MEET THE vertical art dance TEAM
Get to know the amazing team of women behind Vertical Art Dance!
Summer Davies
Founder / OWNER OF VERTICAL ART DANCE / LEAD DESIGNER & RIGGER / Aerial Yoga & Dance Instructor
Summer Davies is the Founder of Vertical Art Dance™ Co., an Aerial Arts program developer, Aerial Art Studio designer & safety/ rigging equipment retailer.
Vertical Art Dance™ also specializes in Remote Aerial Performances which inspires its viewers.
Certified SPRAT Level 1 Rope Access Technician
Summer has successfully completed both level 1 & level 2 aerial yoga teacher trainings in Boulder Colorado with Aircat Aerial Yoga and holds a certificate in dance she earned from IDA Hollywood Contemporary School of Dance.
She also has completed 120 hours of remote and urban rope rigging training.
She has helped design equipment specifically used for aerial applications.
Summer has worked as a specialty rigger on television shows like Amazing Race, Big Brother, American Ninja Warrior and other smaller shows (With ATS).
Rigger and apparatus designer for www.RHFnow.org/ninja course
She has designed hundreds of various free standing truss rigs for conventions/tradeshows, television shows, and for both commercial and private home aerial, pole, fitness and dance studios.
Aerial arts studio owner
Aerial yoga, fabric & fitness instructor/performer
Remote performance designer, choreographer and performer
Holly Ann Jarvis
General manager / lead team RIGGER / studio owner / Aerial coach & Performer
Holly Ann Jarvis is a wife, mother, coach and professional aerial artist from Ogden, Utah. She is world-renowned as a pioneer on the aerial sling, and since 2011 her work has influenced and inspired thousands of aerialists across the globe. In 2012 she earned a BFA from Weber State University in contemporary two-dimensional media. For over 15 years, she has cultivated her very unique sling style and has performed and taught all throughout the U.S., Canada, Central America and as far as China, Greece and Singapore.
An award-winning performer and champion in both aerial hammock and pole, She’s been featured in numerous dance festivals, full-scale theatrical productions and countless live events. Her mission as a dancer and choreographer is to exhibit aerial dance as living art - a unity between apparatus and body. Her mission as a mentor is to encourage artists to safely explore aerial arts as an accessible form of dance and a meaningful medium for artistic expression.
Holly is a full-time, working artist and business owner. She is an adjunct faculty professor at Weber State University’s Department of Performing Arts, instructing the aerial silks courses. She is the General Manager and Team Rigger for Vertical Art Dance, the #1 global aerial arts resource for custom truss designs and innovative rigging solutions for both studios and individual artists.
In 2024, Holly built and founded BLOOM Aerial Dance & Creative Studio based in Northern Utah.
Her studio is a unique experience, with an emphasis on private aerial training retreats and open studio-style laboratory for artistic development. Holly is the creator of Aerial Dance Online - an educational space for aerial artists featuring tutorials, inspirational content and online classes. When she’s not traveling, she is at home with her family and kitties, camping in her RV or off roading on the sand dunes!
To see more about what Holly is doing in the aerial community or to attend a retreat or workshop at her studio:
www.aerialdanceogden.com www.aerialdanceonline.com
JOSIE MUTT
office/retail manager
Josie is the Office & Retail Manager at Vertical Art Dance™, playing a vital role behind the scenes in overseeing inventory systems, retail operations, and order fulfillment in support of the company’s safety and rigging standards. She helps keep online operations running smoothly, ensuring equipment, retail products, and customer orders are handled with precision, organization, and care.
While not an aerial performer herself, Josie has a genuine appreciation for the strength, discipline, and artistry that define aerial arts. She values contributing to a team that advances innovation, safety, and creative excellence while supporting both operational and customer-facing experiences.
In addition to her work with Vertical Art Dance™, she is a traveling photographer based in Las Vegas, NV and the owner of Josephine Mutt Photography, where she captures authentic moments for families, couples, maternity clients, boudoir sessions, and elopements. She specializes in creating timeless, emotive imagery that reflects each client’s unique story.
sandra Callan
team rigger & SAFETY SPECIALIST
Sandra Callan brings a blend of artistic intuition, technical precision and hands-on experience to Vertical Art Dance.
