Jennifer Wilkins has found that the arts can do more than teach a skill. For her, they have provided physical and emotional strength, confidence, stability and a sense of belonging. Through Star Valley Circus, she now works to give others opportunities to develop these traits for themselves. Her classes help students build strength, learn about their bodies and push past the idea that they have to be naturally talented to succeed or feel positively about themselves. The experiences of her students show how those lessons can reach far beyond the studio, discovering new interests, build confidence and try things they never thought they could.

The arts have always been a part of Jennifer Wilkins’ life. It has led to building confidence, understanding the body and its movement, discipline, and arguably most importantly, belonging.

These ideas are what help guide how Wilkins owns and operates Star Valley Circus, where many different classes are taught regularly, including aerial arts and body mechanics.

Wilkins was raised in an artistic environment, surrounded by dancing, singing, theater and music. She even participated in competitive piano when she was young, among many other activities including modeling, acting and sports.

Athletics did not come naturally. “I am not naturally flexible. I don’t know if I’m naturally anything except stubborn and determined,” Wilkins said.

She experienced many struggles with athletics in high school, including injuries, and attended the University of Utah for about a year and a half. She left college and said that she “realized that academics is not my strong suit either. So I’ve just been kind of like this lost wanderer for a really long time.” Wilkins continued to describe how she got into trouble and had some bad relationships while simultaneously struggling with self-confidence and finding where she belonged.

After several years of searching for that belonging she desperately desired, Wilkins found herself in the world of aerial arts. This discovery led her down a brand new, exciting path of growth and discovery. She learned more about different forms of aerial arts and how, strength, movement and body mechanics played a part in performing.

Wilkins began her journey through pole dancing, eventually becoming one of the first three people in Utah to build a pole dancing studio. At the time, there was a stigma surrounding the activity, so she focused heavily on the strength and training involved.

With her own injuries came an interest in learning why things hurt and what could be done to strengthen the body and prevent further injuries. She wanted to know why she wasn’t flexible, why she was injured and how she could change that. That interest eventually led to her focus on body mechanics, flexibility and what she calls prehab.

“It was honestly through all of the problems that I’ve had that led me to all the knowledge that I have now,” she said. While teaching others, Wilkins wanted to understand why her students’ bodies were struggling with different movements and how they could become stronger.

Wilkins wants students who hear, “Maybe you should just do something else,” to respond, “No, I really want to do this.” From there, she can help teach them and serve as a support and guide throughout their journey.

The arts gave Wilkins more than physical knowledge.

She said learning the skills, trusting herself and becoming part of a like-minded community helped her develop confidence and stability.

“Art has been my stability and my staple and something that I have always been able to come back to when I’m at my absolute lowest,” she said.

Wilkins sees the arts as more than entertainment or a hobby. She said she has watched people close to her go through difficult times and be encouraged by professionals to journal, listen to music, dance or paint.

This made her question why those same activities are often treated as secondary when they can have such a meaningful place in people’s lives and overall well-being.

For Wilkins, art is essential for her mental health, and she has seen that same connection develop in her students.

Wilkins does not believe someone has to be naturally athletic, flexible or talented to participate.

“If it’s anything that I’ve learned, this can all be trained,” she said. “It really comes down to consistency and desire.”

That philosophy has become an important part of Wilkins’ classes with Star Valley Circus. She has seen students believe they aren’t flexible enough, strong enough or naturally talented enough to do aerial arts. For Wilkins, that is not a reason to stop. It is a starting point.

Sara Tipton’s experience is one example of how that philosophy has played out in the lives of Star Valley Circus students.

Sara Tipton of Bedford is a teacher, instructing advanced boys tumbling and gymnastics classes. Some of her students are high schoolers who could be much taller than her. This could make it difficult for her to spot them during their tumbling skills, so Sara was looking for a way to get stronger to help her students when a flyer caught her eye about aerial acrobatics.

She told herself, “I’m going to do that and I’m going to be stronger.”

After attending her first aerial classes in early 2022, Tipton realized the strength and grip required could also help her husband, who has rheumatoid arthritis.

After a couple of months of Tipton attending aerial classes, her husband joined her. They noticed a huge difference in the health of his hands, just by increasing their strength.

“I started on silks,” said Sara. Silks are long, strong pieces of fabric suspended from the ceiling or a rig that performers climb, wrap, and manipulate to perform aerial movements.

After seeing some videos of students from Jennifer Wilkins, Sara “stumbled down a YouTube rabbit hole and found some lady doing aerial chains.” After seeing that she said to herself, “I am going to do that.” Wilkins was sent the video and replied, “I believe in you.”

Encouraging students to try something they may not believe they can do is a large part of Wilkins’ teaching style. She said she has had students who were not naturally the strongest or most talented in a class eventually become instructors themselves.

After getting that immediate support, Sara was able to do her first performance with chains and soon bought her own set. She did most of her work herself and had to safely figure out the skill on her own, with assistance from her husband. This led to an opportunity to do a performance at Trolley Square for an Easter celebration in Salt Lake.

