Senior Project Presentation Video

This is the video of me performing an aerial silks routine. Julie Waters coreographed it. We used the music that was already playing in the studio when we were ready to film. I hope you enjoy!

Shana if you are watching this...I'm sorry it's so messy it was the first time I ever attempted a routine and at the point that we filmed this, it was my third attempt in about 20 minutes.

Final Reflection Essay

My main purpose for my Senior Project was to learn how to perform on the Aerial Silks (also called the tissu or fabric). In reality, I learned so much more about the world of aerial acrobatics than my narrow definition. I expected the rope burn and sore muscles, but I was not expecting the mental tests of the project. I am happy to say that I have been able to overcome many of them, from strength and confidence issues to fear of heights. Not only did I learn 26 different moves on the silks, but I also learned 22 different moves on the corde lisse (rope), 46 different moves on the static trapeze (non-moving trapeze), and 6 on the hoop. I am very proud of my accomplishments both physically and mentally.

Because of my unusual choice in Senior Project experience, I feel as though a whole new world of opportunity has been given to me. I used to think the aerial performing arts were available only to those performers who began at professional acrobatic gyms at young ages, all destined to perform in Cirque du Soleil. Through my time at the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts, I have met many talented performers who have started later in life, but are in performing troupes and who have tried out for the Cirque.

Learning how to perform on various aerial apparatuses like the static trapeze, hoop, corde lisse, and fabric, are definitely not something that the average person would be able to find in a gym class, or a fitness gym for that matter. I used to think there was a wide divide, between the clowns and tight rope walkers of the average Barnum & Bailey’s Circus and the graceful aerial acrobats of the Cirque du Soleil. However, the accessibility of something I previously considered so out of the ordinary, has really changed my perspective on those performers, from untouchables to average people simply doing what they love, just like me. Although I do not see this as a future career path for me, I do see it as a fun way to get and stay in shape as well as to experience the euphoric adrenaline rush of performing.

Twenty Classes Down... - May 25, 2009

Today, I went into the studio with Shmulie Shmaters. She helped me to create a routine, which will be featured in my actual presentation. We also took pictures or some moves that I knew. It was fun, and definately rewarding to see how I looked in the various positions.

My routine consisted of several variations on the "arch thru", "stag thru", "squat down", "split down", "waist block" and "part 2" and "part 3" and the "teddy bear drop" into "double crochet to double crucifix". We set the routine to some slower salsa music.

Shmulie also took some pictures of me doing the individual moves, amoung others like the "inverted hang", "inverted splits", and the "between the silks birdsnest".

All in all it was successful, and Shmulie really was a great help.

Reflection Journal: Day 18

Question: What important learning occurred in the last 5 days?

Answer: I am answering the question based on my experience in my Beginner Aerials B (1st and 2nd sessions), Aerial Conditioning, and Intermediate/Advanced Aerials classes, April 19th – May 25th. Besides the obvious answers of greater strength, flexibility and knowledge of moves, I think that I have learned how to take criticism and build on it, how to persevere even when the moves seem too scary or tough, and how to maintain a positive attitude even when we are doing repetitive reviews or conditioning. The ability to take criticism, perseverance, and maintaining a positive attitude are all attributes that are as highly valued as skill in the work place. Of course I knew how to do all these things before I decided to send myself flying through the air, but it does seem to take on a new meaning when the only thing between your face and the floor is a thin trapeze bar or a piece of fabric no thicker than a nice pair of Soffe shorts.

No one is perfect, and I certainly am not now nor was I when I first began learning the moves. Everyone from instructors to fellow students will tell you what you are doing wrong, and to a certain degree how you can make it better. It truly builds self confidence when you see or feel yourself do a move correctly. It feels even better when the person who previously told you that what you were doing did not look so pretty, is now telling you that it looks elegant and beautiful. Their critiquing of my moves certainly stung a bit when I knew that I was working so hard at doing them. But by allowing myself to take a step back, I realized that they were telling me so that I can improve and not continue down a path of ugly tricks. I became reliant on whether my moves were deemed pretty or try-it-again-different.

Along the same line is my development of greater perseverance. It is hard being scared, or in pain or weak or being told that my hard work did not turn out so well week after week. I had to learn how to internalize those upset emotions, and to continue building and working on my skills so that I could get better. If I let myself sink into self annoyance and frustration, the cycle would only continue. I used the negative energies and feedback as inspiration to do better next week.

Also continuing in the same vein is my increased positive attitude. If you let all the dissatisfactions get to you, then you will get no where. I had to remind myself to stay positive. When doing the strengthening exercises, I counted up for the first eight, and then chanted “two left…one left…GO FOR THE GOLD!”. It really helped keep me motivated when the count to ten repetitions seemed endless. It I had not been able to stay so positive, I probably would have become discouraged with my progress and the class, and overall would not have had as much fun during my senior project as I did.

Nineteen Classes Old and Still Young – May 21, 2009

Shana was present for todays class. I quickly found out, that while she is good at breaking moves down for beginners, she doesn’t tolerate messiness when you can do better. I learned that fairly quickly, and had to remind myself not to take it personally, she just wants me to perform the tricks to the best of my ability and make them look pretty and effortless.

Today, we climbed on both feet on the corde lisse, did the “foot block” moves: “elbow lean away”, “1-hand hang”, “squat”, “back arch”, “thigh side lean”, “back of knee hang”, and “trapezius angel”; the “waist block” moves: “part 2”, “part 3”, and “flyer; and “upside-down descent” into the “½ roll”. But today was not just some review day, we also learned “cross legs” and part 1 of the “arrow sequence”. Oh, and did I mention that we also attempted all of these moves on our bad side (my left foot). Let’s just say that there was lots of messiness and room to improve. The “cross legs” is a variation on the “trapezius angel” and the part 1 of the “arrow sequence” begins in the “trapezius angel”. Basically, you do a big straddle and hook your foot onto the rope above your head. Let me tell you as someone who was definitely not ready for that type of stretch, your hamstrings certainly will not thank you in the immediate future. I was not doing it right because I kept bringing my legs closer together on the way up. If it is done correctly, your body shifts just a little bit, and your legs stay straight. Due to lack of experience, I accidentally bent my legs and had quite an ordeal trying to get out of the move without falling onto the ground.

On the trapeze, we did one gigantic review. The problem with the moves I was doing was that I was not extending my body enough. If I remembered to point my toes more often and arched my back a little more, I could have appeared so much longer. Also, part of the performance is so that the audience can see the moves. Shana reminded us that along with extending ourselves, slowly down and holding the various moves would also give them more control and would in turn look prettier.

