A Sit Down with Lana Love

Lana Love is a New York-based pop artist most recognized for joining John Legend's team of artists on The Voice. However, her talents and passions extend far beyond her time on the show. 47 Magazine had the opportunity to sit with Lana as she delved into topics such as overcoming expectations faced by past relationships, mentoring the youth, a secret Brussels Sprout recipe, and the upcoming release of her new single ”ANTIDOTE”.

(This interview was conducted in person and has been edited for clarity.)

[Harmony Robinson]: All right. Hi, Lana. Thank you so much for being here with 47 magazine today. How are you doing? 

[Lana Love]: I'm doing great today. 

[Harmony Robinson]:  It's a great day outside. It's a little chilly, though. 

[Lana Love]: A little chilly. But it's gotten better. 

Harmony Robinson]: Yesterday it was so nice, it was finally 80.

[Lana Love]: Oh girl, I'm sunburnt from yesterday, so I’m hibernating today.

[HR]: To start, could you give us a quick rundown on all things Lana? Hobbies, Passions, etc?

[LL]: Yeah, I am a double Capricorn, so we'll start there.

[HR]: Oh, I’m a Virgo, so our personalities are already meshing well.

[LL]: This is great Earth energy, we love it. I am a 10-plus-year vegan! It started in college, and I just realized that I was lactose intolerant, and I should probably stop drinking milk. Then I'd probably feel a lot better than I did. Plus, I love animals so much,  so protect the animals.

[HR]: What's your go-to vegan meal?

[LL]: I mean, this is actually really funny because the only thing that I know how to cook- and my best friends know this- But I only know how to cook Brussels sprouts because I burn the **** out of them, but I make the best Brussels sprouts, and they even ended up in a cookbook.

[HR]: Okay, so we all need to be on the lookout for Lana Love’s Brussels sprout recipe.

[LL]: Yes, they’re legendary.

[HR]: Where are you from?

[LL]: I’m from Hotlanta! (Atlanta)

[HR]: OMG, me too!

[HR]: Lana Love is a stage name. Can you tell us about your thought process behind coming up with it? 

[LL]: Yeah, it kind of just hit me one day. I was like, I really want a superhero artist name. And I was like, who am I as a superhero? What's the most empowering version of myself that I could be? Love. My definition of love is the highest elevation of understanding, and I think that was something that I just never really got to define, and I really wanted to figure out what that meant to me. And so I knew if I named myself after it, I'd have to figure it out.

[HR]: And do you feel like you’re figuring out that definition through your writing?

[LL]: Yes, 100%, but it's funny. I don't write about love ever, like in a romantic sense. But it's been a deep understanding of myself and who I am and who I want to be. And I feel like that's what I write about.

[HR]: You competed on season 22 of The Voice on Team Legend. What made you decide to audition, and what was that process like? 

[LL]: Yeah. So it's really interesting because I know you told me that you watched the “Into the Unknown” performance in your high school, and now here we are. It’s crazy!

[HR]: It’s really a full circle moment!

[LL]: Yeah! Anyway, I actually had gotten out of the business at that time. I did not audition for The Voice. I was in a Zumba class, living my best life and shaking everything that I had, of course, and I get a DM saying, “Hey, we found your video. Are you available next week”? I was like,” sure”, laughing, because I didn't think it was real. But then I got a follow-up call the next day from the casting director, and they were like, “So are you available next week”? And I was like, “yes”!

[HR]: So that’s been your biggest sidequest yet?

[LL]: Yeah. The show was the most random thing ever, and then it kind of got me back into it (music), and from there, I started writing again. 

[HR]: All the momentum from The Voice just threw your back in.

[LL]: Yeah. And the universe was like come on.

[HR]: Who supported you the most during your time on The Voice?

[LL]:  That woman right there. (points behind her) Antoinette DiPietropolo. She has supported me for the past 10 years of my life. She was my teacher at AMDA, and then she just hired me for a bunch of stuff, and we traveled the world together. 

