After our big assessment, Danick decided to give us a break to do fun stuff in acro.
Tuesday, 30 October 2012
Monday, 29 October 2012
Presentations in Acrobalance and Trapeze!
At last, I've acquired and uploaded the videos from the Friday presentations. I've included the names of each trick in the descriptions, along with the assignment.
I hope my group mates don't mind my sharing this (if any of you do, please let me know and I'll remove your information from it). The assignment was simply to construct a routine using the tricks we'd been taught in tumbling and acro, with neutral character and no music. The neutral aspect was especially challenging, but
I am not an aerialist. Despite this fact, I think I managed to pull off a decent routine. A few nicely difficult tricks in there (handstand, forward roll, hanging beat into front balance, drop to angel). I did not manage a barrel roll or consistent toe hang, as I'd hoped, and though I managed to get a pop-off (dropping backwards to pike from sitting) there was nowhere to fit in the routine. My apologies for the lighting, this is how South Wing is set up. I also needed to use this particular trapeze so I'd have enough space on the ropes and above the floor.
As I mentioned on Facebook, there are some really talented students in the class. I was thoroughly impressed with many of my classmates, and with the clever transitions they managed to pull through some very difficult tricks. Wish I could show them all here...
I hope my group mates don't mind my sharing this (if any of you do, please let me know and I'll remove your information from it). The assignment was simply to construct a routine using the tricks we'd been taught in tumbling and acro, with neutral character and no music. The neutral aspect was especially challenging, but
I am not an aerialist. Despite this fact, I think I managed to pull off a decent routine. A few nicely difficult tricks in there (handstand, forward roll, hanging beat into front balance, drop to angel). I did not manage a barrel roll or consistent toe hang, as I'd hoped, and though I managed to get a pop-off (dropping backwards to pike from sitting) there was nowhere to fit in the routine. My apologies for the lighting, this is how South Wing is set up. I also needed to use this particular trapeze so I'd have enough space on the ropes and above the floor.
As I mentioned on Facebook, there are some really talented students in the class. I was thoroughly impressed with many of my classmates, and with the clever transitions they managed to pull through some very difficult tricks. Wish I could show them all here...
Saturday, 20 October 2012
Reflections on Weeks Two and Three
Things seem to be picking up and going smoothly as everyone settles into routines. Each week has been more or less structured as the first was in terms of classes, with classwork of varying difficulty, especially in areas of aerial and acrobatics. I went to see a show in Cardiff last Friday by the Australian company C!rca. I've already posted a short video of theirs sampling the show, but I owe a longer post on it. Otherwise, I've continued preparation for the Physics GRE, tried to keep a high protein diet, discovered the joys of tights and dumpster-diving for food, gotten to better know the fascinating people who chose circus school of all things, and posted about it all here.
Aerial
As much as I have enjoyed learning the trapeze, I know that I am not an aerialist at heart. It is like how I approach the unicycle – something I can do, and have enjoyed doing, but not something that inspires me the way manipulation, physics, physical theatre, or acrobatics can. I'll continue conditioning and practicing what aerial I've learned. At the very least it's excellent training in building strength, flexibility, and pain tolerance, and it pushes me well out of my comfort zones.
We've recently covered tricks such as drop-to-angel, gallopettes (forward and back), millwheels, hanging beats to front balance, and hock beats. All of these are what I call dynamic tricks: those that involve some sort of drop, slide, or balance, rather than simply forming a shape. These are especially challenging because I have to put myself briefly beyond muscle control, and trust form and grip to keep me safe. So far, no falls, but my forearms get sore from instinctively gripping too hard on these.
A fear of heights is really just a fear of the possibility of falling, as your mind considers all available options at any given moment and you realize that letting go is one of them. Your brain is aware that you have the option of falling, and though of course you'd never take it the fact it's there makes it more prominent than holding on. It's like trying not to think of elephants when someone tells you not to. You should focus on the narrow path but all you see is the cliff beside it. Then, of course, the dynamic tricks ask you to jump to a lower ledge, and you know you can make it there but you can't look away from the possible mistakes.
For next Friday, we each have to compose a brief presentation of aerial to music of our choice. I've decided to fit some of these dynamic patterns into my routine, as well as front balance (which I have yet to master, to much frustration and lower-ab bruising), to force myself to train harder and conquer this fear. As I try with juggling routines – write it, then learn to do it.
