Those who find extreme sport activities attractive may enjoy enrolling in aerial arts classes. After all, people who do dangerous things in the name of fun and entertainment often look for new adventures.
There are some prerequisites before students can swing through the air. Signing a waiver of liability is required and most schools prefer students who are healthy and physically fit. However, a Google search shows that some aerial arts schools advertise their classes as helpful for weight loss or to improve fitness.
An Example of What to Expect in an Aerial Arts Class
In San Diego, California, teachers let down the “silks” and Spanish web and, after strenuous warm-up exercises, invite adults (and teens with parents in attendance) to come and experience the aerial arts that Cirque du Soleil made famous. Three nights each week, the fully-equipped gym that normally caters to regular gymnasts undergoes a transformation as classes are held on the trapeze, circle, silks, and a rope.
Some of the students are lifelong athletes, professionals who specialize in aerial arts and need to practice or work on routines. Others are seemingly normal citizens – teachers, waitresses, students – who are curious and want to test their strength or nerve. Beginners are welcomed. Those who do well and take the aerial arts classes for a few months may find themselves offered the opportunity to participate in a gig.
Aerial arts students are monitored closely by teachers. In small groups or sometimes one-on-one, novices are shown basic positions, movements and techniques. Students often "spot" or stand in a particular place ready to help another student engaged in a stunt not yet mastered.
Aerial Arts Training is Not for the Fainthearted
For some aerial acrobats, the spinning, swinging, and upside-down stunts are addictive. Yet adrenalin cravings must be curtailed because the intensity of the workout requires frequent rests. Except where required by law, aerialists often work without a safety net or line. This inherent danger requires an ability to concentrate and pay careful attention to details. Even a beginning aerial artist's life depends on proper equipment, positioning, and technique. The combination of these factors results in a relaxed but intense workout environment; an atmosphere of quiet focus punctuated by giddy expressions of pure joy when a difficult maneuver is completed successfully.
Aerialists, those who perform routines while in the air, may use one of the following suspended apparatuses:
- Aerial Silks are two lengths of a strong and brightly colored fabric. Silks allow the performer's body to climb, wrap, swing, twirl or slide into a variety of positions.
- Hoop or Lyra is a circle made of steel which may swing, spin or be stationary.
- Cord Lisse is a soft, cotton rope that is used in ways similar to silks.
- Spanish Web is a braided rope, covered in cotton and hung vertically. It has a loop in it which is used to spin a performer.
- Trapeze is a horizontal bar like a swing. It can be stationary but is most commonly used to swing allowing aerialists to fly through the air.
Aerial arts schools are the best place to learn and practice these highly dangerous feats. Take care in selecting a school. Poorly maintained apparatus or unsafe environments are cause for concern. Although circus aerial arts sounds like fun, mistakes can be deadly.
Source:
- The writer participated in two aerial arts classes at the All Star Gymnasium in San Diego, California during 2010.
Mistie Shaw - Writing for nearly half a century, Shaw's interests and education meander from music to the military, and from faith to fun.
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