[HR]: What’s the biggest lesson you learned while being on Team Legend?

[LL]: You know, I was as I was thinking about this question, I was like, I could go with like, the kosher explanation of, oh, I was sick when we filmed “Into the unknown,” like deathly ill-

[HR]: Really? We could not tell!

[LL]: Well, I really appreciate that. I did not think that I could do it (the performance) at the time, and that was going to be my answer for you. It's like I didn't know how strong I was, but actually, I didn't know how strong I was in a different way. After the show aired, I really got to know who was there for me and who wasn't. You know, whenever you expand, people like the version of you that they knew, and a lot of people weren't okay with the fact that I had grown. So that was the hardest part for me, getting over the people that I thought were going to love me and see me through this moment, who actually didn't support me. And it was really tough. But I think we all go through it because we all change.

[HR]: Yeah, it’s all about who’s sticking with you till the end. For maybe 10 years plus!

[LL]: There you go. (shoust out Antoinette)

[HR]: In your blind audition, you won over John Legend with Mandy Moore’s “Candy”. Can you tell us about the pressure behind picking the perfect audition song?

[LL]: So there is actually no time to have pressure. So here’s what I did, they

give you like 600 songs to pick, and as I was scrolling on my computer, I was like, I'm just going to close my eyes and pick one.

[HR]: Wait, that's interesting, you had no time? You just scrolled, picked one, and went for it?

[LL]: I was like, girl, you're going on right now. So, you better do something crazy. And I literally picked candy, and I was like, wouldn't it be so cool if this were orchestral? It would just be so out of the box.

[HR]: Additionally, alongside singing Moore’s song, who voices Rapunzel, you came full circle, ending your run on the voice with your rendition of “Into the Unknown.” Are you secretly a real-life Disney princess?

[LL]:  Well, you're looking at her. I’ll let you be the judge of that! It’s funny though, because my first job out of college was playing Ariel on a Disney cruise line. It was amazing traveling the world. We visited over 40 countries in a matter of a year.

*(Inaudible but proceeds to give the most melodic Ariel impression ever)

[HR]: With the talent you have, it’s amazing how you’re sharing it through voice lessons. Can you tell us about that?

[LL]: Yeah, you know I really really wanted to help young women, and there are some great mentors out there like Antoinette, who’s my mentor, but I really wanted to gift that to other young people, not just women, but I’ve got a soft spot for them. But it’s really been a wonderful experience, it’s like a piece of my heart that I've been able to gift to them and inspire them to follow their dreams, like I did mine.

[HR]: And how long has that been going on?

[LL]: That’s been solid for about a year and a half. I’ve really loved it. I love my students and I give them as many opportunities as possible. We actually put some of my students in my last music video. Which was so fun, so I can like pull them into my projects.

[HR]: Follow up: What's your favorite vocal exercise?

*(Inaudible, but just know she sounded amazing!)

[LL]: We’ll try it together.

[HR]: Oh, um!-

[LL]: We’ll work on it off-camera!

[HR]: Who are some of your favorite artists, and do you draw inspiration from them in your songwriting?

[LL]: Totally. I love Gaga.

[HR]: Oh, Gaga-chella.

[LL]: Yeah, I mean, come on. She's amazing. I've loved her for years. And in a lot of ways, I feel like a reincarnation of her. I always say if Gaga and Taylor Swift had a music baby named Disney, she would be me.

[HR]: I can totally see that! Your shorts are giving Gaga, but your ponytail is giving Taylor.

[LL]: And then I just sang Ariel, so I’m like their music baby child.

[HR]: So that would be your dream collab?

[LL]: Oh, come on, yeah. Not AI though. Someone did just make an AI collab of them, but I want a real one. We’re manifesting it.

[HR]: You’re known for avoiding the traditional box of musical genres by genre-bending. What genre-bending combos do you incorporate most in your music?  I know your brand is somewhat Alt-Pop, but is there anything else you’re experimenting with?

