Bat Mitzvah Class – April 12, 2009

For those of you readers who are not Jewish, or just do not get the reference, the “Bat Mitzvah Class” refers to the age at which I became a Bat Mitzvah, 13, and drawing a connection to the fact that this is my 13th class. So here we go.

Class began like normal, but I climbed the fabric instead of the corde lisse. We began with a quick “foot block” moves review, and I chose the “1-hand hang” and the “back arch”.



After a month working just on the corde lisse in the Beginner Aerials B class, we finally moved over to the fabric. There, I learned (they reviewed) four new moves: the “double crochet to double crucifix”, the wrap for the “thigh drop/star drop”, “the teddy bear (front balance drop)”, and tried the “waist block” on the fabric. The “waist block” on the fabric works the same way as it does on the corde lisse, but there is more fabric to manipulate, so initially, it is more of a challenge. The next move I learned was the “double crochet to double crucifix”. To do this one, separate the silks and do a straddle up in between them. Then wrap your legs (left leg left silk, right leg right silk) and squeeze your feet together with the fabric between them. Then, with your hands, follow the separate silks across your back and cross them. When you feel ready, untangle your legs, and go vertical. This is a picture of a move very close to the one I am describing, but in this picture, the fabric does not twist behind her back.

Next, I learned the wrap for the “thigh drop/star drop”. You can see him do the wrap and the actual drop, but since I am a beginner, I and Jackie both opted for me just to learn the wrap for now.

The last drop we learned was the “teddy bear (front balance drop)”. What happens with this drop is once you’ve done the wrap for the “double crochet à double crucifix”, you let the extra fabric rest on your shoulders, and pull yourself up to sitting. You then pull the fabric above/in front of you into an X and do an “up and over” to pull yourself above it. Next, bend your knees and hold onto the extra fabric with your hands. Straighten your body out and allow yourself to fall forward. I heard a huge clanging noise and felt my knees bang together. Once you have reached that point, let go with your knees and fall forward into the “double crochet to double crucifix”. It isn’t the prettiest of drops, but it is an easy one for a beginner to learn.

On the trapeze, we simply did a review of the moves: “birds nest”, “splits”, “crucifix” and “up and over”. I guess I improved a bit, but nothing special or out of the ordinary to report from that apparatus today.

I realized that I am missing two classes on my skills/moves chart. One of the weeks I was at Tulane, and the other, I realized was that I simply forgot to bring my chart to class, and did not remember to leave a space open to fill it back in. My guess is that we did a review and did not learn new moves, although the same cannot be said about the class that I actually missed. With that said, only two classes are left of my Beginner Aerials B before the performances start (which I will be attending because Shmulie Shmaters will be performing), I have to make a decision about what classes to take during the next session so that I can present something interesting to the panel for my Senior Project presentation.