Acrobatics
My handstands have been getting much more solid. I even managed to tuck-up into handstand the other day without assistance. Not bragging or anything...
We've gotten into some harder tumbling, and a couple harder positions. Shoulder stand on feet, which is pretty much an inverted two-high, is a fun one, if harder to get into and balance. We've been working toward headsprings in tumbling, which is to the headstand what the handspring is to the handstand. Cartwheel on knees, despite kicking a friend in the face while doing it, has gotten better. I'm certain I'm going to try to specialize in acro.
I'll say more about last Friday's group presentations when I have the video from it available. Long story short – my group wore tights and A-shirts and was well-received. We played it safe with patterns, sticking to the simple ones we had solid, but the end result was a clean, 'dropless,' routine.
Physical Theatre
[I've combined the performance, play in performance, creative movement, and movement tech courses into this category for now.]
For creative movement, we've continued with choreographic work and have started to include concepts of stillness and repetition to movements. We wrote pieces by assigning random numbers to body parts and points in space, then using our phone numbers to define a sequence of "part-direction." These we then tweaked in pairs, adapted by finding moments of stillness and repetition, and went to town. Always fun to explore new ways to move.
In movement tech, we've finally gotten into some miming – specifically, Lecoq mime techniques. There's a 9-step sequence we've learned, the purpose of which has yet to be revealed, and we've also learned some basic mime skills – pushing/pulling, fixed points, climbing a short wall, invisible walls, suitcases, etc. The use of impact and impulse, opposing ways of distributing effort, creates much of the illusion. Last Friday, we worked with our eyes a bit too and I learned to do this.
We had our first introduction to mime on Friday of last week (the 12th), and then immediately had to put together presentations using it for our Friday devising/presentation session. The task was to create a "mystery house," which in many cases was a haunted house but sometimes got more abstract. My group's wound up, accidentally, being pretty close to the Doctor Who episode "Blink," complete with weeping angels and a creepy house.
In Performance, over the last week we've begun working with neutral masks. They look pretty close to the ones here. True to the Jacques Lecoq method (apparently, our instructor Bim Mason studied at the Lecoq institute), the purpose of the neutral mask is, not nightmare fuel, but to drop all facial expression and move all focus to the body language. For the first exercise, groups of four classmates would put the masks on while facing away, then turn around and stand to face the class. As we discussed their body languages, something incredible happened – I no longer felt as though my classmates were in the room. Something foreign stood across the room from us, watching, listening, as we discussed them like sculptures or lab mice.
Creepy? Yes, but incredible!
Equilibristics and Manipulation
New props have been introduced, as well as more specific types of manipulation! Classes are starting to look like a cross between the first few weeks of Strong Jugglers practice (i.e., introducing all available props) and festival workshops (i.e., teaching a specific skill to a big group). This offers something for everyone – beginners get to play with more, while more experienced jugglers broaden their skill range and learn more intricate manipulation ideas. We've gotten into various body throws and rolls, as well as club rolling/balancing and 3-club manipulation.
Other props that have been introduced include cigar boxes, hats, poles (balancing), diabolo, bounce juggling, and ball spinning. I've actually picked up a bit of cigar boxes, something I've never really tried before. Bounce is frustrating, of course, because it depends so much on the surface and any error will send you sprinting across the room. I've gotten some advice on working toward a chin balance while juggling, and with longer poles I've managed to get close to a seal position.
The instructors – Seb and Rod – have distinct juggling styles that show a great range to the students. Each instructor's approach has its advantages.. Seb does a lot with clubs, from what I've heard and seen, in a modern artistic style. Seb has run classes on body throws, and getting creative with a simple 423-esque pattern [actually, (2x,2)2(2,2x)2, essentially 423 but without throwing the 4] by mixing up where throws go – behind the back, neck, under the leg, etc. He also ran a neat class on club rolling and balancing, and how to mix collects and multiplexes into a three-club routine.
Rod is best known for his more classical, comedic ping pong juggling act, and he holds the world record for ping pong balls juggled in mouth (10). So far, his classes have been practical introductions to the different props with advice on tricks to develop. This has been useful for me for those areas that are new to me, like ball spinning, head bouncing, or cigar boxes. I've also gotten good practice advice from him.