[LL]: Yeah. So I actually have a new project coming out that's a different sound than what I've been doing. First, I went with all live instruments. I really, really wanted that, and I recorded it all in analog. So then with this project, I was just so inspired by Britney and like pop! Straight pop! I wanted to find something that could be key-based, Kind of like Gaga and what she does, but adding my own sound with it. So I like to call what I'm doing now Dark Cinematic Pop. Which feels like feels like the right term to me. 

[HR]: Like a Grunge-Pop vibe?

[LL]: Yeah! Grunge goddess vibes.

[HR]: Grunge Goddess pop energy!

[HR]: Your song Parachute talks about others trying to drag you down as you're rising with lyrics such as “Oh you’re gonna hate the words I write” and “your gravity keeps pulling me, just cut these strings cause I’m never coming down.” Is this inspired by your experience as an independent artist? 

[LL]: Yeah. I mean, I think all-encompassing, yes, you hit the nail on the head, but I think it was inspired by my experience not only as an independent artist, but just as a person going through things, trying to expand, and trying to elevate my mindset.  I realized that if I constantly have this parachute, then I'm always waiting to land, and I'm never going to fly. So, cutting the strings is like I have to cut the attachments that are weighing me down.

[HR]: Have you ever felt pressured to market yourself and your music in another way? 

[LL]: I've certainly had people tell me their very strong opinions of what I should and shouldn't do. I'll give you an example for the young women out there. I was waiting for this meeting for about two years with a really huge executive, and I was so excited for it. I finally got it, and I went and I sat down with him and he said, “You know, why don't you go put on some Daisy Dukes and sing like Adele in Nashville”? 

[HR]: How did you respond to that? Because that's outrageous!

[LL]: It is outrageous, but it happens all the time, and I've gotten many comments like that. So I mean, I didn't respond, to be honest. I just took it in and said, “Thank you so much and goodbye”. Knowing in my head, I'll never see you again. So the answer is no, I haven't changed how I present myself, but I have felt pressured.

[HR]: So you’ve maintained your authenticity?

[LL]: I have, for better or for worse. 

[HR]: Please tell us about the decision to release 2 versions of “Parachute” with slightly different hertz.

[LL]: So, 440 Hertz is the standard pop tuning, but it wasn't always. 432 Hertz was the original tuning of pianos back in the day, which is actually pre-World War 2. So, back in the day, everything was 432. Hertz, which actually aligns your molecular structure, because we're made up of 80% water, give or take. So if you play music to water. It actually forms crystalline structures when you play 432 Hertz. But when you play 440 Hertz, it disaligns your molecular structure. 

[HR]: But what does that do for the body?

[LL]: Exactly.

[HR]: Oh, interesting.

[LL]: So when you're playing 440 Hertz, it actually disaligns you. 

[HR]: And you wanted listeners to feel disaligned? 

[LL]: I wanted them to have both options to compare how they felt.

[HR]: OK, I'm going to go back through and listen and really be in tune with my body. 

[LL]: There you go.

[HR]: How did you come up with that?

[LL]: Well, I didn't. It was Dr. Emoto who did this study on water. And no one was really doing this at the time.

[HR]: So you're bringing it back?

[LL]: I won't call myself a pioneer because people were doing it, but I was just testing out the space, the water, so to speak. But now more people are getting into this movement of meditation music, and pop music that's actually healthy for you.

[HR]: And not just stuck in your head, kind of brainlessly.

[LL]: Right! Not disaligning you from the inside.

[HR]: I love everything about that!

[HR]: Your last EP came out in 2021, and with “Parachute” releasing in 2023, are there any new projects you are working on?

[LL]: I do! I actually have a single, and this is not out yet, but you'll be the first person to know it because it's coming out very soon, and I have to announce it!

[HR]: Ooh, a 47 Magazine Exclusive!

[LL]: There you go!  So I have a song called “ANTIDOTE” that will be released on May 16. And we are going to do a big Times Square flash mob. So you're coming!

