The Breakfast Club Six – February 8, 2009

Today’s lesson began like all the others, the same warm-up and over zealous hello from Mary Kelly. Thankfully, we began on the silks once again instead of the corde lisse.

After climbing on the silks, we reviewed the “between the silks birds nest [and] 1-leg between”, the “foot block”, “arch thru”, “stag thru” and “squat down. We learned a new move, the “balloon lady”. Starting in the “foot block”, you split the silks and run one up your back, pushing the other in front of you, put your free leg up so that it runs perpendicular to your body. Finally, you let go with your arms and add some stylistic flair. The other “balloon lady” is the exact opposite of the first one. First you spit the silks, then you run one side up the front of your body, and pull your free leg up behind you, and rest your ankle on the opposite silks and push it out, letting go with your hands and stylizing as you please. Because you are balancing your weight on one foot all while letting go with your hands in what could be a very demanding position (depending on flexibility, balance, and strength), it can be one of those nerve wracking moves. I was shaking the whole time, but it was still exhilarating.

After the brief review and learning the two new moves, we moved on to the trapeze. There, we tried the “mermaid”, “½ angel”, “back angel”, and “one-hand one-foot” and learned two new moves. The first, the “legs around (dead hang)” was one of those moves that looked much more complicated than it was. From standing, you pull your legs around the ropes and thru the space between your body and the trapeze. Then you squeeze your legs together and pull your legs and chest thru the space above your legs. Position your arms however you want for some added flair. The last new move we learned, the “legs around (rajah)” was as hard as it looked. It begins the same way as the “dead hang”, but instead of straightening out your legs, you keep them above and in front of the trapeze, and cross your ankles nice and tight. You then let go with your arms and hang there. To me, it seems like the names are backwards, like the hanging position would be the “dead hang” and the “rajah” would be the cool upright one. But what do I know about naming moves?

The class ended the same way as it always does with the strengthening and toughening exercises.

Obviously I am a beginner and not a professional, so I make many mistakes due to my lack of coordination, strength and flexibility. I think that I take criticism about my moves fairly well. It’s nothing personal, if I’m doing something wrong, I’d rather Jackie or Shana tell me that it looked like crap and to do it again than to let me keep doing it wrong or messy. Sometimes it’s frustrating, when you put a lot of effort into a move and try it over an over again, and it’s still not working to their liking. But that’s why I continue to work hard in my classes. If I’m going to succeed and look pretty doing it, I need to be putting in the extra pushups and trying the moves on different feet. I hope that one day those criticisms will turn into compliments for my hard work.