To review, we did the “rock and roll”, “stag”, “tuck up on ropes” and “birds nest”. We then moved onto the “mermaid sequence”: “mermaid”, “½ angel”, “back angel”, “one-hand one-foot”, “one-knee one-elbow”, and “candlestick”. We did the sitting moves “trapezius angel” into “splits” (it was fast and fun), and “gazelles”. We also tried the “split leg rotation” to remount the trapeze after the “trapezius angel” into “splits”. The “split leg rotation” resembled a “monkey roll”, but instead of both legs hugging the bar, only one leg did, while the other kicked the body around into an upright position. We also worked on our “birds nest from sitting” and “side pose”. “Side pose” is a move where you stand on one leg, on one side and curve your neck around the rope. Pretty simple. And just like Shana wanted us to do on the corde lisse, we tried it again on our weaker side. Of course it was harder, but not impossible.

Although much of the day was review, unlike with previous teachers, Shana truly critiqued our moves and told us exactly what we were doing that kept it from being perfect and beautiful. I think her class is going to be challenging, but hopefully I will learn the grace and gain the strength and flexibility to make it look effortless and graceful.

Eighteen Chai!!! – May 18, 2009

Today, Kate was absent, so Kitsie (who is in both my Aerial Conditioning and my Intermediate/Advanced classes) taught the Beginner Aerials B today. My back is still sore from the last class, but hey, you move on and deal with the pain. This past weekend, in fact Saturday night, my friends Laura and Sarah went with me to see the Barnum & Bailey Circus – Zing, Zang, Zoom. It was definitely fun to watch and I got excited because some of the move the performers did on the silks, I knew variations on. Yay!

Today, we climbed on both feet on the corde lisse. We also did the “foot block” moves: “elbow lean away”, “1-hand hang”, “squat”, “back arch”, “thigh side lean” and the “back of knee hang”. We did the “waist block” moves: “part 2”, “part 3”, and “flyer”. After that little review, we learned the “Christ moves #1 & #2”. They are variations on the “trapezius angel”, but without the “foot block”.

On the trapeze, we did the “rock and roll”, and then in order we did: the “stag”, “tuck up on ropes” and “birds nest”. We then moved onto the “mermaid sequence”: “mermaid”, “½ angel”, “back angel”, “one-hand one-foot”, “one-knee one-elbow”, “candlestick” and “fireman’s hang”. After that, we did the sitting moves “splits”, “trapezius angel”, “gazelles”, “crucifix”, “upside-down X”, “coffin” and “tree creature”.

We finished with the usual toughening and strengthening exercises. Today, I managed two pull ups on my own and three tuck ups. I guess the three class overload schedule was beginning to work.

Reflection Journal: Day 12

Question: How did the experiences during the last 5 days help me achieve goals I established re: my area of interest?

Answer: I am answering this question based on my experience in my Beginner Aerials A and Beginner Aerials B classes, February 15th – April 12th. The past few days, I have learned a total of 16 new moves on the corde lisse, 14 new moves on the fabric, and 30 new moves on the trapeze, for a grand total of 60 new moves. Every new move that I learn and every conditioning exercise brings me closer to my goals. I have become more aware of my body, where they are in space when I am upside down, how to stay tight during drops, and how to know when I have gone far enough in a stretch. Every new move added to my repertoire is one that I can use in a future routine. Every time I practice a move or work on a conditioning exercise, I become more aware of how something is supposed to feel when it is done correctly. When I look at pictures of myself or watch myself in the mirror, I learn to recognize how my body looks and what makes it more beautiful and what makes it uglier. Ultimately, I would like to get back in shape and create a routine that shows off my moves. I think that these past seven classes have shown that I am making great strides toward my goal.

The Seventeenth Class – Mary 14, 2009

I have decided that it really isn’t necessary for me to describe my Aerial Conditioning class, for the purpose of my Senior Project. If it becomes apparent that I am learning a significant number of tricks to warrant a write up, I will, but as for now, I will only be summarizing my Beginner Aerials B and Intermediate/Advanced classes.

Tonight was the first night of my Intermediate/Advanced Aerials class. Shana Kennedy, the owner of The Philadelphia School of Circus Arts, is my teacher. I was told that she is the best at breaking down the more complicated moves, so that is why I signed up for her class. I feel confident with the basic moves, but for the more advanced ones, I’m not so full-speed-ahead.

But today, Shana was out of town, so my Monday night instructor, Kate, was our teacher.

We spent the entire time on the fabric. My favorite. Clearly Kate and I were off to a good start since she bypassed all the parts I don’t like and went straight for the ones I do. After climbing with our left and right foot, we learned a new climb, the straddle climb. In this video, the girl goes up a few climbs. This will explain the move much better than I can, I’m sure. We followed that up with the “waist block”, “part 2”, “part 3”, and “flyer”. From the waist block, we learned a move called the “secretary”, which involves a wrap that starts from the “waist block”, and ends with you sitting on the silks as if you were sitting at a desk. The other move we learned doesn’t have a formal name, but Kate likes to call it the sumo wrestler because of the way the fabric ties around your legs. This is a picture of a similar move. In the “sumo” move though, there is an extra wrap around the groin. Cool stuff.

From the “upside-down descent”, we worked on “upside-down T” and “frog”.

Because I was sore and tired from the Aerial Conditioning class, and I somehow managed to injure my back doing the "upside-down X" during my Beginner Aerials B class, I was not able to do as many tuck ups as I had on Monday. I only managed 1 alone before requiring help. Hey, at least I tried and in the future, I will be able to do more because of my temporary pain right now.

Sweet Sixteen – May 11, 2009

There was a week in between the end of classes and the beginning of the new session devoted to performances. Many of my fellow aerial students and Shmulie Shmaters performed. Most people said their best performance was the 9:00 PM show, and that they made more mistakes during the 7:00 PM show.

Looking back on my progress from my Beginner Aerials B class, I learned 10 new moves on the corde lisse, 5 new moves on the fabric, and 28 new moves on the static trapeze. These additions brought my total to 20 moves on the corde lisse, 16 moves on the fabric and 41 moves learned on the trapeze; for a grand total of 77 moves on the aerial apparatuses. That’s a pretty big accomplishment seeing as I knew 0 moves as of 17 weeks ago.

For this session, I decided to take three classes, the Beginner Aerials B on Monday nights at 7:00PM, Aerial Conditioning on Wednesday nights at 6:30PM, and Intermediate/Advanced Aerials on Thursday nights at 7:30 PM. I wanted to get my hours up for senior project, and I also wanted to learn some cool new moves. However, I didn’t feel totally confident to take an Intermediate/Advanced class without the backup support of taking another round of Beginner Aerial B for move review and extra practice and Aerial Conditioning for strengthening. I think it is a good combination, but sometimes, I get tired or sore during the Intermediate/Advanced class because of my Aerial Conditioning class from the night before.