Though I wouldn't call this the best school for E&M, it is certainly good for jugglers looking to expand their repertoire, add some performance quality, and develop their own unique style.
Rumor is that our first presentations will involve picking a random everyday object to manipulate. Perhaps it's time to revive my underpants plate-spinning idea from pre-high school days...
Aerial
As much as I have enjoyed learning the trapeze, I know that I am not an aerialist at heart. It is like how I approach the unicycle – something I can do, and have enjoyed doing, but not something that inspires me the way manipulation, physics, physical theatre, or acrobatics can. I'll continue conditioning and practicing what aerial I've learned. At the very least it's excellent training in building strength, flexibility, and pain tolerance, and it pushes me well out of my comfort zones.
We've recently covered tricks such as drop-to-angel, gallopettes (forward and back), millwheels, hanging beats to front balance, and hock beats. All of these are what I call dynamic tricks: those that involve some sort of drop, slide, or balance, rather than simply forming a shape. These are especially challenging because I have to put myself briefly beyond muscle control, and trust form and grip to keep me safe. So far, no falls, but my forearms get sore from instinctively gripping too hard on these.
A fear of heights is really just a fear of the possibility of falling, as your mind considers all available options at any given moment and you realize that letting go is one of them. Your brain is aware that you have the option of falling, and though of course you'd never take it the fact it's there makes it more prominent than holding on. It's like trying not to think of elephants when someone tells you not to. You should focus on the narrow path but all you see is the cliff beside it. Then, of course, the dynamic tricks ask you to jump to a lower ledge, and you know you can make it there but you can't look away from the possible mistakes.
For next Friday, we each have to compose a brief presentation of aerial to music of our choice. I've decided to fit some of these dynamic patterns into my routine, as well as front balance (which I have yet to master, to much frustration and lower-ab bruising), to force myself to train harder and conquer this fear. As I try with juggling routines – write it, then learn to do it.
Acrobatics
My handstands have been getting much more solid. I even managed to tuck-up into handstand the other day without assistance. Not bragging or anything...
We've gotten into some harder tumbling, and a couple harder positions. Shoulder stand on feet, which is pretty much an inverted two-high, is a fun one, if harder to get into and balance. We've been working toward headsprings in tumbling, which is to the headstand what the handspring is to the handstand. Cartwheel on knees, despite kicking a friend in the face while doing it, has gotten better. I'm certain I'm going to try to specialize in acro.
I'll say more about last Friday's group presentations when I have the video from it available. Long story short – my group wore tights and A-shirts and was well-received. We played it safe with patterns, sticking to the simple ones we had solid, but the end result was a clean, 'dropless,' routine.
Physical Theatre
[I've combined the performance, play in performance, creative movement, and movement tech courses into this category for now.]
For creative movement, we've continued with choreographic work and have started to include concepts of stillness and repetition to movements. We wrote pieces by assigning random numbers to body parts and points in space, then using our phone numbers to define a sequence of "part-direction." These we then tweaked in pairs, adapted by finding moments of stillness and repetition, and went to town. Always fun to explore new ways to move.
In movement tech, we've finally gotten into some miming – specifically, Lecoq mime techniques. There's a 9-step sequence we've learned, the purpose of which has yet to be revealed, and we've also learned some basic mime skills – pushing/pulling, fixed points, climbing a short wall, invisible walls, suitcases, etc. The use of impact and impulse, opposing ways of distributing effort, creates much of the illusion. Last Friday, we worked with our eyes a bit too and I learned to do this.
We had our first introduction to mime on Friday of last week (the 12th), and then immediately had to put together presentations using it for our Friday devising/presentation session. The task was to create a "mystery house," which in many cases was a haunted house but sometimes got more abstract. My group's wound up, accidentally, being pretty close to the Doctor Who episode "Blink," complete with weeping angels and a creepy house.
In Performance, over the last week we've begun working with neutral masks. They look pretty close to the ones here. True to the Jacques Lecoq method (apparently, our instructor Bim Mason studied at the Lecoq institute), the purpose of the neutral mask is, not nightmare fuel, but to drop all facial expression and move all focus to the body language. For the first exercise, groups of four classmates would put the masks on while facing away, then turn around and stand to face the class. As we discussed their body languages, something incredible happened – I no longer felt as though my classmates were in the room. Something foreign stood across the room from us, watching, listening, as we discussed them like sculptures or lab mice.
