“Ready…Hep!” exclaims flying trapeze instructor Mandy Keithan as a trapeze student begins a flight on the trapeze. No, this is not a rehearsal for the circus; it is just another class at the Trapeze School of New York in Washington, D.C.

        Established first in New York City in 2002, the Trapeze School of New York (TSNY) has expanded to four different cities, including Boston, Los Angles, Chicago, and Washington D.C. TSNY Washington D.C. was established in 2008 and moved to their current location in the Navy Yard in February 2010.

        TSNY offers a number of classes in everything from aerial flying trapeze and silks to trampoline and static trapeze. “We create a warm and welcoming place for people to defy what they thought they could do,” Keithan said.

        Flying Trapeze is not cheap, with classes costing $45-$55, but the classes last approximately two hours with a maximum of ten people per class. Students have the ability to take classes year round inside of their tent complex and outside seasonally.

The first 90 minutes are spent mastering old tricks from a previous class or learning new tricks. “Each time, you learn new and increasingly difficult tricks, so it stays fresh and challenging,” three-time flyer Stacy Gilmore said.

        First time flyers begin their lesson on the ground where they learn a few trapeze basics, how to be safe while flying and how to do their first trick, the knee hang. A knee hang involves keeping the trapeze bar completely under the knees with the rest of the body hanging downward towards the ground.

        Next, the flyer must climb a construction ladder to reach a platform where the trapeze awaits them. For some students, the ladder is the most frightening part of the entire flight. “The scariest part is the long climb up the ladder to the platform.  As the ground gets farther away, my nerves start to grab hold,” Gilmore said.

        Once on the platform, flyers are secured into their harnesses and must to lean off of the platform to grab the bar. With the bar in hand and knees bent, the flyer is ready to be sent into the air. “I tend to hold my breath until they give the signal, "hep" to jump.  Then I'm off and all my pent up anxiety is released as I'm flying through the air,” Gilmore said.

        During flight, an instructor controls the student’s harness by rope, also known as belaying, and calls out exactly what the flyer needs to do to master the trick. After the flight is complete, students are instructed to fall into a net, which provides a safe landing.

        The final 30 minutes of instruction involves catching, the key to completely mastering a trick. “At the right timing, the moment of reaching out in the air and having someone else take your wrists” is how Keithan describes a catch.

        Once a trick is mastered with a catch, a flyer can move onto a new trick. Though the TSNY decides the order of the tricks to teach their students, there are endless limits to the tricks that one can learn. “As soon as I master the skills, I’m joining the circus!” Gilmore exclaimed.

        At TSNY, safety comes first. According to Keithan, the trapeze and the ropes holding the net together are inspected daily and intensely inspected weekly. This is to ensure complete flyer safety in every flight and assuage any concerns that students may have.

        The instructors at TSNY are also required to learn how to keep flyers safe and calm while they are in the air. “We [have to] have the ability to keep people safe with our words. Every time a flyer is in the air, I need to feel a partnership [between myself and the flyer]” Keithan said.

        These safety tactics are praised by five-time student Allison Norwood. “The team at the Trapeze School is so awesome, and they really walk you through each and every thing you need to do or know in order to keep yourself safe.  I also like that they don't tell you too much, just what you need to do to succeed at whatever trick you're currently working on,” Norwood said.

        Swinging from a trapeze, while an easy concept to grasp, can be physically tiring for the body. “By the end of your 2 hour class, you are so tired or your hands hurt so bad that it can be tough to enjoy your last turn or two on the bar,” Norwood said. The school does provide chalk to prevent deep rips and blisters while holding on to the bar; however, cuts, bumps, and bruises are not 100 percent avoidable.

        Flying trapeze can be a wonderful workout, however it can also serve as mental exercise. “[Trapeze] changed my relationship with fear…what limits people is when they decide what they can and cannot do,” Keithan said.

        TSNY’s motto “Forget Fear. Worry about the Addiction” encourages all students to reach beyond the possible and achieve their own personal goals. “It's worth the cost, the effort, and the fear because once you feel the rush, you're hooked,” Norwood said.