Since it was the first class, my new instructor, Kate, wanted to see where everyone was as far as knowing and mastering moves. On the corde lisse, we climbed with both feet and then set to work reviewing. We did the “foot block” moves: “elbow lean away”, “1-hand hang”, “squat”, “back arch”, “thigh side lean” and the “back of knee hang”. We also did the “waist block” “upside-down descent”, and the “½ roll” out of the “upside-down descent”.

We did a similar review of the basic moves on the trapeze. Starting with the “rock and roll”, in order, we did the “stag”, “tuck up on ropes” and “birds nest”. We then moved onto the “mermaid sequence”: “mermaid”, “½ angel”, “back angel”, “one-hand one-foot”, “one-knee one-elbow”, “candlestick” and “fireman’s hang” (different from candlestick only in foot placement). After that, we did the sitting moves “trapezius angel”, “coffin” and “tree creature”. We finished with an “up and over” to a “front balance”. We did in about an hour, what took me two sessions of classes to learn and develop. Talk about going fast on your first day.

The only new move we learned was the “star”. It looks like “splits between the ropes”, but instead of a classic split, you do a straddle split. Pretty simple.

The class ended with the same “toughening” and “strengthening” exercises as the previous two sessions. Just like Jackie, Kate wanted us to try to do the “strengthening” moves on our own. I managed one pull-up by myself and three tuck ups. Not too bad for a fairly recent beginner, but I knew that I wanted to be able to do more.

Reflection Journal: Day 6

Question: What did I learn about myself that was significant re: my strengths, weaknesses, fears, fears overcome, etc.?

Answer: I am answering this question based on my experience in my Beginner Aerials A class, January 4th – February 8th. The main thing that I learned was that I was no longer strong. Where had all my strength and flexibility from years of gymnastics, field hockey, track and crew gone? It was just about a year since the last time that I had rowed in a boat, but I didn’t realize that my strength and flexibility would decay so quickly. My abs were still strong, but I no longer had the “ridge”. I also realized that I had a lingering fear of heights. Simple things like climbing to the top of the rope scared me. My apparent lack of strength combined with not used to being that high off the ground, definitely kept me nervous. But I also realized that I have this great inner strength. I don’t measure my success by what pant size I wear or my weight, because that it all relative. I measure my success in how well I perform and how much of my own body weight I can lift. Even if things are looking as if I might have to quit, I am determined to work harder until I can accomplish my goals. I know that if I continue doing pushups, pull-ups, tuck-ups, and sit-ups that I will get stronger. I know that if I make the effort to stretch everyday, I will get more flexible. I know that if I continue to climb that rope, and set small goals like making it one step higher, that eventually, I will reach the top. I know that is how I can overcome my deficiencies.

Fifteen Days of Practice - April 26, 2009

Even though it was the last day of Beginner Aerials B, Jackie wanted us to learn and review the moves that she thought were necessary to be able to go on to the next level since she felt that most students in the class were in fact, ready.

We had a jam packed day on the corde lisse. After climbing, we reviewed the “foot block”, and its moves: the “elbow lean away”, “1-hand hang”, “back arch”,

“squat”, “thigh side lean”,

and “trapezius angel”. We also reviewed the “upside-down descent” by climbing to the top of the corde lisse, and descending all the way down in that position, ending in a “½ roll”. Lastly, I learned (the rest of the class reviewed) the “waist block moves”:

“part 2 (leg wrap layout)”,

“part 3 (hang back)”,

and “flyer”. "Flyer" looks similar to "waist block part 2", but you hold onto the free rope and in the same hand, the rope above your body. Here are the pictures of me trying those moves, please forgive the fact that most of them feature my behind, the pictures were taken from a balcony and the angle is regrettable.

On the trapeze, we reviewed the sitting moves: “splits”, “trapezius angel”, “gazelles”, “crucifix”, “upside-down X” then “upside-down X to ankles”, “rainbow”, “coffin”, and “tree creature”. We learned the “flag” and “double flag” as well as “necklace”. I have a rather blurry picture of me attempting the “flag” and “double flag”. Basically, you sit like you are setting up for stripper, but instead of rotating around a rope, you straighten your body into a diagonal, and rotate around yourself.

The necklace, I honestly forget how to do, but I remember being uncomfortable and feeling unstable.

Since it was the last class of the session, my dad insisted on coming to observe since he had never seen what I do. He brought along his camera and took pictures of me trying out the moves (that is why I am wearing the same clothing in all the pictures of me). It was nice to have both of my parents there supporting me and my senior project endeavors.

Two Weeks of Classes – April 19, 2009

This class on the fabric, from start to finish was completely a review. And to me, that was a very good thing. After climbing on the corde lisse, we headed over to the silks to review the “double crochet to double crucifix” and the “teddy bear (front balance)” drop. Practice makes perfect, and both moves definitely went much smoother today than they did in the previous session.

On the trapeze, we learned two new tricks, the “coffin” and “tree creature”, and attempted the “eagle”.

This is a picture of me in coffin. I should be straighter, but for a first try, not too bad.

This is a picture of me setting up for “tree creature”. Basically, you scoot your butt all the way to the end, and put your feet up onto the rope and allow your arms to relax as they please.

The eagle is similar to the “½ eagle”, but in the “eagle”, both arms are holding the rope facing down instead of one arm up and one arm down.

The class ended with the same “toughening” and “strengthening” moves that we always do. This class was particularly special, because my grandma came to watch me. Usually my mom only comes for the last few minutes, but since my grandma was with her, she stayed for almost the whole thing. It was nice sharing that experience with her, and showing her what I do.

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.

Twelfth Time’s The Charm – March 22, 2009

On the corde lisse, we tried a new “foot block” move called the “trapezius angel”. After tying a “foot block”, stand up. Since my right foot was tied, I pulled my body to the left of the rope and back around toward the right, while hooking my left arm behind the rope. This description might be a little off, but it looks very similar to the one performed on the trapeze.

From the “upside-down descent”, I went into the previously learned “frog” position. To do the “frog drop” that we were learning today, all you have to do it gather some slack for the bottom knee, hold on tight, and loosen the top knee a little bit. You maintain the frog position thru the fall. Next, we learned the “peter pan”. Again, starting in the “upside-down descent”, you wrap the corde lisse underneath you twice around the bottom free leg. Holding onto the space between your body and the top leg, straighten out your top leg and let go with it, and turn your body so that you are positioned in a position reminiscent of the one Peter Pan assumes while flying. To end our corde lisse lesson, we learned or at least began practicing the “½ roll”. It is a way to come out of the “upside-down descent” with a degree of grace and control. Starting in the “upside-down descent”, hold onto the corde lisse, one hand above your body and one under, and draw them in close to your sides. Then, let go with your top leg and gently roll out of the position. My first attempt was as usual messy and not in the least bit controlled.

