Circus is pain

Have you ever seen a Cirque de Soliel show? Did you marvel at how beautiful and daring the performers were?

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Circus is painful, or as I often like to say: 'Circus, it's surprisingly painful!' A common question upon learning a new move (especially a drop) is: does it hurt? And then: how much does it hurt? And then: Does it hurt more than <insert move here, usually Double Bubble>?

Andrew and I stopped doing trapeze because it hurts. Think about it, you're sitting/standing/hanging on a metal bar with no padding but your own skin and muscle. I've heard it said that hoop hurts even more. No thank you. With silks and rope, you often tie up your feet in knots, then stretch yourself in unusual directions. Then there are drops. Again, you tie yourself up in some fancy wrap, then you LET GO (either with a leg or a hand) and jerk to a stop. Circus produces some interesting bruises...

I don't have much experience to compare aerials to other performance arts with, but I have spent time figure skating. Figure skating only hurts when you do something wrong, like fall. Jumps and spins don't hurt while you're doing them, although I suppose some pairs or dance moves might be more uncomfortable.

What's brought on this post, you might ask? Andrew and I took a private lesson yesterday to learn some double/duo aerial moves. It hurts even MORE than regular aerials. I suppose this should make sense. It's not just your own body weight pulling against the bar of a trapeze (which we learned the first basics on), or the live ends of silk, it's someone else's body weight too. Oi. I have some interesting discoloration coming out today.

So, after this one might wonder why anyone would want to do aerials. My answer: despite all the discomfort IT. IS. AWESOME. As I wrote not long ago, I love performing drops. The whoosh (and the rush) as you go from the top to the bottom of the room. Also, you just get used to the discomfort. It's a little like developing a taste for a food that you didn't like at first. You do it (or eat it) enough, and you get used to it.

Ciao

Reaching for the stars, our first aerialist performance to Gustav Holst

This performance actually took place this past June, but I only got the video yesterday. Andrew and I participated in Firefly Theater's annual Let There Be Height fundraiser cabaret. We were first in the show order, which was good for a couple of reasons: 1) I didn't go nuts with anxiety waiting to go on; and 2) because we were pretty beginner and most of the audience didn't have expectations for what was to come, so we seemed impressive.

The theme of the show was Space, so we decided to perform to selections from the Jupiter movement of Gustav Holst's Plants Symphony. We had two really rough rehearsals (I got all tangled in one move during the tech, then we fell in our lift at the end during the dress), so we were really pleased to have hit both our performances. This video came from the Saturday night show, during which we weren't quite in sync, but thankfully there were no Russians on the judging panel...or rather that there was no judging panel at all.

We performed a multi-trapeze number with our class as well, but as there were other people performing in it, and I'm pretty sure the music is still copyrighted, I won't post it here.

Back to The Cure on Thursday!

Cheers,

Andrea

Acrobatic fun at Firefly

You could say that when Andrew and I get into something we really go whole-hog. When we took the intro to aerials in May, we loved it right away from the first class. I went so far as to ask our instructor at the end of the class when the next level would be starting up--I liked it that much. We took a stretching class in July. There were a bunch we were interested in, but being a wannabe writer and a PhD student means that we can't be out of our home every night of the week or we'll never get our work done. We also started going to the drop in sessions after the end of our intro class. We were by far the least skilled at the drop ins, but whatever, we wanted to practice the skills we'd learned so that we wouldn't be completely rusty be the start of our next class. So, when we were at one of the drop in sessions we heard about the special classes being held in September by a guest instructor. One week, 3 different classes. Which ones to take?

I think one of the reasons I love skating is the 'human powered flying' that can be achieved in jumping (I've always been a much better jumper than a spinner). Therefore, I knew right away I wanted to take the 3-night acrobatics course. The other classes sounded nifty too (Chinese pole--not stripper/pole dancing, and duo trapeze), but I wanted to do tumbling, handstands, etc. I think I send in my request to sign up about five minutes after we received the official announcement email (go smartphones with email alert). Classes were scheduled for 2 hour blocks in the evenings (M/W/F), the week of September 12th.

There were nine of us in class in total (several seemed to be signed up for the other courses as well) all with varying skill levels, although I think Andrew and I were the newest to Firefly. We worked a lot of handstands on the first day, plus back arches, and worked on assisted back walk overs. I know we also got some cartwheels in, although I don't remember what else. It was a pretty tiring class, but fun. The instructor, Chris Taylor, was very good. He teaches in Toronto, and is also a circus performer. He was very positive and energetic and was good at breaking things down so we could understand  how to do (or attempt) to do the moves. Our second and third days were in fact, quite similar, although we got to go in a harness and attempt back tucks.

By the third day I was tired.We'd been physicially active every day of the week and Andrew's stomach seemed to be quite unsettled, causing him to miss half of the class. A couple of people got to try back tucks without the harness (I was a bit disappointed that I wasn't one of them, but again, I was pretty tired by that point anyway). Andrew and I got shown a new balance/lift move (we had done a couple on the second day when we were just practicing the various things we'd been taught), but again, my arms were really tired and I couldn't get myself into the right position to achieve the lift. We've heard that Chris might be back in the winter, so we'll almost definitely sign up for more classes and hopefully I can work on my handstands and back arches until then.

