TYLER SHAPIRO

IT’S A BIRD, IT’S A PLANE, NO IT’S TYLER THE FEARLESS FLYER

TYLER SHAPIRO

Standing 25 feet above the ground, looking outwards towards her catcher and beyond at the breathtaking view, she takes a deep breath and jumps. Adrenaline flows through Miami Palmetto Senior High School sophomore Tyler Shapiro’s veins as she swings from bar to bar, performing high level acrobatic tricks at a neck-craning height.

Tyler’s experience as a 15-year old trapeze artist embodies the perfect combination of both fearlessness and discipline. The teenage daredevil began her trapeze journey in 2017 while on vacation with her family in the Florida Keys.

“The company I work with today, Miami Flying Trapeze, was holding camp sessions and I thought it looked fun, and I have always been the fearless one in my family, so I started taking morning classes,” Shapiro said. Tyler’s prior gymnastic experience and trained flexibility allowed her to improve quickly and skillfully. “I was picked every year from 2017 to 2019 by the instructors to participate in their shows.”

Timing and precision means everything in trapezing, especially if the safety harness remains on the ground like in Tyler’s case. Coaches only allow their athletes to fly without the harness if they trust that their athlete can correctly land in the safety net in case they fall. Shapiro’s hours of practice warranted her this achievement. Her coach knows she has the rules on falling ingrained in her brain: always fall with your hands out or to your side to avoid wrist injuries.

“Once I started going more regularly and becoming more experienced, I went off-line. I felt more free because no one was controlling my movements. I could do whatever I want; stretch my legs however far…I just felt fearless,” Shapiro said.

Shapiro’s fearlessness rubbed off on her sister, who was also inspired to undergo trapezing for the first time despite her aversion to heights.

“She was like, ‘well you’re doing it, so it can’t be that bad’ and I was like ‘yeah, go!’”, Shapiro said.

Miami Flying Trapeze holds summer and winter showcases to allow their athletes to display their talent and accomplishments to family and friends. Whether at a showcase or a competition, Shapiro’s family always attends camera-ready to watch her in awe as she flies like a bird.

“If I don’t quite nail it at practice before a show, my parents always support me and remind me to straighten my legs or keep my head up high looking for the catcher.” Shapiro said.

Alongside her family, Shapiro’s friends support her fly-highing tricks from way below.

“Her coolest trick was definitely when she was swinging on the bar and jumped to grab another person’s hands and the back of the bar,” Palmetto sophomore and Shapiro’s friend Sienna Mesquita said.

“I remember Tyler telling me that she is younger than the age groups that are allowed to do the skills she knows how to do,”Mesquita said.

Despite her age, Shapiro has skills that far exceed those of her peers. Due to COVID-19, Shapiro has been unable to compete for the past three years. However, that does not stop her from practicing and perfecting her tricks.

“When COVID hit, I did start wearing a mask when I was flying, and we had to reduce the amount of time we could [catch] because you’re touching another person’s hands,” Shapiro said.

In an unexpected aligning of topics, Shapiro has applied her experience with trapezing to physical science school work.

“There’s a severe amount of gravity that comes with this sport versus a normal sport, like soccer. So I remember in seventh grade being in physical science, first majorly touching on the topic of gravity, and thinking ‘Wait, I do this’,” Shapiro said.

Somersaults in the air soon turned to applicable equations involving gravity and velocity. Trapezing taught Shapiro the importance of time management, dedicationandtoalwayscontinuebeingher fearless self.

“I also think it helped me become more fearless. Ever since I was little, I’ve been the first one to jump in the water off the boat… I’ve just never been scared to try new things,” Shapiro said.

One spontaneous decision turned to continued dedication over the course of four years. Tyler’s talent and discipline continues to take her farther than the graceful jumps she takes from bar to bar. Cayetana Jaramillo Opinion Editor

c.jaramillo.thepanther@gmail.com Samantha Elkins News Editor

s.elkins.thepanther@gmail.com PHOTO BY AVA STUZIN PHOTO COURTESY OF TYLER SHAPIRO DESIGN BY GIANNA HUTTON