Schroeder

A mover of many years, Hilary brings a background in modern and postmodern dance, theater, and dance improvisation to her aerial work. She began her aerial training in 2012 at Canopy Studio in Athens, GA, where she met her one true love, the dance trapeze. After training at Aerial Horizon in San Antonio, TX, in 2016-2017, she is thrilled to have found yet another beloved aerial family at Empyrean Arts. Hilary performs regularly on dance trapeze and can occasionally be found on fabrics, pole, and metal apparatuses. At Empyrean, Hilary primarily teaches trapeze with a focus on creativity, sequencing, and developing personal movement styles. She also teaches beginning silks and lyra from time to time. Hilary believes that everyone is capable of dancing, and her greatest joy is seeing others discover their sense of dance and expression.

Todd Gorham

Todd Gorham

Todd Gorham is a Certified Arborist, a member of The International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), and is Empyrean Arts leading aerial rigger. Todd graduated from Warren Wilson College with a Bachelor of Arts in Outdoor Leadership and is most at home in the wilder regions of Appalachia. While attending WWC, Todd entertained his prolific energies by climbing trees, playing varsity soccer, and learning Aerial Silks and Acrobalance. Playing circus with his friends, taunting gravity, reading science fiction, fantasizing about being a kung fu master and fighting monsters in dreams are some of his favorite things to do.

Caroline Daniels

Caroline Daniels

Caroline (they/them) worked at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival four years ago and accidentally fell head over heels in love with circus. Bernie Dieter’s Little Death Club was a whirl of lights, music, cabaret, gin, sword swallowing, and the most mesmerizing trapeze act in the world. When they left that tent, awash in after-show glow and high on magic, they knew they had found their passion. When they arrived back home, one of their friends caught wind that they wanted to learn aerial arts and scooped them up, taught them some basic lyra skills, and sent them on their way to the nearest aerial studio — Empyrean Arts. Caroline has never looked back. They have trained in lyra for over 4 years with forays into rope, spanish web, trapeze, and flexibility, perform regularly in ambient shows, and continue to work on creation and show development with their sweet circus friends. They are working on their second bachelors in theater at ETSU, focusing on production and design, and look forward to more creative opportunities in the coming years. They currently teach and perform with Night Owl Circus in Johnson City, TN, and are very excited to maintain their connection with Empyrean Arts. They are also desperately in love with their three cats – Sirius, Quinn, and Bean.
Michelle Reines

Michelle Reines

Michelle Reines has been involved in extreme sports for several years, including skydiving and paragliding. She fell in love with lyra in early 2020 and has been doing it ever since. Michelle also performs in aerial showcases whenever she gets the chance.