After completing our corde lisse training for the day, we moved over to the trapeze. There, we reviewed the standing moves that we had learned the previous class: the “inverted hang” into “birds nest on the ropes”, “forward roll” and “backward roll”; and the “up and over” to the “front balance”. We learned four new moves, the “amazon”, “½ eagle”, “dragonfly” and “bird hang (hip hang)”. The “amazon”, we received lots of spotting on, Jackie actually held us around our leg for support while learning it. (picture included) The “½ eagle” is very similar, but instead of putting all you body weight to one rope, you twist one arm up and one and arm around the separate ropes. You then let your body hang down. I learned it by pushing the trapeze in front of my body, but on several youtube videos, I have seen it done with the trapeze behind the body, maybe that is a different move? Wrapping my arms around the trapeze ropes before I started hurt a lot worse than when I actually pushed the trapeze out and did the move. The next move I learned was the “dragonfly”. I admit that I don’t quite remember doing this trick, but I think it was like a “gazelle”, but instead of bending the knee, the leg stayed straight and my foot hooked around the trapeze rope above my head. The “bird hang (hip hang)” is another one that I don’t really remember doing (I have a list next to me of all the moves that I have done during each class), but I believe that it goes a little something like this. You mount the trapeze like you would for an “up and over”, but then position your legs similar to the birds nest. It both looks and feels awkward, and I think my description shows that.

To finish the day on the trapeze, Jackie had us try the “upside-down X à ankles”. I actually let myself drop this time with varying degree of success, but at least I tried!

Of course we finished class with the “toughening” and “strengthening” exercises.

This class marked the conclusion of my classes in March because I went to visit Tulane University the next weekend and never made up the class. I would say that March was a fairly exciting month for me. I learned twenty-one new moves on the trapeze and seven new moves on the corde lisse. I felt stronger and to a certain degree, more graceful. While I am clearly a very long way from being a professional, I am very pleased with my progress in March.

Act Eleven – March 15, 2009

This was the third class, but I was still feeling very behind the other students. I was obviously learning, and I was happy that we were doing things at a much faster rate than the Beginner A class, but sometimes I do wish that we would slow down a bit and take the time to practice a little more instead of just rushing through the list so that we can say that we learned 298 moves. Today, the gym was very hot, because for some reason the heater had gone bizerk. I was sweating the whole time (I was wearing long thick cotton spandex to protect against rope burn), and at one point thought I was going to pass out.

As usual (after the warm-up) we began the true lesson on the corde lisse. We continued to review the “waist block”, but now that I was trying it in the air instead of off the ground, I was having much more difficulty with the move. Hopefully, I’ll master it soon.

We then learned two new moves, derived from the “upside-down descent”. Climbing up a few climbs, I managed (albeit a little messy) to get into my “upside-down descent” position. From there, instead of bending my knee around the rope, I twisted my leg around the rope above my body and used my ankle as an anchor. I then brought my arms away from my body into a T position. Because of its likeness to the letter T, this move is called the “upside-down T”.

The last move we learned on the corde lisse is the “frog”. It is another move named for its appearance, because when done at least semi-properly, you look like an upside down frog. Starting in the “upside-down descent”, the free legs should be bent, and with your free hand, wind the corde lisse that is usually wrapped around your bottom arm, once around the free leg under the knee. Finally, let go. (example shown on fabric)

Meanwhile on the trapeze, we reviewed the “gazelle”, “front balance” and “up and over”. We also learned some new and exciting moves: the “stripper” (which is similar to the “flag” and “double flag”), the “birds nest between the ropes”, “splits between the ropes”, “forward roll” and “backwards roll”.

The “stripper” is done by sitting with straight legs and holding onto one rope of the trapeze. You then swing your legs toward the opposite rope for momentum and swing around the rope that you are holding onto with your legs in a tucked position, landing by sitting back down on the trapeze. Obviously, I would get tangled, but the most common issue aerialist have with this move is that they get stuck midway thru and have to jump of the trapeze because they have no way back.

The “birds nest between the ropes” is done the same way that it is performed on the fabric, but you start by standing on the trapeze. The other between the ropes moves is the “splits between the ropes”. This is done by standing, and doing a tuck between the ropes, and then twisting your body and letting each foot touch a rope, and lowering yourself into a split. I had trouble with this one not due to my lack of flexibility, but because I couldn’t figure out how to keep my feet high enough before the split occurred so that they wouldn’t slide.

The “forward roll” and “backward roll” are done from standing (or from a crouch if you are nervous or feel insecure). You must position your hands under your armpits (wrists are positioned in different directions based on which move you are trying). For the “forward roll”, you lean forward and rotate that direction and have to readjust your hands so that you do not fall. For the “backward roll”, if you are not strong enough to flat out lift your body, like me, you jump backwards a little bit to perform the rotation. For some reason, the wrists do not get tangled in this one and no readjustment is necessary.

I again managed only one pull up by myself, but this time, I was able to do all 10 tuck-ups/tuck-thrus without much spot at all. I was pretty proud of my accomplishments and the fact that I didn’t need much spotting at all on that strengthening move showed just how far I had come.

Ten Times Down Lincoln Drive – March 8, 2009

Now ten classes in to my aerial training, I was beginning to notice a change in my body. I weighed as much as I did before beginning the class, but I had definitely begun to tone up. My jeans were a little less tight and my tummy had definitely shrunk a little bit. I was a little less muffin-toppy, and I had noticed an increase in my abdominal and arm strength. I realized that I was on the road to accomplishing my goal of getting back into shape. It came not a moment too soon as I was now beginning to try on dresses for prom, and no one wants to look out of shape and flabby at prom.

The class began with the usual warm-up, nothing new there except maybe a few extra sit-ups during the warm-up. As usual, we began on the corde lisse. I continued to work on my “waist block”. Having all but mastered it off the ground, I decided to try it from a few climbs up. I struggled and never quite did it correctly. I would get close, but then fall. Jackie suggested that I lean back farther when I do it, because it is very hard to flip a rope over your hip, when you are just about vertical.

We did not spend much time on the corde lisse, and we finished with a brief practice of the "upside-down descent".

On the trapeze, we reviewed the “splits” and “upside-down X” moves. We learned seven new moves: the “trapezius angel”, “rainbow”, “monkey roll”, "crucifix", “up and over” and “front balance”.

“Trapezius angel” looks like this . I do mine with the bottom leg pointed more toward the floor, but I’m not sure if that is a style difference or if one of us is not doing it correctly.

This is a picture of me attempting “rainbow” with the instruction of Jackie.

