Inverted: Circus & Pole Fitness Ltd is the lovechild of three friends and passionate performers, and was born out of the desire to have a large training space to call our own. Following our company incorporation in May 2015, we were delighted to receive an award with the Young Innovators Challenge 2015 (Scottish Institute for Enterprise), which helped make Inverted a reality.
We have been incredibly fortunate with the stream of qualified instructors who contacted us, wanting to be a part of our Inverted team. So it gives us great pleasure to introduce these individuals to you now…
OUR DIRECTORS
Theo Robertson has a background in bodybuilding and rock climbing, and has been pole dancing for almost 4 years. A qualified Flex Academy Instructor under Jambo Truong, Theo is also the winner of Mr Pole Scotland 2014 and the Male winner at the Edinburgh Pole Competition 2014. He is an international pole competition judge and also competes on a national level himself. Theo combines his passion for fitness nutrition, anatomy and physiology with floor dance in order to encompass an all-round understanding of the human body.
At INVERTED, Theo is responsible for the Management.
HIS DAY JOB: Theo currently studies dance at the Scottish School for Contemporary Dance.
Ritti Soncco comes from a large theater family and has been training in the circus world for almost 10 years. She received her qualification as a circus pedagogue from the JOJO School for Arts and Theater in Germany (2013), has taught acrobatics and aerials to children, adolescents and adults in Peru, Germany and Scotland. She founded the Acrobatics and Aerials department within in the Circus Society of the University of Aberdeen in 2014. Ritti is passionate about establishing a social circus department with theatrical elements for at-risk youth. She has trained under Fred Deb’, Sarah Bebe Holmes (Paperdoll Militia) and Serenity Smith Forchion (Cirque du Soleil).
At INVERTED, Ritti is responsible for Public Relations.
HER DAY JOB: Ritti studies Anthropology at the University of Aberdeen
Elsie Liontou has training as a professional ballerina: she began dancing at age 3 and competing at age 10. Her classical ballet group was twice awarded the First Position in Greek ballet. Elsie began pole dancing in 2011 and training aerials in 2014, when she fell in love with aerial silks and partner acrobatics. Her passion for dance is leading her to explore forms of fusion between ballet and aerial dance.
At INVERTED, Elsie is one of the directors, very active managing the studio while teaching as well. Elsie is certified as an Aerial Silks and Hoop Instructor teaching Intermediate/Advanced Aerial Hoop, Intermediate/Advanced Silks, Partner Acrobatics and Kids Classes from ages 18 months till 18 years old.
Elsie is a mother of two who always come first but thankfully love the circus and might share her passion!
HER DAY JOB: Elsie is a Lead General Dentist in Aberdeen with MSc in Advanced Restorative Dentistry, her 2nd passion in life!
At Inverted you will find Elsie teaching Aerial Silks Intermediate/Advanced, Aerial Hoop Intermediate/Advanced and Kids Classes.
OUR INSTRUCTORS
POLE DANCE
Natalie started teaching adults pole dancing in 2010 and has been a part of Inverted since it first opened its doors, Natalie has expanded her knowledge and teaching qualifications in various areas and loves learning and exploring new ways to move and go upside down.
Natalie is certified in Active IQ – Xpert Pole and Fitness 1,2,3 & 4, Children’s Pole and Aerial Instructor, Level 2 – Exercise to Music Instructor, Level 2 – Gym Instructor, Mental Health Awareness, Safeguarding children, Emergency First Aid, Paediatric first aid, BGU Cheerleading qualifications.
Natalie loves seeing students’ confidence and self-belief grow through their journeys in Inverted.
At Inverted Natalie is teaching kids and Teens class and covers pole classes when required.
Cherie started pole dancing for a bit of fun nearly 6 years ago & became hooked straight away. She began instructing nearly 3 years ago & loves seeing students grow in confidence & find their own style.
Cherie was the Miss Pole Scotland Instructor Winner 2013 & has trained with the following professional polers: Pantera, Bendy Kate, Sarah Scott, Jess Leanne Norris, Natasha Wang, Eva Bembo & Kristy Sellars.
