‘I suck at breaks’: a day in the life of an aerial cellist

Cellista, an aerialist who regularly performs upside down with her cello, shares what her life looks like training for the stage

Mastering the cello is hard enough, but Cellista also regularly performs upside down. She’s based in Las Vegas, but the aerialist spoke to us while traveling in Germany, and told us about what her life looks like training and writing for the stage.

I woke up at 7.10am and beat my alarm clock, which was set for 8.01am. I felt triumphant. The feeling lasted until 11am and then I was back to my usual self.

I fast. I really dislike eating in the morning and never have much of an appetite when I wake up. Although, technically I cheat because I have a nice big cup of coffee with ample milk and sugar.

I start every day by reading and journaling over coffee. I’ve been reading Nabokov’s love letters to his wife, Véra. He’s one of my favorite writers, but I now suspect from his letters that he was a neurotic love-bomber.