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.