Creepy? Yes, but incredible!
Equilibristics and Manipulation
New props have been introduced, as well as more specific types of manipulation! Classes are starting to look like a cross between the first few weeks of Strong Jugglers practice (i.e., introducing all available props) and festival workshops (i.e., teaching a specific skill to a big group). This offers something for everyone – beginners get to play with more, while more experienced jugglers broaden their skill range and learn more intricate manipulation ideas. We've gotten into various body throws and rolls, as well as club rolling/balancing and 3-club manipulation.
Other props that have been introduced include cigar boxes, hats, poles (balancing), diabolo, bounce juggling, and ball spinning. I've actually picked up a bit of cigar boxes, something I've never really tried before. Bounce is frustrating, of course, because it depends so much on the surface and any error will send you sprinting across the room. I've gotten some advice on working toward a chin balance while juggling, and with longer poles I've managed to get close to a seal position.
The instructors – Seb and Rod – have distinct juggling styles that show a great range to the students. Each instructor's approach has its advantages.. Seb does a lot with clubs, from what I've heard and seen, in a modern artistic style. Seb has run classes on body throws, and getting creative with a simple 423-esque pattern [actually, (2x,2)2(2,2x)2, essentially 423 but without throwing the 4] by mixing up where throws go – behind the back, neck, under the leg, etc. He also ran a neat class on club rolling and balancing, and how to mix collects and multiplexes into a three-club routine.
Rod is best known for his more classical, comedic ping pong juggling act, and he holds the world record for ping pong balls juggled in mouth (10). So far, his classes have been practical introductions to the different props with advice on tricks to develop. This has been useful for me for those areas that are new to me, like ball spinning, head bouncing, or cigar boxes. I've also gotten good practice advice from him.
Though I wouldn't call this the best school for E&M, it is certainly good for jugglers looking to expand their repertoire, add some performance quality, and develop their own unique style.
Rumor is that our first presentations will involve picking a random everyday object to manipulate. Perhaps it's time to revive my underpants plate-spinning idea from pre-high school days...
Friday, 19 October 2012
C!rca presents – Wunderkammer
I went to see this in Cardiff last Friday and was completely blown away! I'll say more about it later, but for now, check out this video sample of the show:
Wunderkammer (5 minute version) from Circa on Vimeo.
Wunderkammer (5 minute version) from Circa on Vimeo.
Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Performance class – Choral Work
[I put this on Facebook originally, but decided it was better off here. I may have already mentioned the choral work, but I think this sums it up better]
Possibly the strangest theatre game I've ever played. Called "choral work," we stand in clumps and all try to follow each other. Nobody leads. If someone coughs, it's amplified into a mass coughing fit. Someone laughs, and everyone bursts into hysterics. A scratch turns into everyone fiercely itching, then scratching each other, then tickling each other.
I've been part of groups that start m
Possibly the strangest theatre game I've ever played. Called "choral work," we stand in clumps and all try to follow each other. Nobody leads. If someone coughs, it's amplified into a mass coughing fit. Someone laughs, and everyone bursts into hysterics. A scratch turns into everyone fiercely itching, then scratching each other, then tickling each other.
I've been part of groups that start m
arching, bowing and chanting, turn to mosh pits, crawling and rolling. Today, my group howled like wolves and hooted like owls.
Now, take that, and add concepts of space: 'near' (not touching), 'skin' distance (touching), and 'bone' distance (a kind of boiling motion of everyone stacking on top of each other and falling to support others). Within the group, everyone tumbles over and around each other, losing sense of self into a mob of motion and contact.
Now, take that, and add concepts of space: 'near' (not touching), 'skin' distance (touching), and 'bone' distance (a kind of boiling motion of everyone stacking on top of each other and falling to support others). Within the group, everyone tumbles over and around each other, losing sense of self into a mob of motion and contact.