[HR]: Oh, I’ll be there!

[LL]: Yeah, you're coming. Antoinette's going to teach you the dance. 

It's gonna be so fun. And we're so excited!

[HR]: Can you tell us a little bit about “ANTIDOTE”? 

[LL]: It's definitely a wait until you hear it kind of moment. Gotta leave something for the people!

[HR]: You told Wanderwell Mag that you’ve built your career on saying yes. How has this yes mentality affected your everyday life?

[LL]: What a great question. The funny thing is, I've also built a career on saying no. I've said yes to a lot of things that I felt, oh, I could kind of stretch into this, and I would. You know, whenever you say yes to something, you kind of have to rise to the occasion. But now the older I get, the more I say no. And I'm going to say I've built my career on saying no now. So that's how it's affected my mental health.

[HR]: It’s made you readjust your thinking a little bit.

[LL]: Yeah, I just prioritize what I really want to be doing.

[HR]: Are there any other topics you’d like to talk about?

[LL]: No, just my new single” ANTIDOTE” and many, many more to come after that!

[HR]: Where can we catch Lana Love?

[LL]: You can catch me at @lanalovemusic on all platforms!

[HR]: Thank you!

Tune into my guide to new music to catch Lana’s song” Parachute” and her two recommendations, Man of the Year- Sam Barber, and Legends Never Die -League of Legends

Interviewed by Harmony Robinson

Photography taken by Max Durante

Painted Faces, Real Power: The Transformative World of Drag and the Strength of Community

There’s something electric about sitting across from a drag queen at the Stonewall Inn.

The disco ball spins above us, casting flecks of light on the bar’s worn brick walls—walls that have held decades of laughter, rebellion, and chosen family. I’m here with Crystal Marie Tyler, a local NYC drag performer who somehow manages to be both larger than life and deeply grounded. Her presence is commanding, sure—but it’s her warmth, the way she speaks about drag like it’s both armor and art, that sticks with me.

As a gay creative in this city, this moment means something. Interviewing someone like Crystal in this place—the Stonewall Inn—isn’t just exciting. It’s emotional. This is where people like us first stood up and said, “No more.” And now, years later, I’m here, phone in hand, talking with someone who’s still carrying that torch—just with a little more rhinestone.

JL: Do you feel as though performing and being in drag has kind of given you a lot of confidence or some kind of personality boost outside of drag?

CMT: Yeah, absolutely. When I started it, like I was in college and I was just getting used to like, ’oh, it's just a fantasy. 
I'm like a kid that wants to pretend and play drag.’ Then at the end of college, I'm like, oh, this is a profitable skill then I can really run with and make a lot of connections and network and make a lot of friends in that way. And as I move forward, it's mostly just about the community, and that's what brings the best in you.”

Drag is magic. But not in the way people always think. Yes, there are wigs and lashes and death drops that make you scream, but it’s more than that. Drag transforms people from the inside out. For many in our community, it’s the first time they’ve been seen—really seen—for who they are. Or maybe even for who they’ve always dreamed of becoming.

Crystal talks about that transformation like it’s sacred. Because it is.

JL: What would you consider the most transformative aspect of drag?

CMT: Anyone that touches it and really experiments with it often comes out of wanting to learn more about themselves.  Sometimes it comes from feeling very isolated. And the most important thing about that is you try it and then you're not alone because it's a whole community of people that also started at that point.

And then there’s the community. That loud, loving, messy, beautiful drag family that shows up night after night. You find your people in this world, sometimes when you least expect it. And they don’t just cheer for you—they see you. They push you, protect you, and love you in ways the outside world often doesn’t know how to.

JL: Where should aspiring artists go to find these communities?

CMT: The spaces that are really just all about the freedom and that you feel the most comfortable in, you will be the most drawn to. And I mean like we're standing right here where I followed my heart and I always wanted to perform here, and now I'm Mx. Fan Favorite. So.