“Monkey rolls” are done by hanging by your knees under the trapeze, swinging your arms up under your legs, grabbing onto the rope and pulling your self around. It is both awkward to do and explain. It looks like this (except w/o the wipeout).

Crucifix is done by lowering your body in front of the trapeze to about your bra strap. At that point, you arch your back and straighten your arms into a T behind the rope. Basically, you look like a crucifix. Getting in required control, but getting out requires a little leap of faith and some strength. Still arching your back, you must reach as high as you can while remaining functional on the rope, and pull yourself back up so you can sit on the trapeze. To my surprise, and the rest of the class’s, I was able to pull myself back up. Even my instructor, Jackie remarked that it took her a few tries when she first learned the move.

Finally, “up and over” and “front balance”. Both can be explained very easily. “Up and over” is a way to mount the trapeze, by leading with your feet, and pulling your body over the top of the trapeze. “Front balance” is done by straightening out your body like a plank on top of the trapeze. “Front balance” requires more balance than strength, while “up and over” needs a certain degree of strength.

During the strengthening exercises today, I was able to do one pull up by myself. And while that may seem a little lame, consider that the trapeze is not anchored to any wall, so it moves when you do, and it’s been a while since I’ve done anything to work on my arms.

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.

Lesson Number Eight, The Ocho – February 22, 2009

It’s hard to believe that this was my last class in February. I’d already been working on my aerial moves for two months. In fact, it was my last class as an Aerial Beginner A student, since the session was only 8 weeks long. I felt like I had come such a far way, but I was still concerned about moving up to Beginner Aerials B. So I asked my instructor Jackie about what she thought about me moving up. She told me that as long as I felt comfortable climbing up and down the silks/corde lisse , could get on and off the trapeze easily and had a basic understanding of the basic moves and felt comfortable performing them, then I should definitely move up. She did caution me that I would encounter stronger and more flexible aerialists at the Beginner B level. But putting my anxiety aside, I told her that I thought I was ready for it, and that I was doing it for the sake of my project, so that I might actually be able to do some cool stuff by the time senior project officially started.

Today began and ended like every other class, with the warm up and stretching and push ups and climbing, and strengthening and toughening exercises. Since it was our last class, Jackie and Mary Kelly told us that we could choose an apparatus and do pretty much whatever we wanted to review. We combined our class with the teen aerials class and then some of us went with Jackie on the corde lisse, some went with Mary Kelly on the Trapeze, and I and some others went to the silks with Niff, the instructor for the teen aerials class. (I’m pretty sure my instructor on the aerial silks was Niff). There we did a review of the “between the silks” moves: “birds nest”, “1-leg between” (from birds nest), “inverted hang”, “inverted splits”; the “foot block” and its moves: the “arch thru”, “stag thru”, “split down”, and the “aerial dance foot lock” move “splits”. The only new move was the “squat”, a “foot block” move. It is exactly the same as the “squat” on the corde lisse.

Not wanting us to miss out on anything on our last class, Jackie and Mary Kelly lead a short tutorial on the lyra or spinning hoop. We learned different ways to mount and how to speed up or slow down a spin. We learned the “trapezius angel” (picture in the March 8th post), “½ moon” and “man on the moon”, which are both done by sitting inside the lyra and putting your legs above your head. The difference between the “½ moon” and “man on the moon” lies in how high your legs and how low your butt sits on the lyra. (“man on the moon” being the more extreme, with your weight mainly resting on your shoulders). Instead of doing our situps on the trapeze, we did them on the lyra. It hurt worse than it did on the trapeze because instead of a wooden or plastic bar wrapped in tape, this was a straight up metal hoop.

With the conclusion of my first Aerial Acrobatic class, I realized that when I talked about it, I would have to be careful about what I said. It was funny trying to explain the class to my friends, because if I said that I took a circus class, they would all look at me and laugh and make jokes that I was juggling and tightrope walking and unicycling. I of course corrected them that I was doing aerial acrobatics, but I realized that no one took what I was doing seriously unless I explained it as cirque du soleil type stuff, and refered to my class not as my circus class but as my aerial acrobatics class. Everyone acts a whole lot more impressed when you explain it that way. Before I began this class, the last time I had gotten any exercise (apart from an occasional bimonthly two or three day stint at the gym), was by walking up and down the hills at camp. I began out of shape, and I am slowly pulling myself out of that rut. My jeans didn’t fit so well anymore. But when I started the class, I realized that I didn’t have to spend hours working on cardio and fitness at a gym, I could get back in shape the fun way. Instead of doing jumpies and pull-ups and weights at a gym, I was supporting my own body weight and throwing it around quite a bit in mid air. This was so much better than some smelly gym. I left class excited to start my new Beginner Aerials B class the very next week.

Lucky Number Seven – February 15, 2009

As I was beginning to learn, all the classes began with the same or similar warm-ups and ended the same way. Even on the apparatuses, we usually began with a review of previously learned moves before learning new ones. It’s never boring, but sometimes I do wish we would spend more time learning new things. Since I’m clearly no expert on aerial acrobatics, I’ll leave that for my instructors to decide.

So after our warm ups, we did a slightly different climb. Jackie and Mary Kelly wanted us to climb to the top of the corde lisse, WHICH I FINALLY MADE IT!!!!, and then come back down in the “upside-down descent”. Well, I still hadn’t master the “upside-down descent” from the air, so I slide down the corde lisse like normal, and then did a descent from jumping off the ground. But hey, you do what you can physically do.

After climbing on the corde lisse, we headed over to the fabric. There, we reviewed the “ballon lady” 1 and 2, “arch thru” and “stag thru”. We learned three new moves, the “roll around/layana”, the “aerial dance foot lock” and “split” beginning in the “aerial dance foot lock”. First, we learned the “aerial dance foot lock”, which is the “foot block” but on each foot. You do this by wrapping one silk around one foot two times, and then creating slack by pulling your body up and placing your foot in the stirrup like slack fold that was the first loop. Repeat for the other foot or do it at the same time. (this is clearly not of me, but she starts the wrap for an “aerial dance foot lock” around 2:10). Just like the girl in the video, I struggled with the wrap for the “aerial dance foot lock”. For the “splits”, you simply hold onto the fabric above you, and split your legs. The last “aerial dance foot lock” move we learned was the “roll around/layana”. From the split position, you hold onto the fabric with your front leg wraped in and pull that leg around. The girl in the video does a good job of showing all three in succession, so I’m not going to try and confuse you with any more explanations.

On the trapeze today, we learned no new moves, simply reviewed the “mermaid”, “½ angel”, “back angel”, “one-hand one-foot”, “one-knee one-elbow”, “dead hang” and “rajah”. So we had a pretty packed schedule in class today.