At Inverted you will find her teaching all levels Pole classes
Kirsty joined our amazing team of instructors after starting pole 4 years ago at Inverted and finding the pole bug. She is a whole bundle of energy and joy and brings that to her classes! Kirsty has a dance background and loves incorporating different dance styles into her pole training routines. It wasn’t long after starting pole that she was performing in our studio showcases and this lead to her competing in competitions; winning the Scottish heats of Authentics Pole Dance Competition in 2019 before going one to win the intermediate category at Authentics 2019, winning the semi pro category at Floorplay 2019 and not only winning MMPS 2019 (Miss & Mister Pole Scotland) in the intermediate category but also winning best choreography! She loves to bring a story to life through dance and if you are someone looking to bring contemporary, commercial or jazz styles to your pole or aerial training then make sure you hit her up! She loves seeing her students learning and progressing and coming out of their shell and is an advocate for empowering yourself and loving yourself through dance.
At Inverted, you will find Kirsty teaching floorwork, pole choreography, pole dancing for our level 1 and 2 students and circus movement kids classes.
Marisa is one of our new instructors but has quickly settled into the Inverted studio. A self taught poler who started her own pole studio in Thailand before moving back and settling down in Aberdeen. She is known for her bendy and flexible poses and enjoys exploring new ways to push her body into interesting shapes!
She loves to share her students successes, seeing them progress and achieving those little wins when they make progress.
At Inverted, you will find her teaching strength/flexibility and pole intermediate/advanced.
HULA HOOP, AERIAL HOOP & SILKS
Rach’s love of circus skills began in her teens when she found juggling and poi, eventually buying a hula hoop in 2009. Self taught in the beginning she has since attended classes and workshops over the years with Safire, Missmojangles, Lisa Lottie and Mckenzie Simper. Multi hooping has became her passion and she loves to watch others find the joy in hula hooping.
Naturally progressing to aerial hoop later in life she joined the Inverted team at inception teaching aerial hoop with Elsie and shadowing Ritti in silks. Having them both as such encouraging mentors she went on to complete teacher training with Nimble Arts & Serenity Forchian (NECCA) in 2017 and taught both aerial hoop and beginner silks up until the pandemic and becoming a mother.
Her favourite aerial memories are attending an aerial retreat in Crete with Paperdoll Militia, or any time she has the opportunity to train under Rain and Sarah, and attending conventions where she has had the opportunity to take classes with Fred Deb and Alexandria Hofgartner to name a few.
Teaching Hula Hoop classes only at the moment she hopes to bring her aerial classes back soon and fly with you all again.
Natalie started aerial hoop in August 2016. Within a few months she knew she wanted to become an instructor. She is qualified to intermediate aerial hoop, beginner hammock and foundation silks level. She loves to come up with exciting transitions and teaching them to students. In the near future she hopes to get further qualifications in aerial hammock and silks
Aside from teaching and training, she is a keen performer. She has performed in several live & online showcases, including Carnival of Carnage.
At Inverted, you can find Natalie teaching Intermediate Aerial Hoop, Hammock and Aerial Fundamentals.
Megan started aerial hoop in late 2015 as a fun way to exercise after a couple of surgeries took her away from judo. It didn’t take long before she fell in love with being upside down and she qualified as a beginner hoop instructor in 2019
Megan enjoys creating interesting conditioning exercises, drops and rolls and anything that includes a back bend.
At Inverted, you will find Megan teaching Beginners and Mixed Level Aerial hoop.
Susan started aerial hoop in 201 and immediately fell in love. She started teaching beginners in 2018/2019 and then added to her training to start teaching intermediated in 2022.
She loves to focus on guiding students through some fun sequences with interesting variations and helping students achieve their aerial goals.
When not doing aerial hoop, you’ll sometimes see Susan as a student in pole, doing lots of crazy running and enjoying the Scottish outdoor with family.
At inverted, you will find Susan teaching Beginners and Mixed level Aerial Hoop.
Rachel’s aerial circus journey began in Glasgow in 2014 where she focussed on training and performing in silks, corde lisse and duo trapeze.
In 2019 she became part of the Inverted Instructor family and has strengthened her skills through completing Paper Doll Militia’s silks teacher training programme.
Rachel aims to share her passion for creative and dynamic movement in her classes and performances.
At Inverted, you will find her teaching Beginner Aerial Silks and Aerial Fundamentals.
Sakshi first came across the world of Aerials at an open day at Inverted! And nearly 8 years later she has never looked back.
Sakshi started out as a student and was invited to shadow instruct with Rach to train up to instruct Beginner to L1 classes and has been teaching since 2019 and even continued during the pandemic through online conditioning classes. Sakshi has delivered Silks Workshops in Aberdeen and also teaches privates lessons for adults and adults with kids.
Alongside silks Sakshi regularly trains in various martial arts and was previously an instructor at Black Belt Level.
