Bionic Teutonic

Last Friday I went Teatro Zinzanni, thanks to a friend of mine who got me into the producers booth (Thank god for friends. That shit is expensive!). Ariel and I had been about a year and a half ago, but that was before I had started aerial classes so I had a whole new perspective on it. First off, I found it totally inspiring. The performers are all pretty fantastic and I was really able to appreciate what they were doing more than last time. The thing I was impressed with most was how effortless they made it all look. They have obviously been doing these routines for a while, because there was never a point when it looked like they were straining or having to make a real effort to pull any of it off. Very impressive. The other thing I took from watching them was that I can actually see myself being able to do a lot of it. Not yet, obviously, but knowing what it takes to get down the more basic side of an aerial act, and having a sense for what kind of training is involved, I could picture myself doing it. I can see what it would take to get there and it doesn’t feel unattainable. That in and of itself was inspiring.

Something I just came across that I absolutely can not see myself doing is this. How these people don’t kill themselves on a regular basis is beyond me. Damn.

When you are hanging upside down halfway up a rope and the rope pulls your pants halfway off your butt, it is not an easy thing to pull your pants back up again. In fact, you pretty much have to make your peace with mooning anybody in the vicinity until you can move on to the next position and THEN pull your pants back up. Just sayin’.

At my bus stop after work, there is a man who sells the Seattle Times out of a little cart. He sort of looks like he could be homeless, and definitely has a worn look to him. Deep lines in his face, and it just sort of looks like he’s had a hard life. Over the last couple of weeks, every time I walk past, he is deep in conversation with this beautiful asian woman in business attire who stands there waiting for the bus. I can’t help but spy on them while I wait because it strikes me as such a wonderful and unusual friendship that they seem to have. You can just tell by their body language that although they could not be more different in appearance and apparent lifestyle, they are really enjoying each-others company and conversation. Seeing this every day gives me hope for humans after all.

I had circus class again yesterday, and I’m totally smitten with it. I’m in deep smitt. Not only is it just plain fun to swing around on suspended bars, hoops, and ropes, but it’s a wonderfully supportive group of people that I’m doing it with too. People are constantly giving one another encouragement and compliments and it’s fun to watch the joy people have when they get down a new trick. My favorite moment yesterday: a guy in my class named Chris striking a pose in a spinning hoop while proclaiming “Look. I’m a pretty princess!” That cracked everybody up.

My first circus class was yesterday and I’m here to report that it was AWESOME. I can see myself easily getting addicted to this. It reminded me somewhat of the gymnastics classes that I took for a year or two when I was a kid, only with WAY MORE TOYS. It’s like being a kid on a jungle gym. There is an adult acrobatics class happening at the same time as my aerial one, and yesterday at least, there were also a couple of circus folks at the gym training as well. I kept looking around seeing all sorts of stuff I wanted to try out. Crazy acrobatics moves. Tumbling. The juggler who was balancing on not one, but what looked like three teeter boards. One of these things. For us, yesterday was focused on learning some basic trapeze and rope skills. Fun as hell, but I can tell you, some of the rope tricks hurt, yo! My body is going to have to do some adjusting. Also, my arms felt like they were going to fall off. I was concentrating so hard on learning the basic skills however, that I didn’t really notice them getting tired until the end of class, when I started realizing that I couldn’t pull myself up at all anymore. That was when I noticed the pain. I foresee the need for lots of pull-ups. I can’t wait to go back next week though. It was every bit as much fun as I was hoping it would be.

Tonight I will be going to the Salon of Shame, which is always a good time. I’m looking forward to witnessing the hilarity of overly earnest teenage writing, badly written poems, and naïve (innocent?) musings on romance.

Damn, that weekend went fast. I had two wedding events to go to this weekend, and while I love the people who got married, receptions can be exhausting and sort of stressful. The end result is that I spent the entire weekend either at a reception, or running errands. I had hoped to spend most of the weekend writing and playing music, but in reality I only spent maybe 2 hours in my studio, which made me a little short tempered, I’m afraid. I got some nice pictures of Jane’s wedding though.
So, I’m going to be starting beginning aerial classes at the School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts on Sept 11th, which I’m very excited about. I’m not entirely sure what the class will be like, or what kinds of aerial apparatuses we will be learning on, but no matter. I’ll get the thumb my nose at gravity for a while, which is always fun.