I look around Stonewall and I think about the queens who were here before us—the ones who kicked open the doors so we could even have this conversation. What would they think, seeing us here now? Would they be proud? I hope so. I think about that a lot. How being queer in this city can feel lonely one minute, and then suddenly, you’re at a drag show, surrounded by strangers who feel like home.

By the time our interview wraps, I don’t want to leave. Not because the lights are pretty (they are), or because Crystal’s makeup is hypnotizing (it is), but because in this tiny, historic room, I feel like I’ve reconnected with something I didn’t even realize I needed.

Drag isn’t just performance. It’s protest. It’s therapy. It’s community. It’s survival. And it’s joy.

And for people like Crystal—and people like me—it’s proof that we’re not just here. We belong here.

Written and interviewed by Jai LePrince @jai.leprince

Talent: Crystal Marie Tyler @crystal.tyler.nyc

Photography by Mark Bluemle @barks.mindd 

Production and Direction by Sophia Querrazzi @sophiamq_14 

PA, Movement Direction by Jai LePrince 

An Interview with a Circus Performer

“At first, I totally just saw it as a hobby and never intended for it to be a career”, confessed Rianna Brennan, circus artist and coach, who picked up a pair of stilts one day in middle school and has climbed to new heights every day since.  When you enroll in a circus camp for fun at 12 years old, in all probability, you don’t anticipate that your future will include teaching one of the world’s highest-paid supermodels to fly trapeze in stilettos for the cover of a magazine—or having to do so yourself on set of a commercial for a reputable shoe brand—but this life, I suppose you have to learn to expect the unexpected—life’s a circus after all.

When I was a little girl, my parents took me to see Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas. I couldn’t tell you much about it because I fell asleep. Falling asleep in the presence of such a lively performance might seem unfathomable, but the list of other places I’ve fallen asleep includes firework shows, concerts, the middle of Magic Kingdom at Disney World during its peak season, and broadway plays (including Les Misérables—where I turned around at 5 years old and told my parents the show was making me “les miserable” before resting my head on the armrest and falling asleep). This limited experience at Cirque du Soleil (which I thought was called “Circus Olé” at my early age) and my love for “Circus” by Britney Spears are the only examples I have of coming close to being immersed in the circus world. Thankfully, I was fortunate enough to visit Circus Academy New York and sit down with circus artist and coach, Rianna Brennan—who took a leap of faith by agreeing to chat with me and familiarized me with all that circus artists like herself have to juggle.

Lucy Geldziler: So you’re a circus performer and a coach? What types of circus artistry do you practice and teach? Is it mainly trapeze, other forms?

Rianna Brennan: With flying trapeze, I work all the positions. I work as a board worker—who is holding the people’s belts, making sure everyone is safe jumping off the platform. I’m also a lines puller. Flyers stay in safety lines. We tell people that trapeze is like a game of “Simon Says”. We tell people what to do and when to do it. It's a game of physics, so I’m pulling their lines but staying two steps ahead to give them the calls for when they need to move. I’m a catcher as well. I love catching students. We start catching students as early as the first class. I also do aerials and dance trapeze. I also am a stilt walker and teach that. I teach the kids aerials, juggling, trampoline, etc. I do a little bit of everything because as a professional circus artist, you kind of have to.

I guess you could say she’s juggling quite a lot.

RB: My favorite is probably aerials and flying trapeze. Then again, I can’t really pick a favorite because it’s like comparing apples and oranges. 

LG: Do you think the circus is a dying form of entertainment? Is its heyday in the rearview mirror? 

RB: Not at all. I think the opposite, but in a sort of different era. I think there’s been a rise in popularity in it because it’s been recreationalized. In the 1900s, it was uncommon to get involved without being born into it or kind of get scouted. It’s sort of being born again. We have hundreds of students we see on a weekly basis, but we are getting thousands and thousands of new applicants each year. The circus is ever-changing and evolving and taking different forms. Companies like Cirque du Soleil are more focused on performance and theatrics, but we have other forms and more contemporary flying companies. 

