About the Owners:

Kayla’s love of dance started at a young age, where she was a competitive dancer and cheerleader throughout high school. In her adult age, she found Pole Fitness and the love of dance was re-kindled.  After completing her PhD in 2018, Kayla saw a different path for herself than academia. Although she still loves academic research, she wanted to spread the love, joy and sense of community that being a part of aerial and dance studio would bring. Kayla has her Masters of Science in Exercise Physiology, and her PhD in Medical Biophysics.  She has a passion for health and fitness and continuing to learn the various aspects of health and fitness in a wide range of ages. Kayla has competed in many local, provincial and national competitions in Pole Fitness. She won third place in the Novice category at the Arnold Sports Festival, and has since choreographed many routines for various performances and competitions. 

Sarah Ellen has been dancing since the young age of 3 years old, she was enrolled in a ballet class in Toronto by her mother and since then her love and passion for dance has grown immensely. She trained in an array of styles throughout her childhood, as a teenager and into adulthood, such as; lyrical, contemporary, jazz, tap, pointe, hip hop, ballet, pointe, and partner work. Sarah Ellen performed in various competitions, musicals, dance performances, was cheerleading captain, winning her team first at Nationals in 2006, and also attended a focused arts high school, which is where she decided that she wanted to audition for York Universities Performance Dance BFA Program. Upon acceptance, she spent the next 4 years studying classical ballet & contemporary, composition choreography classes, as well as salsa dance. After graduating in 2010, she joined a performance Heels company called AOS and went from being a performer, to a teacher, choreographer and then a licensee owner, opening her own branch and brought Heels dance to London, Ontario. As well as training under many professional artists in her hometown of Toronto and performing in multiple shows across the province. Sarah was also Fitness Instructor Certified through canfitpro, and has her Zumba 1 & 2 certification but has since put that aside since the opening of the studio. She choreographed and directed 6 AOS London Heel shows before dissolving the London location to continue her educational journey at Western, but has currently began a Performance Aerial & Dance Company for Adults called the BLK Stilettos.

How PFA Began:

The happy beginning of PFA began in the early spring of 2019, Kayla & Sarah found themselves searching for the same thing, a studio to call home. Coming from fitness backgrounds, as well as instructing jobs, and having the desire to continue their love of movement throughout their 30’s, they both came to chatting one day about these aspirations and goals. Kayla had been one of the performers in Sarah’s performance Heels company and each one admired the others creativity, strength and drive; the harmonious balance within the friendships was immediately apparent. Merging the aerial world with the dance world seemed to be a perfect collaboration and, in the summer of 2019, they dove in head first and began renovating the beautiful studio we now call PFA. And then in January of 2020 they launched the very first adult Aerial & Dance Performance Company in London and will be having performances as the BLK STILETTOS.