I was extremely proud of my accomplishments today. I climbed to the top of the rope which was one of my major goals for the class. Even though I clearly have some short comings, I am obviously doing better than I did on the first class. I was and continue to put in the effort, and slowly but surely I am seeing the fruits of my labor.

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.

Numero Cinco – February 1, 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoLVWvqEwzs (play and read while listening to the music)

After four classes, and months of waiting, the moment had finally come. I walked into the studio to begin the warm-up and to stretch out. I busied myself preparing my mind and body for a workout climbing the corde lisse and maybe, just maybe this week I would be strong enough and brave enough to reach the top. That’s when Jackie looked at us, and told us that if we felt comfortable, we could try climbing the silks. It did not matter to her which we did, but she did want us to try climbing at least once on the silks to get used to holding and climbing that much fabric. We were to learn moves on the silks today instead of the corde lisse. I was so excited that I could hardly contain a squeal. Today was one of those days that where I learned many new and exciting moves.

We of course began by climbing with both legs. It definitely felt different than climbing on the rope. While the rope was course and a bit hard, the fabric was more flexible and slippery. It was more comfortable on the feet, and less rope burn occurred, but the slipperiness required me to pinch the fabric differently than I would hold onto the corde lisse.

Having successfully climbed the silks, we began to learn simple moves. First we tried the “inverted hang” and from there we went to the “birds nest” then the “birds nest, 1-leg between” and then “inverted hang splits”. The “inverted hang” is when you reach up, grab one hand onto each strip of fabric and flip upside down. Your body should be hollow (meaning back and legs are straight with pointed toes) and your arms are straight and held close to your sides. The “birds nest” is done the same way that it is on the trapeze, with one foot on each rope, but you get there from the inverted hang move. To do the “birds nest, 1-leg between”, you simply leg go with one leg. The “inverted splits” are in the same vein, starting the in the “inverted hang” position, split your legs. The inverted moves were not challenging, the only hard part was that my hands kept slipping since the fabric is much more slippery than the corde lisse. To fix this problem, there was some resin that made your hands sticky to grip the fabric better.

We finished our lesson on the fabric with some moves that we learned on the corde lisse. We did the “foot block”, “arch thru”, “stag thru”, and the “split down”. The “arch thru and “stag thru” can be equated with the “back arch” on the corde lisse, except you hold onto each piece of fabric with each hand. The “split down” is simply, holding onto the fabric very low, with one foot in the “foot block” and splitting the legs. It looks very elegant and shows off the strength and grace of those that do it. Something to mention about the “foot block” on the fabric…it is so much less painful. Instead of putting pressure on three points on your foot to hold all your weight like the corde lisse, the fabric wraps your foot, for the most part evening out the pressure points.

I wanted to spend all day on the fabric, but unfortunately for me, Jackie and Mary Kelly thought it would be valuable for us to finish learning the “mermaid sequence”. We did the moves we had already learned last week, the “mermaid”, “½ angel”, “back angel”, and “one-hand one-foot”. It was good review because I had clearly already forgotten how to do them. We then learned two more moves, the “one-knee one-elbow” and the “candlestick”. The “one-knee one-elbow” is similar to the “one-hand one-foot”, in that from the latter move, your pull yourself up and bend one knee and one elbow around the trapeze instead of just one foot and one hand. When done correctly, the move looks like you’re a shirt on a clothesline, just chillin out. For the “candlestick”, your simply bend the free knee over the knee bent around the trapeze and let go so that you are suspended only by your bent knees. That position looked a lot scarier and unstable than it actually was.

We finished the lesson with the same “toughening” and “strengthening” exercises that we have been doing. One of the students, Anthony, who is training to become a professional ballerina, noticed that I was having an easy time with the sit-ups. So he suggested that I try them from an “ankle hang”. It was definitely more challenging and worked a different set of abdominal muscles. We got to talking, and we realized that we knew many of the same people. Shulie Shmaters, who goes to the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts, and four other girls who are or were in the same dance company as him that I knew from school.

During today’s class, my mom decided to pop in for the end of it. She was beside herself by the time I was finished. She kept saying that she wanted someone under me to catch me if I fell. Right…like that would help when falling from the ceiling to the floor. Having my mom there however made the whole post-lesson explanation easier. Previously, I would come home and my parents would ask me what I did, and I would tell them that it’s very hard to explain and they would get very upset that I couldn’t tell them anything for all the money they were spending on the classes. So my mom agreeing with me when I needed to explain it to my dad made the whole thing easier.

Take Four – January 25, 2009

My last class in January, and I was finally getting used to going to a class that met regularly. My plan for Senior Project was to ultimately learn how to do moves, and if I got the chance, to create a routine on the aerial silks. Our instructors, Mary Kelly and Jackie, were clearly avoiding the silks and I wanted to know why. So finally, I opened up to Jackie about my purpose for taking this class, as a test pilot for my senior project, to confirm my suspicions that this would be an exciting and interesting way to spend three weeks participating in, writing about, and researching. Her answer was that I was right; she was hesitant about taking us onto the silks because the silks are a lot more material than the corde lisse, and can therefore be much more difficult to handle. I told her how much I wanted to only learn on the silks and that there was no course based solely on the silks until the advanced level, which I was clearly not ready for. She did promise that we would go onto the silks very soon though, once she felt confident that everyone would be able to handle them without being too much of a personal safety hazard.

We did the same warm-up as the previous three classes. My goal for the rope climbing was the same, to get over my fear of heights and to make it higher than before. This week, I made it my highest yet, coming within mere feet the top. Tired, but proud of myself, the gym’s owner, and my senior project sponsor, Shana Kennedy, realized that I was making the climbing much harder for myself that it needed to be. She suggested not grabbing so far above my head so that I could use my arms more effectively in the climb and not to go all limp. By keeping my body tighter, my abs (I have strong abs) did much more work than my legs and arms, I felt my less tired. Yay progress!

This week, we didn’t learn anything new on the corde lisse. We reviewed the “elbow lean away”, “1-hand hang”, “squat”, “back arch”, “thigh side lean”, “back of knee hang” and “upside-down descent”. The “thigh side lean”, which I am terrified of and probably always will be, was made even more terrifying when one of the instructors, Niff, told me that I had to lean over even more. Clearly not what I wanted to do when I already felt so uncomfortable. The rope pinched and I felt so unbalanced that after about a second and a half in the position, I asked her if it was alright for me to come back up. The only other interesting thing to happen on the corde lisse was that I tried the “upside-down descent” from the air. If I had seen myself, I probably would’ve laughed. I now know that I did the entire thing wrong. First, instead of keeping my arms and shoulders (biceps, triceps, and deltoids) engaged, I just hanged there and hoped for the best by way of trying to create some momentum by swinging my legs back first. Jackie spotted me, and probably did most of the work, and therefore could not see my flaws, for fear of dropping me.