Monday, 15 October 2012
The Invisible Circus presents, "The Happiness Machine"
Unlike Box of Frogs, I approached this show having read no information about it. I came to see The Invisible Circus's "The Happiness Machine," knowing only the name. Getting to the show was an experience in itself, as it took place in a big top between a river and the railroad tracks. Thought this was was my first circus in a big top, I couldn't help getting a sense of nostalgia for the traditional circus or carnival – smelling the polyester tent, waiting in line outside in a small drizzle. I wasn't sure at first if the fog in the air was from the river or from fog machines (machines, sadly, it turned out).
The show opens with a slow, folksy banjo pluck as a caravan shop resembling the Trojan horse rolls onstage, popping open to reveal a travelling salesman – the show's narrator, or possibly emcee. He remains the only character with a direct connection to the audience, and with carny-like wit comments on the rise of materialism and dispensability in the modern world. Though this show was contemporary, I'm tempted to call the salesman a ringmaster for his role – conveying the rushing activity behind him to the audience. At one point, he poses the question, "Are they really living the dream, or dreaming that they live?"
Though I felt the theme of the show was a bit clichéd, it was certainly well executed. The set is a mockup of two-story tenement buildings, with a space in the middle for a changing billboard advertising the next big product. Each circus skill fit neatly into the busy world of consumers and suppliers. An aerial hoop act was set up as a commercial for golden gloves, the latest "must-have" product. A slack wire act cleverly mocks the high-strung and teetering world of a businessman (apologies for the pun). Three aerial hoops served as an obstacle course in a game show. The opening of the show sets up a clever assembly-line style package delivery, using acrobatics on a teeterboard to deliver packages to higher tenement rooms.
The opening of the second half featured three Corde Lisses on pulleys, such that as the aerialists climbed them the rope would drop, leaving the climbing figure thrashing and twisting in vain. This was one of the darker moments of the show, as a dirty, pot-bellied character Rodney seems trapped in a couch watching his television. I don't know why the image should strike me as so tragic. When not onstage, Rodney is visible through one of the tenement windows rhythmically smoking, flipping channels, drinking, and eating. He is an anti-clown figure – you laugh, because his existence is so miserable and sad. He has no family or friends, and his only joy is watching "The Magic Door" each week. He is overwhelmed when finally his lifelong dream is realized, and he competes in the show for a mystery prize which is never revealed. Each challenge in the show leads him deeper toward an unknown goal, but very likely to be as cheap and meaningless as the other glittering products that tempt people.
Throughout, characters like Rodney search for the thing that will make them happy. One woman excitedly opens packages, each containing the must-have product of the day, only to be disappointed and discard it. Her daughter then picks them up and tries to give them to the salesman, who refuses them as useless junk. Those two had great interactions throughout the show, the salesman trying to sell her funny trinkets and her, mysteriously, enjoying them but not buying.
The show concludes with a massive free-for-all of circus – acrobats tumbling haphazardly, teeter-boards springing, bodies and objects hurled every which way – which builds into a wonderful cloud swing routine performed by the daughter character. The chaotic finale with its clean, calm finish in the cloud swing seems to suggest that the real 'happiness machine' is in this art, and in the experience of being alive just by moving freely. At least, that's what I understood of it. Meaning aside, it was a fun evening and an enjoyable show.
I'm falling behind on these posts, since I went to see The Happiness Machine a week before last Thursday. Since then, I've seen another show in Cardiff that I must share.
The show opens with a slow, folksy banjo pluck as a caravan shop resembling the Trojan horse rolls onstage, popping open to reveal a travelling salesman – the show's narrator, or possibly emcee. He remains the only character with a direct connection to the audience, and with carny-like wit comments on the rise of materialism and dispensability in the modern world. Though this show was contemporary, I'm tempted to call the salesman a ringmaster for his role – conveying the rushing activity behind him to the audience. At one point, he poses the question, "Are they really living the dream, or dreaming that they live?"
Though I felt the theme of the show was a bit clichéd, it was certainly well executed. The set is a mockup of two-story tenement buildings, with a space in the middle for a changing billboard advertising the next big product. Each circus skill fit neatly into the busy world of consumers and suppliers. An aerial hoop act was set up as a commercial for golden gloves, the latest "must-have" product. A slack wire act cleverly mocks the high-strung and teetering world of a businessman (apologies for the pun). Three aerial hoops served as an obstacle course in a game show. The opening of the show sets up a clever assembly-line style package delivery, using acrobatics on a teeterboard to deliver packages to higher tenement rooms.
