Ariana Berlin

Ariana Alyse Berlin (born October 29, 1987) is an American artistic gymnast, dancer and film actor who competed for the UCLA Bruins gymnastics team from 2006 to 2009. She is known for her comeback following a car accident in 2001. Her story was dramatized in the TV movie Full Out: The Ariana Berlin Movie.

Life and career

Early life

Ariana was born in San Diego on October 29, 1987, to parents Howard and Susan. During her club competitive career, she trained at SCEGA Gymnastics and South Coast Gymnastics and was the 1999 Level 9 Westerns Champion. She entered Patrick Henry High School in the fall of 2002.

Car accident

Thanksgiving weekend 2001, when Berlin was 14, she and her mother went on a shopping excursion in Orange County. As they drove down the freeway, they were struck from behind by a speeding car, which sent their car tumbling five or six times. Ariana spent five days in an induced coma with two collapsed lungs, two broken legs, a broken wrist, broken collarbone and cracked ribs. Her mother had a broken tibia, shattered scapula and minor brain trauma.^{[1] [2]}

Recovery and dance

Berlin found it hard to get back into gymnastics training and decided to start breakdancing, becoming one of the youngest members of the San Diego breakdance troupe Culture Shock.^[3] She started performing at SeaWorld San Diego with the troupe, where she met the UCLA Bruins gymnastics head coach, Valorie Kondos Field, who had been choreographing the Summer Nights production. Kondos Field was impressed by Berlin's work ethic and respect for the choreographers.

After spending time with Kondos Field and being around the gymnastics shows at the park, Berlin realized that her love for the sport was still there. Berlin met with Kondos Field, told her about her long-time dream to compete for UCLA, how the accident had cut short that dream and how much she wanted to return to the sport. She asked Kondos Field if she could walk on to the team if she could regain her gymnastics skills. "Without even any hesitation, simply because of her respect, her work ethic, her ability to blend in and work well with anyone, I was thrilled at the possibility of having her on the team, especially to have someone who understood performance as much as she did," Kondos Field said. "It's often difficult to get gymnasts to perform outside of their event, to really project into the audience and perform, and I thought she could be a great example to the team with that."

UCLA Bruins gymnastics career

Berlin immediately returned to the gym and regained her gymnastics skills. Kondos Field joked with her, saying she should graduate a year early from high school. After hearing this idea, Berlin did exactly that and joined the UCLA Bruins gymnastics team in September 2005, at the age of 17. For the 2005–06 season, she was a walk-on to the team, but she was soon offered a full scholarship for the 2006–07 season. She is a four-time All-American and one of UCLA's most consistent athletes ever.^[4] She never missed a meet and persisted through nagging leg pain throughout her first two seasons, due to the rod in her leg from the car accident. Berlin has been one of the most successful gymnasts in UCLA history.

Film work

Berlin was a stunt performer for one episode of Three Rivers in 2009.^[5] In 2010, she was a stunt performer in episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles, Shake It Up!, 90210 and Make It or Break It.^[6][7][8][9] She has also been a stunt double in Switched at Birth, The Fosters, Greek and Honey 2.

Berlin's story was adapted into a TV movie, Full Out: The Ariana Berlin Movie, featuring actors Jennifer Beals, Ana Golja, Trevor Tordjman and Lamar Johnson. Berlin also appears as a stunt double for herself.^[10]

References