FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MARCH 4, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 31
Aerial arts studio opens permanent location in
College Point following COVID-19 challenges
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
A year aft er law professor Danielle
Kocal and professional aerialist Laura
Haley launched their Kickstarter campaign
for Aerial Haven, the aerial arts studio
has fi nally found a permanent home
in College Point.
Th e pair settled into their new digs
at 14-57 110th St. in January 2021 aft er
COVID-19 derailed their original goal of
opening back in March 2020.
At the time, Kocal spoke with QNS
about their plans to open an all-ages aerial
arts studio in Bayside to teach a form of
acrobatics performed while hanging from
a fabric, typically large pieces of silk that
hang from a tall ceiling.
Th eir plans emerged aft er the location
where Haley taught classes lost its space.
Th e duo launched a Kickstarter campaign
to fund a new studio and over 100 donors
raised a total of $18,791, enough to help
them pay the fi rst month’s rent and startup
expenses for their Bayside studio. But
thenthe pandemic hit.
“Our Kickstarter fi nished and we were
successful,” Kocal said. “We were supposed
to open March 15, which is a day
before the city shut down so we never
opened. We had to put everything on hold
and go online.”
So for the next 10 months, Haley and
Kocal brought their lessons to computer
screens. Th ey put aerial lessons on
pause since they did not have a suitable
space but continued to off er at-home
belly dancing, yoga and aerial conditioning
classes.
As COVID restrictions began lift ing in
New York City, the pair started looking
for another studio location in northeast
Queens. Th eir main challenge was fi nding
a building that had ceilings that were
15 feet or taller as most places they found
had 12-foot ceilings at most.
“We were looking at more industrial
areas and College Point has a lot of mixeduse
areas. So we’re in a warehouse space
with 24-foot high ceilings,” said Kocal.
“I’m happy that we ended up here because
my parents still live here and I grew up in
the neighborhood.”
Over the summer, Kocal said that they
had been teaching a few private lessons in
her backyard with an outdoor aerial rig.
Some suggested that she and Haley should
continue with the outdoor classes instead
of moving forward with their indoor studio,
but Kocal said the location was “too
perfect to pass up.”
“We know how hard it is to fi nd a place
with ceilings exactly like what we need, so
we didn’t want to let it go. We said, ‘We’ll
just make it work for the fi rst few months
until people start coming again and hopefully
it will pick up.’”
Since opening Aerial Haven, Kocal and
Haley have been teaching in-person classes
at the 1,300-square-foot space and limiting
class sizes to just four students per
session. Per COVID-19 guidelines, everyone
in the studio is required to wear
masks and stand at least 8 feet apart and
all equipment is regularly sanitized.
“Everybody has their own individual
apparatus. So if it’s a silks class, everyone
has their own silk and they can either
bring in their own silks or we have some
that they can use,” said Kocal, who added
that the facility is also equipped with air
fi lters.
She hopes that increased vaccine distribution
and the upcoming warm weather
will encourage more people to give aerial
a try.
“I think people get nervous because
they see Laura doing these crazy tricks
and she’s amazing, she’s a professional
circus performer. Th ey get nervous and
think, ‘I could never do that,’ but you really
can.”
Kocal added that although the moves
may seem advanced for beginners, it’s
something that everyone can learn to do.
“It’s fun, it’s such a good workout. You
don’t realize you’re working out because
you’re trying to do all these really cool
things and fulfi ll your childhood circus
dreams.”
Aerial Haven is located at 4-57 110th
St., Suite A in College Point. To learn
more, visit www.aerialhaven.com.
buzz
Photos courtesy of Danielle Kocal
An inside look at an aerial class at Aerial Haven in College Point.
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