The opening of the second half featured three Corde Lisses on pulleys, such that as the aerialists climbed them the rope would drop, leaving the climbing figure thrashing and twisting in vain. This was one of the darker moments of the show, as a dirty, pot-bellied character Rodney seems trapped in a couch watching his television. I don't know why the image should strike me as so tragic. When not onstage, Rodney is visible through one of the tenement windows rhythmically smoking, flipping channels, drinking, and eating. He is an anti-clown figure – you laugh, because his existence is so miserable and sad. He has no family or friends, and his only joy is watching "The Magic Door" each week. He is overwhelmed when finally his lifelong dream is realized, and he competes in the show for a mystery prize which is never revealed. Each challenge in the show leads him deeper toward an unknown goal, but very likely to be as cheap and meaningless as the other glittering products that tempt people.
Throughout, characters like Rodney search for the thing that will make them happy. One woman excitedly opens packages, each containing the must-have product of the day, only to be disappointed and discard it. Her daughter then picks them up and tries to give them to the salesman, who refuses them as useless junk. Those two had great interactions throughout the show, the salesman trying to sell her funny trinkets and her, mysteriously, enjoying them but not buying.
The show concludes with a massive free-for-all of circus – acrobats tumbling haphazardly, teeter-boards springing, bodies and objects hurled every which way – which builds into a wonderful cloud swing routine performed by the daughter character. The chaotic finale with its clean, calm finish in the cloud swing seems to suggest that the real 'happiness machine' is in this art, and in the experience of being alive just by moving freely. At least, that's what I understood of it. Meaning aside, it was a fun evening and an enjoyable show.
I'm falling behind on these posts, since I went to see The Happiness Machine a week before last Thursday. Since then, I've seen another show in Cardiff that I must share.
Friday Night in London
This is a bit late, but definitely worth mentioning! On Friday the 28th, I went into London to a club. Now, normally I can't stand clubs. They're dangerously loud and packed, very expensive to enter, and overall not much fun. I was especially nervous since I didn't have a functioning cell phone at the time, so if I lost track of my group I'd be stranded. Fortunately, the people I went in with were aware of this and very helpful.
My main reasons for going at all were to see London (how often do I get to do that?), and to see Steph performing at this club. Steph is on the one-year course, and does some aerial acts as well as burlesque fire manipulations – fire fans, body burning, etc. The decision to go was last-minute, and I didn't find out until I was on the highway that the tickets had sold out! Incredibly, Steph managed to get me on the guest list under the names of performers. I was to tell them at the door that I was "Beans on Toast," performing with Slamboree...
It turns out that they didn't have any record of that name, but still let me in. Go figure... at least I didn't have to pay the 20 quid fee to get in. The event itself was called Rumpus, and club-goers were supposed to dress up as crazy as they could manage. I lack much costume material, since my juggling equipment took up most of my suitcase, so I had just put on a nicer shirt and some dark pants.
This wasn't a typical club, though. Though parts of it were absurdly packed, and waiting in line in the rain to get in was annoying, there was live music in multiple rooms and a lot of circus happening. This made it more into a concert than a club, and the circus I saw there was unlike any I'd encountered before. When I first got there, there was an act of 3 Corde Lisses on stage, with aerialists working in tandem on each. This was yet another side of circus arts I'd never seen – performers in dark costume to dubstep music.
The night turned interesting, after I'd had a couple drinks, when James, another student who works with Steph, asked if I'd be up for improvising some 3-ball onstage with him. Of course, I said yes. Since I lacked a costume, I just went shirtless. I was given three K8 LED balls and rocked out onstage with Slamboree! After a while, I managed to drop one so it rolled upstage and out of reach, so I had to finish up with two... but for two drinks and a few minute's notice, I think I did a decent job of juggling for a crowd of hundreds.
You can see me from backstage at 15 seconds in this video:
We spent the night at James's friend's flat, getting back around 4:30 and got up early afternoon, had a nice breakfast at a cafe and then watched (of all things) "Team America: World Police" until James felt ready to make the drive back to Bristol. Overall, a pretty kickass ending to a first week of training. I managed to bend or break pretty much every rule of my training regiment – staying up late, sleeping in, drinking – but got to see a new side of circus and take part in it.