Audience members took notice of her performance, and she was invited back for future events. Through those opportunities, she learned how to acquire the equipment and certification needed to teach others in Salt Lake, the surrounding areas, and through private lessons in Star Valley.

She really loves to perform and hear the crowd’s reactions to the skills she has developed throughout the last four years, including reactions of “That’s crazy!” and “That’s got to hurt!”

“This has made me stronger. It makes it easier knowing I’m strong enough to do this, so I can lift the boys to set them up,” said Tipton.

Now, after over four years of training and performing, she continues to use the strength she has gained to support her students and share her skills with others. What began as a way to help her tumbling class has grown into a passion that allows her to teach, perform and encourage people to try things they once doubted they could do, while also making it easier for her to safely support her students in the gym.

Tipton’s experience is the kind of progression Wilkins said she hopes to see in her students — someone who starts unsure of what they can do and eventually develops enough confidence to teach others.

Sara’s son, Declan Tipton spins contact staff, which he performed at the Ripple Effect showcase held by Star Valley Circus this past year. Contact staff is a long staff balanced and rotated across the body. He is 13 years old, working every week for several hours as well as getting training from Jennifer Wilkins regularly.

“It’s fun to see him so excited,” says Sara. She says he gets the most excited when he is able to spin while the contact staff is on fire.

As he continues to train and gain experience, Declan is building his skills through consistent practice and guidance, following a path that began with simple curiosity and has grown into a serious commitment. For Sara, watching her son develop confidence and excitement through the art of contact staff has been especially rewarding, as his passion reflects the same dedication and joy that first drew her into aerial performance.

For Wilkins, that growth can happen at any age. Her classes bring together students with different interests, abilities and goals, giving each person a chance to find something they enjoy.

Age is just a number. For many, turning 50 can feel like a signal to slow down, but for Candi Odde, that was not an option.

“I was hitting that 50-year-old mark of, okay, I’m at the age where I’m going to start losing muscle tone, I’m going to start seeing the effects of age and feeling the effects of age. I’d like to do things that counteract that,” Odde said.

Married for more than 30 years, a mother of three and now a grandmother of five, Odde said much of her adult life was focused on caring for others.

With her children grown and nearly a decade into being empty nesters, Odde began searching for something that felt personal — something creative, physical and beautiful.

Odde and her family have always gravitated toward seemingly more masculine hobbies.

“I’m in the motor world of masculinisms all the time, and so I wanted something that was feminine and beautiful, but still would allow me to build some muscle. I really wanted something that was feminine and graceful,”

That search led her to aerial arts, an experience she immediately fell in love with.

“I tried it, went there the first day, and I’ve never turned back,” Odde said. “I go, and I’ve been doing it now for a little over three years, and just have loved every minute of it.”

The physical changes surprised her.

“I am very, very muscular,” she said. “I don’t even know that I could do this many pull-ups when I was a kid.”

Beyond all the physical benefits, Odde also found mental stillness.

“For me to get out of my head for an hour is really nice,” she said. “It allows me to shut all of the noise in my brain off and just be in the moment.”

That mindfulness, she said, has been critical for her mental and emotional health.

“It’s good for my mental health, that’s good for my emotional regulation,” Odde said. “When I’m having a hard day, it’s just nice to go be in the moment.”

Odde’s husband, Jensen, eventually joined her in acrobatics classes, turning the experience into something they share together.

“We have loved that for us,” she said. “Our communication, our connection to each other — you really do have to communicate, because it takes two of you to do things in the right way or it’s going to crash.”

Since starting aerial arts, Odde said she has noticed two common reactions when people learn what she does.

“The first reaction I love is, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe that, that is so cool and amazing,’” she said. “And then the other reaction is like, ‘What are you thinking?’”

For Odde, the answer is simple–“Opportunity met timing.”

She explained the decision was about more than fitness — it was about rediscovering herself.

“I’m just being in the moment for the most part,” she said. “I’m here to enjoy, I’m here to just see where this takes me.”

And while she jokes about being the oldest in the group, Odde hopes her story encourages others to reconsider what’s possible — at any age.

“I want to be the best 100-year-old I can be,” she said.

Stories like Candi’s are part of what Wilkins hopes to create through her classes — opportunities for people to find something they enjoy, regardless of their age or previous experience. Wilkins’ classes are tailored to each person’s body, abilities and goals, with an emphasis on building strength and understanding movement.

As Wilkins continues to build Star Valley Circus, she hopes to organize more productions and recitals, become involved in corporate events, provide more opportunities for students to perform, hold photo shoots and get access to more outdoor rigging equipment.

Wilkins knows firsthand what it can mean to find something that builds confidence and gives a person a place to belong. Through Star Valley Circus, she hopes to give others that same opportunity — whether they are looking to build strength, learn a new skill or simply find something they enjoy.