Imagine getting to fall back into a sanctuary where people believe in you so deeply, they believe you can fly. Literally. That’s the kind of confidence and upliftment that you walk away with after just a day at The Wooden Stage (TWS), a performance arts institute in Juhu that pioneered the start of aerial art in India. We believe that once you are part of TWS, you’re always a part of TWS; this place is more than just a training facility – it’s a home for our members, a safe community. While our teachers are always there to guide you, they do not stand on a pedestal. TWS is a nurturing place for teachers and students to grow together.
TWS was co-founded by the Jasani sisters. Shruti (the right brain half), who studied at renowned schools like New York University, Trinity College of London, New York Aerial Art, Womack and Bowman, leads the proficient faculty here, teaching aerial art to over 400 students. She has the patience and skill to push and pull you when required, ensuring that your body and mind stay nimble for whatever the retrograde is planning to throw at you next. Vidhi (the left brain half), engineer and marketing maven, manages all other studio affairs, adding structure to the many steps you’ll learn here.
Our Aerial Art Program
TWS hosts aerial art classes for both, grown-ups and children, providing safe, top quality equipment and expert trainers. Ultimately, the idea at TWS is to take aerial art beyond an Instagram fitness fad, inviting you to experience a series of classes to really reap the long term benefits of this gravity defying art – super human core strength (seriously!); deep, deep stretches; improved balance and above all, the release of so many happy endorphins. Students have testified to benefits beyond this too; they’ve noticed tiny but crucial enhancements that trickle down into others areas of their lives – enhanced posture and better ergonomics at work, improved confidence levels, better sleep, a general sense of well being.
Founder note: Shruti wants you to know that aerial is like no other form of fitness. “You have to give the process a chance. Don’t just try it once or twice and decide it is hard. You have to allow your brain and body to catch up, let your body go through the work and then try to stick with it. You are learning and experiencing something worth while and like anything else that is worth while, you have to put some time and energy into it.
See you in class!
Hang in the studio with Shruti Jasani, Queen Bee of The Wooden Stage and aerial dancer extraordinaire, who routinely defies gravity.
Shruti studied contemporary dance and ballet at The New York University, and has also been affiliated with the Trinity College of London since 2005. Here, she specialised in the Performance Arts syllabus, taking professional level exams and also teaching dance and drama under the same roof. This wealth of knowledge, while great on paper, really shines through when you experience an aerial class at TWS, taught by Shruti and her skilful team of instructors.
Apart from co-founding a successful studio where she quite literally hangs with grown-up and child students who can’t wait for class o’ clock, Shruti has also taken her aerial skills to the silver screen. Just a few of her many credits include training Kingfisher Supermodels, India’s next top models, to-be brides on Band Baja Bride (both, NDTV); choreographing television ads for big brands like Cleartrip, Discovery Channel, L’oreal; Parachute hair oil, Alto automobile; as well as songs for Bollywood films like Rock On 2 and Rocket Gang.
Shruti has also been invited to showcase her skills at TedX, besides speaking and performing at Tiecon and doing theatre performances. It’s a long list of accomplishments, but it doesn’t end here. If you know Shruti, and you will once you take a class at The Wooden Stage, you’ll soon learn that her ambitions are higher than the highest point of her silk ropes; the climb continues so stay tuned for what comes next.
It’s an inside joke at the studio that Vidhi Jasani, co-founder of The Wooden Stage isn’t a great dancer. What she is great at though, is business management, and manage the business she does.
From communication and data to registration and finances and handling the schedules of more than 400 students, it’s not incorrect to say that the show will not go on without her. One half of the Jasani sisters, Vidhi used to be an engineer, making her also the Chief Fixer Upper at the studio.
In addition to earning an engineering degree, our co-founder also secured a Masters in Marketing, which explains The Wooden Stage’s spritely Instagram account that makes you want to come learn the ropes at TWS. And sign up you should; at least you know that the friendly face signing you up for class can fix pretty much anything.
