The Start of Something Nueve, March 1, 2009

Today marked the start of my second session. Just like the first day of the Beginner Aerial A class, we began by saying our name and since it was now appropriate, how long we’d been taking classes. Many of the students in my class had taken the class twice, three times, and one woman who had taken it an excessive four times (including the one we were about to start) because she did not feel confident enough to move up. After seeing them do the moves and listening about the numbers of classes they already took, I thought it was time for many of them to move up, but maybe that’s just me because I like to push myself to new limits. I guess part of my fearlessness so far comes from the fact that as of yet, I have not fallen or significantly hurt myself. I’m sure after that happens I will be a bit more cautious, but as for right now, I am excited to be doing all these moves.

The class began like all classes, with the warm ups and corde lisse climbing. The rest of our time was spent reviewing the “foot block” moves and learning the “waist block”. The “foot block” moves we reviewed were the “foot block”, “elbow lean away”, “1-hand hang”, “squat”, “back arch”, thigh side lean” and “back of knee hang” (refer to the January 18th entry and earlier for descriptions of those moves). The new one, the “waist block” is a move that is easier said than done for the beginning aerialist…namely me. If you are a righty, put your body on the left of the corde lisse, split your right leg up and left leg behind around the rope. Then, with the rope in between your legs, switch them so that the left is in front, all the while doing a wide straddle and turning your body over so that you are in a pike position facing the ground. If you’ve done it correctly, you can let go without falling. The others who already had taken the class before were able to do variations on the “waist block” that I as a beginner who had never even tried one before was not able to do. This performer does one very fast at about 3:42.

Unfortunately, we did not do anything on the fabric, and went straight to the trapeze. Because Jackie, who had not taught all of us before wanted to see where we were, we did the mermaid sequence: the “mermaid”, “½ angel”, “back angel”, “one-hand one-foot”, “one-knee one-elbow” and the “candlestick”. We then tried five new moves: the “splits”, “gazelles”, “dragonfly”, “upside-down X” then “upside-down X to ankles”. The “splits” are an easy move where you hold onto the trapeze bar and do an inverted split. The “gazelles” are when you lay across the bar, with your legs on one side and body on the other. You then bend one knee around the rope where your body in hanging off. “Dragonfly” is similar, but instead of bending the leg, you keep it straight and flex your foot around the rope above where your body is dangling. “Upside-down X” is a bit scarier in my opinion. You hold onto the trapeze and slide your butt slightly in front of the bar with your legs in a slight straddle. Lean back until your legs are resting on each rope and let go with your arms. This creates and X shape. “Upside-down X to ankles” happened when you narrow your straddle and slide down the ropes to an “ankle hang”. It is fairly painful and I did it with spot from Jackie.

To top off the day, Jackie wanted us to try at least one pull up by ourselves before accepting help from the other spotters. Somehow I managed to, and the rest of the “strengthening” and “toughening” exercises were completed with the help of spotters.

Just like the first day of Beginner Aerials A, I left my first class feeling a bit discouraged. Jackie said they might be stronger and more flexible, but I wasn’t prepared for how much more experience they had. I was feeling left out of some of the moves because I didn’t know the variation that got them into that new position. I don’t know if it would have helped if I had taken Beginner Aerials A again, because the moves that they were learning variations on were moves that we did not learn in the first beginner class. Remembering that my success rate increased last time, I felt confident that if I stuck with it I would improve and worst comes to worst, I would simply take the class again during the senior project time.