Her journey into rigging and performance environments began with a deep passion for the outdoors, where climbing, canyoneering, and other technical sports inspired her interest in systems, safety, and the mechanics of vertical movement.
That inspiration grew into a career at Alpine Training Services later known as The ATS Team, as a Specialty Rigger where she gained extensive expertise in truss systems, rigging equipment, and safety protocols.
As The ATS Team expanded into television, so to did the scope of her work. She supported complex builds and high-pressure live productions for major network and streaming shows—including American Ninja Warrior (NBC), The Amazing Race (CBS), Big Brother (CBS), and Ultimate Beastmaster (Netflix)—where precision, collaboration, and trust are essential.
At Vertical Art Dance, Sandra supports design, construction, and on-site rigging with a calm, methodical focus on safety. She excels at helping turn creative ideas into technically sound solutions—making sure every element is both visually striking and structurally secure.
Outside of work, Sandra is an avid mountain biker and textile artist, running her own sewing and design practice where she creates functional, handcrafted art pieces that range from quilts, to custom bags, and anything in between. Whether she’s designing, building, or rigging, she brings a disciplined attention to detail and a standard of execution that ensures every element performs exactly as intended.
Mistia fallon
team rigger
With over 25 years in the aerial performance industry, Mistia began her career performing professionally with her husband Matthew, across 45 countries, as headliners on Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Holland America Cruise lines. In 2010 Mistia retired from touring and was contracted as an aerial specialist with Celebrity Cruise Lines while also organically and serendipitously launching an aerial studio in Colorado Springs. Seeing a need for safety and insurance standards in the aerial education and safety arenas, Mistia joined the USAG and launched the Dragonfly Aerial Company National licensing program which provides structured curriculums, instructor mentorship and aerial program launch resources for new aerial studios and gymnastics facilities. In 2017, Mistia found Summer Davies and Vertical Art Dance while searching for vetted and dependable structural options for these new programs. Mistia became a member of the American Youth Circus Organization, American Circus Educators and the American Circus Alliance. She served on the ACE Insurance committee contributing to changing the guidelines for safety and policy in studios nationwide and joined the AYCO and ACE Directors group member actively participating in discussion groups broadening awareness on everything from health and safety policies to sharing resources for social circus programs for at risk youth. The Dragonfly Aerial Company continued to grow and now parents a non-profit performance company, a robust teacher training program and an international award winning competitive aerial team. In 2024, Dragonfly launched the Elevate Pro Aerial Audition Showcase, co-sponsored by Aida cruise lines. Elevate brings together casting parties with professional aerialists ready to launch. Since 2017, Dragonfly has been recognized by the USAG as a leader in the industry for our safety-focused aerial program. Mistia has launched 15 Dragonfly Aerial Co. programs nationwide providing guidance from rigging to detailed curriculum. Vertical Art Dance is always our go-to for aerial structures and rigging and Mistia is proud to now be part of the VAD build team of riggers and expert trainers.
About Vertical Art Dance
Vertical Art Dance was created in 2012 shortly after Summer attended a three month dance intensive at the International Dance Academy in Hollywood, CA. She was inspired to share with others her passion for the aerial arts and her love for the outdoors.
In May of 2013, the Vertical Art Dance studio space became a reality and Summer created an aerial arts dance, yoga and fitness based program serving the San Dimas, CA community. Her students learned skills on multiple aerial apparatuses as well as the importance of safety and rigging. Every three months the Vertical Art Dance students had the opportunity to perform in a student showcase which was choreographed and rigged by Summer. The studio space was closed in May of 2014 and has given Vertical Art Dance a chance to grow into what it is today.
As of 2015 Vertical Art Dance now serves the aerial community in many different ways:
Providing education & retail “Kit” resources for aerial rigging safety, studio rigging installations and rigging workshops
Providing free consultations to studio, gym owners & individuals to help create the perfect aerial spaces
Inspiring practitioners & viewers the worlds most spectacular remote location performances & equipment development