After quickly going over the birds nest move on the trapeze, we began to learn the “mermaid sequence”. Obviously, we started with the “mermaid”. We then did the “½ angel”, a move where you let go with your inside leg (right leg if your ankles are hooked to the left and left leg when your ankles are hooked to the right in the “mermaid”). Essentially, you are holding on with your left ankle and right hand, with the right leg and therefore you abdomen/torso pointing toward the floor. Next came the “back angel”, a move where you pull the leg pointing toward the floor through the gap between the bar and your body and let it point down to floor on the other side so that your abdomen/torso is facing the ceiling and your back is facing the ground. The final move was the “one-hand one-foot” move. Perhaps the simplest move, you switch hands holding onto the bar, from my right hand, to my left hand so that I looked like one of those monkeys that link onto each other to create chains. Mary Kelly and Jackie promised that we would learn the rest of the “mermaid sequence” next class because we had simply run out of time.

Class again ended the same as it always did. On course with my record of slow improvement, I realized that I did not need spotting on my toughening moves but I still needed someone, or a team, to help me with the strengthening ones.

Overall, this class was mostly review, with the only exciting moments coming when I messed up a few times on the rope and learning the “mermaid sequence” on the trapeze. I still had fun and I could feel myself becoming slightly stronger and slightly more flexible. My flexibility goal is now to get my split on both legs and return my straddle to its former, nearly perfectly straight glory. I can do it, I know I can.

Scene Three - January 18, 2009

I arrived for my third class invigorated and excited for the challenges that todays class would bring. If there is one thing that I am good at, it is putting all my effort into something and to get myself excited about it. Noticing that I was rather weak from the past two lessons, I decided to visit the gym a few times that week. I did my usual 10 minute warm up on the treadmill and then a 30 minute or about 500 calories according to the machine, cardio on the elliptical. I used various arm and leg strengthening machines and did body circuits.

We did the same warm-up as the previous two classes. My goal for the rope climbing was the same, to get over my fear of heights and to make it higher than before. I found that by just looking up, and concentrating on what was above me, it was far less scary than looking down at what my feet were doing. I made it a little higher, but was still too scared to go all the way to the top.

This class, we learned about half of the foot block moves. After the disaster that was last class, the week leading up to my second class, I reviewed in my head how to do a foot block. I felt confident that I could actually do it on my first try this class and…I DID! So I climbed up about two climbs and painfully tied my foot into the foot block. We then set to work learning six new moves all based on our knowledge of the foot block.

First, the “elbow lean away”. Very simply, with my right foot in the foot block, I stood up and hooked my right elbow around the rope and leaned away. Feeling pretty confident, I advanced to the second move, the “1-hand hang”. Again, very simply, standing up with my right foot still in the foot block, I held onto the rope with my right hand and leaned away. (example of a 1-hand hang) I was feeling pretty good, so I decided to finish the foot block moves that required the participant to stand up and advanced to the “back arch”. Holding onto the rope with both hands (very tight I might add), I swung my body around the rope so that it was behind me. I then did the stag pose that we learned on the trapeze, except instead of a bar, I had the rope tied around my foot and instead of holding onto both ropes of the trapeze with each hand, I held onto one rope with both hands. My foot began to really hurt, so I decided to come down for a quick break and to move the skin on my foot back into place.

Finished with my break, I scaled the rope again two climbs and retied my foot into the foot block. For my fourth move, I tried the “back of knee hang”. It is another standing move, but this one gave me a very peculiar and uncomfortable pulling sensation in my knee. Standing up and holding onto the corde lisse with both hands, I swung my left leg up and hooked it around the rope. Quickly, I grabbed my ankle with my left hand. Once I felt secure (and with the owner of the studio standing beneath me), I let go with my right hand. To get out of the move (as I mentioned it was not a comfortable one), I accidentally grabbed the corde lisse underneath my leg instead of above and had to awkwardly untangle and climb my hands above my left leg again. Continuing with awkward, painful and scary knee moves, I tried the “thigh side lean”. With my right foot in the foot block, I pinched the rope to my right knee with my left foot, leaned my body over into a semi-straight position and made myself let go with my hands. It pinched awkwardly and I basically hated it. At least I tried it.

We ended our daily stint on the corde lisse with the “squat”. Simply, hold onto the rope with both hand, and while still in a foot block, slide down the rope until in a squat position and lean back for style. The untied leg should be straight and pointed.

We did nothing new on the trapeze, re-trying the birds nest (bent and straight legs) both from sitting and from under the trapeze, and the mermaid.

The strengthening and toughening exercises were the same as the day before, doing either 10 seconds of each position for the toughening ones and 10 reps for the strengthening ones

This third class was the first that I truly felt like I could do something extraordinary. None of my friends (with the exception of Shmulie Smaters) was doing this. I found it on my own, and I could feel myself getting better. It was exciting becoming stronger and more aware of my body. It is an unusual activity, with a high yield of confidence. I could feel myself tightening up and becoming more toned through my efforts of both going to class and going to the gym to support going to class. It is definitely a more fun way than plain old going to the gym to get in my cardio and strengthening workout, and since it is sustained over about an hour and a half, I know that I am getting a good one.

(here is another cool video I found, hopefully I'll be able to load the pictures that my dad took of me during one class very soon)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RgWIDk0nuU&NR=1

Try Number Two - January 11, 2009

January 11th was my first full day as an 18 year old, legal adult and what better way to celebrate it than by going to the studio for my second class.

Today began like the previous class. We did the same warm up as last weeks’ class, climbing with each foot and doing the jumping jacks and push ups. Knowing what was to come for the rope climbing did not make it any easier this time. I was terrified and still felt as weak as last time. I wanted to climb to the top, eventually, but the sweaty palms and cold sweat that broke out all over my body prevented that from happening.

Today we learned another very back move that all aerialists need to know, the foot block. The foot block is a way of tying the foot (or feet if on the silks) so that your foot is literally locked in the rope to prevent you from going anywhere. The rope wraps once around your ankle, starting and ending in between your legs. You then hold onto the rope with your hands and lean back to provide slack. You push the rope with the top of your non-rope foot, across the top of the rope bound foot, and under so that it comes back up on the arch side. We first tried it sitting on the ground. Having partially mastered that, we tried it by holding onto the rope and jumping into the air to try to tie it off the ground. Needless to say I hopelessly tied myself up in knots and had to be untangled several times by my instructors. It was fairly painful, but everyone has to start somewhere.

After we had enough of that, we tried our upside-down descent moves off the ground (and from the air for the stronger set). Just as last class went, I was a hopeless mess. I admit, I had improved a bit from watching everyone and I was able to get up without the help of an instructor, but my lack of strength was extremely apparent.

