Transition from Circus Artist to Circus Mom

Hello, my name is Hope Banrion and I have been an entertainer for a few years now. I normally try to refrain from using the term "Circus Performer" as it brings a lot of ridicule and jokes from people who know nothing of my profession. So how did I get into this profession? Well it’s kinda a long story but make some popcorn and come back if you’re interested. :-)
I started out as a martial artist as an adolescent of 14 years old and quickly became quite the competition fighter. I had the best instructors in the state of Utah and they treated me no different for being a woman and never held back with me.I am very grateful to them (James Woodson, Warren Goodspeed, Charles Hastings) as they made me one of the toughest girls in the neighborhood. However, when I was 17, I got injured, I broke 3 of my ribs and my right hand pinky finger during a match. I was a 3rd kyu brown belt in Kyokushin style and I was devastated by the injuries as it limited me from doing anymore fighting. I ended up giving up on Martial arts after my main instructor moved away to St George UT.
I was always a very shy, introverted individual so if you had told me that I was to become a professional performer someday, I would have laughed at you and hid somewhere. I hated being the center of attention most of my life as it was one of my greatest fears.
When I was 19, I made some pretty crazy mistakes and found myself as a college drop out and homeless and living in my car. Lucky for me, I had a sister living in Provo, UT who opened her home to assist me in getting back on my feet. As I entered her home, the first thing i noticed was a huge chrome “stripper” pole (or so I judged) set up in her living room.
The jokes began... sadly I was no different than most people are now with the thought of pole dancing. I asked my sister what she had been up to and why on earth does she have a stripper pole in her living room. She quickly retorted that it was NOT a stripper pole, but a fitness pole.... instead of explaining herself she grabbed me by the shoulders and lead me to the computer room where she loaded a video called “Felix Cane, Miss Pole Dance Australia 2006” Once playing I was mesmerized and changed forever.... the artistic talent involved on a “so called stripper pole” was beyond imagination..... it was ballet, gymnastics and pure poetry wrapped into one amazing video and I was intrigued and inspired.
So it began, I worked two jobs and dedicated the rest of my time to becoming a pole dancer. It was NOT as easy as it looked. I couldn’t do a pull up, I couldn’t invert, I couldn’t do crap honestly, but I was passionate and determined to learn.
In 2009 Utah had it’s first Pole dance competition in Odgen, just for fun I decided to compete and ended up taking first place in my division! Lucky for me I was picked up by a local artist who had experience in Circus entertainment, her name was Autumn Augustus, owner of Cirkus Pandemonium. She told me to come to her house on a certain date, at a certain time to begin so I did.
She trained me in Aerial silks, Trapeze, Acro balance, and Poi. It was crazy, I could climb a pole so easily but these fabrics were tough! I got up, and then I made the mistake of SLIDING down.... anyone who knows anything about aerial silks can imagine the throbbing red skinless ropeburn I suffered that day on my hands but I was addicted. It wasn’t even one month until Autumn pushed me into performing my first gig at the Hotel Nightclub in SLC, UT. That first gig scarred me as I got tangled in a foot lock and was unable to get out of it for probably a good 20 minutes. I was embarrassed beyond belief but Autumn kept believing in me and pushing me. I learned from my mistakes and made progress each time.
I started working with all sorts of companies in Utah, Cirkus Pandemonium, Vaudeville Avante Guaard, Candy Cabinet Cabaret, Dutchess Burlesque, Juana Ghandi, Voodoo Productions, the Mayan Restaurant, Cirque de la Soul, nearly every nightclub in the valley, corporate gigs in Park City, The Egyptian Theater, the list goes on. I started learning other skills, stilts, fire dancing, fire breathing, fire eating, whips, hulahoops, etc.
I became obsessed with handbalancing sometime in 2010. That was also the year that I opened my online store
http://www.aerialempowerment.com/aerial-store.html
I had a dream about a handbalancer and when I woke up, I asked my ex husband if it was possible to balance on one single arm... he said no. I looked it up on youtube and found a couple people doing the “impossible” and I was determined... I told him I would become a handbalancer and he told me the day I hold a solid handstand is the day he will stop playing video games (he was quite the world of warcraft addict)
2 years later, I met my now husband, Roilan, who many of you know is a handbalancer. He is a 3rd generation handbalancing artist from Cuba, his grandfather did it, his mother did it and he does it. He also achieved his BA in circus arts from the National Circus School of Cuba. By the time I met Roilan, I was one of the top aerialists in Utah but I was so hungry to take my profession out of the state of Utah. Roilan and I did it together. We moved to Vegas, we performed a LOT, most of the casinos on the strip and other venues around Las Vegas. We were also booked at the San Diego Zoo over the summer of 2013.
After our contract we got married Sept. 19 2013 and less than a month later, BOOM I was pregnant. We were being just as careful as always but I feel it was meant to happen. I have never been pregnant before in my life and with turning 27yrs old this year, I feel it is truly good timing.
I suppose the purpose of this blog is hopefully to inspire others who are Mothers to not give up on their dreams. I know I may not know what I am talking about since I am not yet a Mother but I really do feel that my son will fit in with my dreams, not hinder them. I have been hit hard by haters during my pregnancy saying that my body will fall apart, and that I will never have time again, etc. I’ve heard all sorts of negativity thrown my direction but I am here to say, I will NOT let this stop me, but it WILL be a reason to inspire me more. So feel free to subscribe if you are interested in my journey, interested in random health advice, recipes etc that I will inevitably post on here. :-)