Joining the Inverted family has been a great positive influence for Sakshi and she absolutely loves seeing her students progress and grow. Her passion is to create spaces where people can learn the full potential of their bodies and remove any self-limits in place. And watching the students fly on the silks!
As her full time job, Sakshi is Project Engineer for Robotics and Autonomous Systems for the Energy Transition!
And finally, she loves dogs and plants. So please bring your dogs to class.
At Inverted, you will find Sakshi teaching Beginners Aerial Silks and Aerial Fundamentals.
Grace began training aerials as a teen and quickly fell in love with being in the air. She continued her aerial journey and began coaching at a circus summer school before going on hiatus while getting her bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
She joined Inverted just a year ago and quickly she became a great addition to the team, where she has rekindled her love for circus and has begun instructing.
At Inverted, you will find her teaching Trapeze, Beginners and Improvers Aerial Silks, Conditioning and Kids Classes.
TRAPEZE
“I dabbled with a few aerial apparatus, as soon as I tried dance trapeze I was hooked, it’s now my absolute passion”, says Kris. Pure escapism and freedom while getting deliciously dizzy.
The opportunities to train Aerials in Aberdeen were very limited when she first joined aerials, until Inverted came along and her obsession with all things Hoop & Trapeze intensified. Life truly is better upside down.
Kris has a background in hating sport till her thirties – until she took up Aerial & Snowboarding! She hopes this is proof that absolutely anyone can start these disciplines at any age, with any range of ability; and that with dedication you can achieve things you never thought possible.
As well as training within Inverted, she has completed the Nimle Arts intensive teacher training course in 2017, the Paper Doll Militia aerial training retreat in Greece in 2019, trained under Kalina Suter to develop her dance trapeze skills, completed Unearthed 6 week Dance Trapeze Creative Course in 2021, a bare 3 month mentorship with Kalina Suter in 2021 and looking forward to complete the Dance Retreat in 2023.
At Inverted you will find her teaching Beginners Trapeze.
Dave started Circus in 2014. Originally Training on Flying Trapeze, then Doubles Trapeze and partner Acro. Later he took up Trapeze, Hoop and occasionally trains Pole Dance. He has been active in the performance side of circus over a variety of disciplines and both with performances inside of our studio and externally for a number of events!
After joining Inverted as a student in 2016, he has continued to train, specialising in Trapeze, partner Acro and Doubles Trapeze. He then joined Inverted’s team, teaching first Partner Acro and then later Trapeze. With continued involvement in the running and organisation of Inverted he was made manager in 2022.
With a strong eye on technique his encouragment is for students to work on skill, strength and techinque in order to perform safely and competantly. His secondary focus is on performance, working on transisitions and moverment in order to enable students to create their own routines.
Having Studied Sports Therapy at Glaosgow’s Central Collage of Commerce, he is also able to offer private sessions of personal training for Aerials, diet and nutrition and reflexology.
YOGA & AERIAL YOGA
Cathy has a background in Yoga and became a certified CYS Yoga teacher in 2009, with experience in Hatha, Vinyasa + Ashtanga Yoga. An interest in anatomy informs her teaching and practice.
In 2011 she came home with an Aerial Yoga hammock after her first workshop and has been hooked ever since, becoming an Aerial Yoga instructor the following year. She was delighted when Inverted was being established and reached out to them as a home for her classes. She has been with them ever since.
Cathy has since trained and become qualified in Level 1 Silks and Rope. This was an organic move due to the crossover nature of the aerial arts and she continues to broaden her horizons and skill set in the aerial world at Inverted, as well passing the Born to Fly certification process with Paper Doll Militia and further teachings with Rebekah Leach.
At Inverted, you will find Cathy teaching Aerial Yoga and Teen Silks.
Inverted: Circus & Pole Fitness 
Hi. i am 43 and pretty unfit right now, i was really excited to find you guys. In my 20’s i Trapeezed every morning at the Arlington baths in Glasgow and loved it, a 74 year old man taught me to fly. I was wondering if it is ok just to drop in on your beginners classes at any time or do i need to contact you.
warmest regards Ginny
LikeLike
Hi Ginny! Thanks so much for the message and apologies that it took us so long to get in touch (we’re currently teaching in China, so killer time difference too!)
It’s absolutely perfect if you drop in on a beginners class! Your aerial history sounds amazing!! Feel free to share it with the instructors as they’ll be delighted to hear all about it. To drop in to a class, please register via our booking system (under “Book Your Classes”) so as to reserve your spot, as our Beginners class tends to fill up quickly.
We look forward to flying with you!
All the Best,
The Inverted Team
LikeLike