Upon more than proving our incompetence at basic corde lisse moves, our instructors shuffled us over to the static trapeze. We began with a simple review of yesterdays’ lesson of the rock and roll mount onto the trapeze. It turned out to be just as challenging as it was last time, and I still needed Mary Kelly to give my butt a little boost. Once the review session was over, we learned three very simple moves. The first was stag. For the stag, you stand up on the trapeze, and reach and grab the ropes far above your head. You then draw one leg up into a tuck position, perpendicular to your body, but still bent (or straight if you want, but it is much less pretty). With one leg tucked and one foot still straight legged on the trapeze bar, arch your back, tilt your head back like you’re trying to look at a spot on the wall behind you and lean forward. It’s simple, but the first time you do it, it is a little nerve wracking because you can’t see where you are going.

The next move we learned is called the birds nest. This move was not scary for me at all, but I could tell some people were nervous performing it. You start in a pike position under the trapeze bar, holding onto it with just your hands. You then push yourself into a handstand position but arching your back until your body is straight up and down, with your back resting against the bar that your hands are holding onto. You then straddle your legs and hook each ankle around each rope. Variations on this move are whether you choose to bend your legs or keep them straight while in the correct position. I guess some of it as to do with abdominal and back flexibility, but they both look pretty when done right.

The last move we learned was even simpler, the mermaid. The mermaid is the first move in a seven move sequence called the Mermaid Sequence. The mermaid starts the same way the birds nest starts, but instead of straddling the legs, both ankles hook around one rope on one side of the trapeze. You slide your ankles down the rope until they are touching the actual trapeze bar and are tucked into the right angle where the rope and bar meet. You then let go with hand trapped uncomfortably behind your back and make your body into a slightly curved line, holding on with your ankles on one side and one hand on the other.

We ended the lesson with the same toughening and strengthening moves that we had learned last time, but this time, we did 8 pull-ups, 10 tuck-ups and 10 sit-ups. After all, we need to be getting stronger, not stagnant.

I felt like this lesson had been more successful than the last. I still felt weak, but the goals seemed attainable and I had made some minor improvements since the last class. I was curious what we were going to learn the next class and definitely more excited to continue.

The First Class - January 4, 2009

Today was my first Aerial Beginner A class. There are roughly 12 people in the class and I am the youngest, at 17 years old. Most are graduate school age or late college. A few are older than their mid30s.

The class started with a brief role call and name game session. The instructors introduced themselves, Jackie and Mary Kelly. Jackie has been doing this for several years and Mary Kelly used to work as a clown and trapeze artist. They both seemed very nice, knowledgeable and approachable with questions.

After the little meet and greet, we set to work. We climbed up the corde lisse (thick fabric covered rope) once on each foot. By climbing on each foot I mean wrapping the rope once around one foot and squeezing it against the other to provide a base to climb on. I was too weak and too scared to climb all the way to the top on either foot. But climbing with my left was definitely scarier since I felt weaker and less secure on that side. After reaching my version of the top (about a meter below the actual height) I slid down the rope to either start again on the other foot or to stretch out.

The warm-up continued. Beginning at seven, and moving all the way down to one, we did jumping jacks then second position plies then mountain climbers. Following the blood pumping warm-up, we did a series of yoga stretches before settling down to business.

We began with the basic moves. Holding onto the corde lisse with our hands and with our feet starting on the ground, each of us attempted the upside-down descent move. Upside-down descent is when your body is positioned one side and you straddle your legs above your head so that one knee is hooked around the rope. You then let go with the outside arm and wrap it below your body. Finally you let go with the inside hand so that you are holding on with one knee and one hand, upside-down. (me doing upside down descent during a later class). At first it is scary, and to someone so out of shape, it is actually difficult.

The second move we learned was the Rock n Roll. It is a way to mount the trapeze where you hold onto the bar, pike your legs through and curl your knees around the bar. Let go with your hand and swing up as high as you can to grab the ropes above the bar. Then lean back, flatten out your body and lever your way into a sitting position. We simply leaned backward to dismount and pike our legs back through the space between the bar and our bodies.

We finished the lesson with three “toughening” exercises and three “strengthening” exercises. The toughening exercises were simple. Hold onto the trapeze with only one leg/knee (once for each leg), an ankle hang where yes you hang onto the trapeze ropes by the crook of your ankle and finally by hanging onto the trapeze with each elbow. They were painful, but definitely got me used to the type of things I would feel in the future. We finished with the strengthening exercises which comprised of 5 pull-ups on the trapeze with assistance, 5 situps hanging on the trapeze with spotting and 5 tuck-ups (pulling a straight body into a pike position and through the space between your body and the bar) 5 times.

If I had stopped there, I would have left feeling empowered, yet ultimately unsatisfied with myself. Where had all my strength and flexibility from years of gymnastics, field hockey, track and crew gone? I was bulging out of my spandex, the fat between my legs was touching and not because there was muscle to push it out of the way. I was determined to get back in shape.

How I found it

Basically, I created this blog and a twitter account to log my progress for my senior project. I decided to learn how to perform on the aerial silks. So how exactly did I come up with this idea? Well after the Senior Project Director, Mrs. Manlin, presented to us the concept of senior project, I brainstormed what I might like to learn. I had it narrowed down to snorkling/scuba diving and documenting the extent of coral bleaching on the Caribbean island, St. John, relearning the level four gymnastics routines, or learning how to perform on the aerial silks. I threw out the St. John idea because it just seemed too complex and expensive for my purposes. I threw out the gymnastics idea after realizing that I was at least 6 years older than everyone who would be in my potential class, and private lessons would again be too expensive. So, I chose the aerial silk option.

For those of you who may be wondering exactly what aerial silk performance entails, this is what it is for the most part. Think of Cirque du Soleil. During the show, there is usually a performance that involves a thin, flexible acrobat flipping and twisting, and falling, and tying themselves up in two strips of fabric several meters of the ground. That is what I am learning.

So how did I find this? Well my friend, whose name rhymes with Shmulie Shmaters (I have not asked her for permission to publish her name online) works as an instructor of aerial acrobatics at Independent Lake Camp. She takes classes at the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts. That is where my idea was born. I simply did a google search until I found a circus/acrobatic gym in the Philadelphia area. Only after considering the program did I learn that Shmulie also took classes there, and she wat able to tell me more about her experience in the classes. Once my class began, we occassionally ran into eachother.

That is how my project started. more to come on the actual experience and progress.

here is a video (admittedly not of me) of what a Cirque du Soleil aerial silk performance looks like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zty1Lql09P0&feature=related

it's out of control cool, but i doubt that I will ever be that flexible. I would be content being able to do variations on some of her tricks.