LG: Do you ever get to work with animals? 

RB: No.

LG: Where do graduates of your schools go after this? 

RB: Right now we’re in this transition period. We just did our first performance program for children who wanted to train more rigorously. I wanted to audition for a program at one of the larger schools like NECCA in Vermont or National Centre for Circus Arts in London. There are a lot in Canada too. Those are traditionally 2-4 years. After that, you audition for one of the bigger circus companies—like Cirque du Soleil or Seven Fingers—if that’s something you’re interested in. You can also coach and do smaller gigs around the city. There’s a different path for everyone, but it depends what you want to get out of it.

I had no idea there were so many different circus schools and there was such a structured path of education you could take until this conversation.

LG: Do you think the circus—especially clowns—have gotten a bad rap after horror movies like It, the Freak Show season of American Horror Story, and killer clowns like John Wayne Gacy?

RB: Horror films freak me out, so I never really watch them, so I’m not really sure how to answer this, but I definitely think there’s a negative connotation when it comes to circuses—like when people use terms like “it’s a circus over there” in a derogatory manner.

LG: What do you think can be done to rehab their image?

RB: I’m not sure because the word “derogatory” might even be too heavy now because the times have changed and not as many circus performers are exploited and it’s been recreationalized. In the past, when circus performers were being seriously exploited, I think these things and language we use might have had more of a negative effect, but now that times have changed, it’s not as detrimental.

This assuaged some of my apprehension because I had intended on using some circus idioms and puns in this very article, so I would’ve had to steer away from doing so if they were in any way detrimental to the circus community (they may be cheesy, but as long as I know they’re not ignorant, I’m in the clear).

LG: What does your family think of your profession? Have they ever come to see you? What did they think? 

RB: They have but not often because they live far away, but I’ll send them videos. I’m fortunate enough to come from a family who is very supportive.

LG: How long have you been performing? What was the process of how you got to this academy like? 

RB: I started very late. I went to two different circus camps when I was 12. The first one was in the middle of the woods with 50-acre fields, yurts, etc. Half the day was focused on nature and yoga and the other half focused on circus skills. 

If she didn’t say the other half was focused on circus skills, this kind of sounds like a glorified rehab to me.

RB: I left that because I was kind of the oldest there, and I wanted to push myself more and not be aging out, so I went to this other place where I was the youngest by 3 years. That one was definitely more rigorous, but I had an amazing experience and all the coaches were so kind. That’s where I learned how to stilt walk and asked my parents for my first pair of stilts—which are still the ones I use today. My parents were very supportive. 

I put my circus hobbies on pause for a little bit after that because high school was very busy and I was focused on academics. 

I suppose that despite the fact that her stilts might have made it easy for her to have her head in the clouds, she still needed to ground herself and focus on other things.

RB: Flash forward to my first year after college, and I wanted to be physically active again and remembered loving this, so I found a circus school near my college and signed up for a trapeze class. I kept training and loved it and came down to New York and wanted to start flying trapeze, so I kept taking more classes, and at first, I totally just saw it as a hobby and never intended for it to be a career. Then I auditioned for a company in Boston and got in and trained and got offered a job here, and now I’m here. I feel like my process was kind of expedited, but that’s not everybody’s case.

LG: Have you ever faced a work-related injury? What safety measures do you have to take? 

RB: Like any sport, injuries are a part of the game. I was out for a whole year after I dislocated my shoulder and broke it. I actually put my shoulder back in myself. 

I gasped upon hearing this. That’s badass.

RB: I’ve had many injuries but that was the first significant one I had. I’ve sprained things, torn things, and dealt with a bunch of small breaks here and there. We take safety very seriously and do a lot of physical therapy to maintain the longevity of our health.

LG: What’s the most interesting story you can think of on the spot that you have from all your time working as a circus performer? 