My main reasons for going at all were to see London (how often do I get to do that?), and to see Steph performing at this club. Steph is on the one-year course, and does some aerial acts as well as burlesque fire manipulations – fire fans, body burning, etc. The decision to go was last-minute, and I didn't find out until I was on the highway that the tickets had sold out! Incredibly, Steph managed to get me on the guest list under the names of performers. I was to tell them at the door that I was "Beans on Toast," performing with Slamboree...
It turns out that they didn't have any record of that name, but still let me in. Go figure... at least I didn't have to pay the 20 quid fee to get in. The event itself was called Rumpus, and club-goers were supposed to dress up as crazy as they could manage. I lack much costume material, since my juggling equipment took up most of my suitcase, so I had just put on a nicer shirt and some dark pants.
This wasn't a typical club, though. Though parts of it were absurdly packed, and waiting in line in the rain to get in was annoying, there was live music in multiple rooms and a lot of circus happening. This made it more into a concert than a club, and the circus I saw there was unlike any I'd encountered before. When I first got there, there was an act of 3 Corde Lisses on stage, with aerialists working in tandem on each. This was yet another side of circus arts I'd never seen – performers in dark costume to dubstep music.
The night turned interesting, after I'd had a couple drinks, when James, another student who works with Steph, asked if I'd be up for improvising some 3-ball onstage with him. Of course, I said yes. Since I lacked a costume, I just went shirtless. I was given three K8 LED balls and rocked out onstage with Slamboree! After a while, I managed to drop one so it rolled upstage and out of reach, so I had to finish up with two... but for two drinks and a few minute's notice, I think I did a decent job of juggling for a crowd of hundreds.
You can see me from backstage at 15 seconds in this video:
And here's my view from backstage:
Wednesday, 10 October 2012
A reflection on Week One
[Do note that I count enrollment week as Week 0.]
Finally, three days into my second week here, I have a chance to reflect on the first week. I'm already much more bruised and sore than when I landed, but if it doesn't take me too late to write this I shouldn't be too tired tomorrow.A typical day comprises a Foundation Tech (warm ups, conditioning and stretching), two 1 hour 40 minute class sessions with a 20 min break, an hour for lunch, then two or three more class/practice sessions in the afternoon. Subjects like acro, E&M, and aerial tend to alternate by day between a class and a guided practice session, interspersed with conditioning (advanced pilates) classes and contextual studies lectures (on history of circus, performance theory, finding a career, etc.)
We also have classes that could fit under the umbrella of "physical theatre": Performance, Creative Movement, Movement Technique, and Play in Performance. I won't go into excessive detail on each one, but loosely one could say that Play in Performance is a bit like clowning, and Creative Movement seems like choreography and modern dance, while Movement Technique covers specific techniques such as Lecoq (mime), ballet, and kung fu (I'm not kidding). At the moment, we're doing Le Performance classes (with Bim Mason, the artistic director/founder) explore the relationship between performers and audiences and offer strict critiques of performances devised and given on Friday afternoon classes.
The PT classes also mostly consist of specific games and exercises. For instance, on the first day of Wayne's 'Play in Performance' class we did an exercise in which each student rose to face the class, look each person in the eye and share a moment with him/her until the student felt it okay to move on to the next. It was just that -- look at each student, then go back to your seat. No acting, no character, but just an effort to properly connect with each audience member and, importantly, expose yourself as you are. As we're learning, this an important aspect of the clowning craft -- to expose your self.
Performance classes have mostly consisted of mirroring games, as I believe Bim wants us to first develop a keener awareness of the space and of subtle body language. One game began with groups standing perfectly still, all facing the same direction, and then (with nobody leading) all attempting to follow the "group's impulse" [come to think of it, much of what goes on in these classes would have been a goldmine of data for my high school research project...] to move a certain way, no matter how big or small it is. The results are, frankly, creepy -- groups wind up military-marching around the room, or bowing and chanting in a circle, or (as mine did) form a mosh pit, all building out of accidental noises and body language within the group.