Ciao,

Andrea

Let Their Be Height: Firefly Circus and Theatre School

Last Friday night (June 10th) Andrew and I attended Firefly Circus and Theatre's fundraiser cabaret show. As new students it seemed appropriate to support the school, plus we enjoy watching aerial performances (hence why we decided to learn the skills in the first place). Thanks to a tip from a co-worker of mine we headed out early and arrived at the theatre at Faculte de St. Jean around 7:20. The show wasn't scheduled to start until 8:00, but the theatre was already over half-full, with little space at the tables on the floor, so we decided to head up. We got pretty good seats, actually, first balcony off on stage right, and we didn't have to crane our necks to see the show.

The theme of the evening was the 1920s. As the show began, a number of the cast members filtered out into the audience (on all levels) wearing flapper-type dresses, chatting with people, posing for pictures, flirting, etc, until they eventually all filed onto the stage for an opening dance number. The opening was well put together (one of the school's instructors has extensive dance-theatre training), but a bit odd at the same time because the music sounded as if it came from a musical (I couldn't quite place it, however) and so there was singing, but not from the cast members. From there they moved into the first number featuring what were likely some of the beginner girls, performing on the trapeze (I assumed beginner, because they performed several of the tricks we've learned in our first two weeks). Novice or not, the group did a good job and we made sure to clap as often as possible.

The show reminded me a little of years ago when I skated in club carnivals. There was an over arching them that carried through the evening, with little interludes here and there, and everyone got to show off their skills. I don't mean to say that I thought the show wasn't very good, or not worthwhile, it's just how I would compare it to my own experiences. The set changes in between pieces were well done with a number of extra girls (who I don't think ever took to any of the apparatus, but I could be wrong) who would rush out (costumed) and pretend to dust/clean/sweep as they pulled out the silks or ropes etc. They kept in character the whole time giving the show an extra level of fun.

Two numbers in particular stuck out in my mind--the first involved our instructor. After the second or third number a 'tin can phone' dropped from the ceiling and began to ring. Out came our instructor, Kim, and in no time at all she'd climbed the rope in order to 'talk on the phone' with the show's MC. It was basically an advert for the silent auction, with the humorous twist that Kim just causally hung out at the top of the rope during the session. This was repeated a second time (promoting more items in the auction) with another performer joining in, also climbing a rope to get to a phone hanging from the top of the set. For the final time they both came out in heels and climbed the rope by doing a twisting-split move instead of simply going up straight. When they got to the top this time they actually performed their number.

The other performer of note was on the tapeze, she did a solo number and definitely shone. She seemed to know how to carry and move her body and did some really cool moves that we didn't see from some of the other trapeze performances (including a summersault over and around the bar). Andrew also enjoyed the last number, which featured four slightly older men (slightly older in that they were probably our age, rather than late teens, like the other two guys in the show) who did a robber/chase sort of number. One of the men climbed a silk using just his hands (legs sticking our at 90 degrees from his body) then proceeded to swing across the stage from silk-to-silk. Quite impresive.

Perhaps if we stick with Firefly we'll find ourselves in the show next year. Even if we don't do an aerials number we can always do a poi routine. For now, we're enjoying our intro class, and we're taking a stretching and flexibility class in July.

Ciao,

Andrea

Flying high with Firefly Circus and Theatre School

Andrew and I went to our first aerial skills class at the Firefly Circus and Theatre School in Edmonton on Thursday. I'd heard about this club a year or so ago from a co-worker who had won a 4-person pass to a private class with the founder. Unfortunately I wasn't able to go since the class coincided with a visit from family, but I've been periodically checking out the Firefly website ever since. The beginner classes fill up quickly, so it can be a bit tricky to snag a spot. This time it finally worked out, although will have to miss a class in June for a short trip to Ontario (we'll be able to make it up later).

Andrew, before class--we couldn't wait to get going.

The class is six weeks long and we'll be covering the basics of the trapeze, vertical rope, and silks. I'd had a fall on our run the previous day and tore up a patch of skin on my left palm, therefore I was a bit worried the injury was going to inhibit my ability to participate. Thankfully (I suppose you could say thankfully...), the trapeze is tough on the pads of your hands rather than your palm. Since Andrew and I took up weight training last fall my hands have become fairly callused, and only had a couple of tiny blisters on my right hand when we got home.

One of the other (more skilled) members of Firefly.

We spent most of the night on the trapeze, learning the difference between a good hang (your shoulders engaged and your core tight) and a bad hang (hanging like a wet rag), how to do the basic beats (swinging back and forth), hanging by your knees, and performing a 'crow's nest.' Our instructor, Kim, was fantastic. She was enthusiastic and encouraging, would cheer you on while you took your turn on the apparatus, and gave you pointers for the next time. Plus, our classmates were friendly and we all cheered and clapped for each other after every attempt.

The low and high trapeze.

Andrew and I were a bit taller than the other three women in our class, so we had to go last on the high trapeze so our instructor could raise it for us. The high trapeze is probably around eight feet off the ground--high enough for Andrew to dangle from it (he's six feet, plus long arms) without brushing his feet on the mat below. I had problems with foot cramps on most all of the moves (because we're supposed to have our toes pointed for everything), which means I'm going to have to eat more bananas in the weeks to come.

Andrew trying out pike beats on the high trapeze (sorry about the blurriness, he was moving pretty fast).

Andrew balancing in the side 'sexy' pose on the low trapeze.

Overall, we had a super fun time and can't wait for the next class (in the series, but also the next level of aerials). I was pleased with what I was able to do--I actually made it at least halfway up the straight rope (maybe a little farther). The trick to rope climbing is that it's all in the legs and I know I have super strong legs.

Ciao,

Andrea