RB: I got to teach Gigi Hadid trapeze. It was for a magazine cover. I was pulling her safety lines for this, and she’s like the nicest, loveliest, most respectful human and really just wanted to learn and had a lot of trust in us. This ginormous crew came, and I asked her why she was flying trapeze for the magazine cover, and she said it was her decision because she tried flying trapeze as a little kid and loved it, so she wanted to try it again. She did the whole thing in stilettos and climbed up the whole ladder wearing them and was serving the whole time.

I also did trapeze in stilettos recently for a Steve Madden commercial. That was a wild experience—even though they cut out like 95% of my part. They had to tape the heels to my feet so they wouldn’t fly off. I had to wear them for like 12 hours and was jealous of everyone else who got to take theirs off throughout the day. There was a fog machine and a disco ball and bubble guns. 

Truthfully, some of the aforementioned words even existing in the same paragraph together is unfathomable to me, but who knew that such a skill could be of use not once but twice? I suppose that when it comes to the world of trapeze, nothing is out of reach.

LG: What would you say is the biggest misconception about the circus/circus performers? 

RB: People think that getting to Cirque du Soleil and companies like that is like the “be all, end all” or biggest achievement in the world of circus, but it may not be for everyone. The circus kind of works in tiers. It’s like how some people think that getting Harvard is like the ultimate achievement in school (What, like, it’s hard?), but there’s a different path for everyone. If life ever did provide me with the opportunity to be a part of big companies like Cirque du Soleil, I’d be interested, but as of right now, I’m just focused on university.

LG: Is there anything else you’d like the people to know? 

RB: Circus is for everybody. Everybody should try it. A lot of people think they’re not in-shape enough or they’re too old, but truly anybody can do it.

If you’d like to take Rianna’s advice, here’s the website of Circus Academy New York—where she teaches: https://www.circusacademy.com/ (I, for one, had a pair of silts in my online shopping cart after speaking with her).

—

While Rianna assuaged me of my circus-related ignorance with her thorough, articulate, and enlightening answers, she simultaneously stretched, geared up, and fueled up with a granola bar. She briefed me on the importance of food when it comes to her routine. She prefers not to get going on a fully empty stomach, but is also disinclined to eating a full meal before—walking a tightrope between overfueling and underfueling. Like any athlete, diet is an important part of their regimen, and for Rianna—as a circus performer, it’s all about finding balance. 

As we conversed and she prepared herself for action, I concluded that if Rianna is even half as good at what she does as she is eloquent and charming, then everybody who enters Circus Academy New York is in good hands — figuratively and literally. 

After she was ready, Rianna swung right into action and we had the pleasure of watching her do a few tricks. I was so awestruck and inspired while watching her fly trapeze that I was attempting to discreetly research circus classes near me on the side (but quickly closed out of my tab because I was unwilling to miss even a nanosecond of what she was doing). 

Editor-in-chief, Mark Bluemle was by my side capturing it all, and I wish I could say I meant it idiomatically when I say he was jumping with joy, but there were moments where his feet were, in fact, inches off the ground. Perhaps this is why we had to ask Rianna to do some of the same tricks multiple times for clearer photos. One thing’s for certain—there was absolutely no way I was falling asleep watching this performance.

Rianna—like many other artists—felt inclined to put her circus artistry on a hiatus to focus on practicality—walking a tightrope between dreams and reality—but these recommenced in later years and unexpectedly metamorphosed into a career when she hopped on the trapeze bars again and has flown to new heights ever since. I suppose there’s a lesson to be learned there. I’ll spare you of the clichés like “follow your dreams” or “shoot for the moon because even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars”, but Rianna, who found herself back on the trapeze bars for a living, is a walking (and flying) testimony that nothing is out of reach—so shoot for the moon because even if you miss, you’ll land safely on a mat below you, doing what you love, with someone pulling your lines and catching you—all while wearing Steve Madden Stilettos.

Written by Lucy Geldziler

Photography by Mark Bluemle @barks.mindd