Hi! My name is Monroe, I use they/them pronouns, and I am a new Beginning Silks instructor at The Last Carnival. I am also a figure skater and Learn to Skate coach at Kansas City Ice Center, and an advocate for trans rights and lives with Trans Lawrence Coalition (TLC). As a nonbinary athlete, I’ve experienced how difficult it can be to find your place in existing (unnecessarily) gendered structures, and to be comfortable with your body and how you move. Above all, how people treat and speak to you in athletic spaces has a huge impact. I joke that I only do “weird sports,” because like gender, they’re a game. I can be elegant or strong or freaky; I get to play with my movements and my appearance. I “became” an athlete within the last 3 years, because I finally found physical activities that brought me joy. My goal is to share that joy, to introduce people to aerial (and to skating) in ways that break down the impossible and meet people where they’re at, and to offer a space where people are respected for who they are. I hope to see you in class!