I could go on for days about the weird and fascinating stuff that goes on in these classes. They provide a more abstract and theatrical shift from the more technical instruction that goes on in E&M, acro, and aerial. I can quickly report what we've covered in these classes for those interested:
Equilibristics and Manipulation
E&M has introduced ball, club and ring juggling to students new to them, while encouraging experience students to work on numbers. As a result, I've mostly spent this last week working on 5-club, 6 and 7 ball, 5 ball siteswaps ((6x,4), 744, trying for 97531, half shower, reverse cascade), and drilling 5 ring. There's some flexibility for the experienced students, and we have pushed each other to try new tricks, props and passing patterns. Also, where else can I say that classes end with quick games of combat?
The instructors (Seb and Rod) have been very helpful to me by suggesting drills to improve technique -- doing a three ball snake to work on 7, two club snake to work to 5, narrowing my 5 pattern to prepare for 7, running 20 catches at a time for 5 ring. They've taken an odd approach with the rest of the class, for good reasons I'm sure, such as introducing Mill's Mess as the first trick after learning 3-ball cascade, teaching rings and clubs immediately after starting balls, and moving those who could do 3 to 4 immediately.
Acrobatics
Acro consists mostly of acrobalance in class and practice, with a weekly tumbling lesson. Thus far, we've covered:
handstands, headstands, thigh stand (long mount) with two or one base, 'baby balance', forward standing balance, flag (flagpole), superman, candlestick, standing on shoulders (with base kneeling), forward rolls, backward rolls, handstand rolls, and cartwheels.
It is extraordinarily difficult to try to explain most of these in writing, though some are self-explanatory, especially since terms can vary for the same tricks. Overall, these tricks are absolutely basic to acrobatics. The fun part is that EVERYONE is expected to base and fly each form. This is how I wound up standing on the shoulders of a girl 2/3 my height and weight, and in turn based people much bigger than me.
Aerial
Like acro, aerial has been about learning the fundamental forms and conditioning exercises to handle them. The big difference here is that if something hurts -- a lot -- it's probably right. I've found this frustrating, against my instinct, as is the typical class environment of six students yelling 'point your feet,' 'now let go', 'no no, roll onto...', etc. while I'm trying to get my bearings without losing my grip. That at least goes against my juggler's learning style -- trial and error until I get the feel for it.
This is not to say any ill of the instructors -- Mike and Jon can spot exactly what's going wrong, and can understand a beginner's troubles. They talk us through each sequence, (Mike with some colorful language to help us remember), and know what advice to give while upside-down and what to say when upright again. And landing the tricks is incredible, when done right, forming all kinds of shapes on a trapeze.
Shapes, thus far -- Hock Sit Stand Sit Hock, half angel, lamppost, candlestick, gladiator (spider), mermaid, star on a bar into bird's nest into half angel, stag, gazelle, forward roll (I call it terror at 13 ft), pencil hang, and a number of conditioning drills such as hock situps, ankle hang situps (haven't quite gotten the hang of these yet...), chinups, hock pop-ups.
That's all for now! You can expect other posts soon, including:
- Friday night in London, performing with Slamboree
- What separates entertainment from art?
- The Invisible Circus's "The Happiness Machine"
- Motivations
Wednesday, 3 October 2012
Friday through Saturday
From now on, my posts will be mostly weekly. Though I am keeping a strict log of everything we do in each class, that kind of information would be overwhelming if posted, so I'll try to keep this to reflections and discoveries.
Following the show on Thursday, I was very excited for a workshop in hula hoop from one of the stumbleDance performers -- Silvia Pavone! As pointed out at the beginning, hula hoop is a predominantly female activity, but everyone in the studio was enthusiastic about it. We worked on isolations and stalls as a group, then did a bit on spinning on the hips, then on transferring from hips to neck and back. I also worked a bit on forehead balance and
 |
| Delphins! |
Friday, we had E&M (at last!). No, not electricity and magnetism – equilibristics and manipulation. Equilibristics refers to balance props, such as rolling globe, unicycle, rola bola, etc., and manipulation comprises all types of juggling. This course is taught by Rod Laver and Seb Valade. Evidently, this course will cover balls, clubs, rings, hats, cigar boxes, diabolo, unicycle, globe, and rola bola – all in six weeks! Then students choose two specializations. It seems like those in the class who couldn't juggle are picking it up quickly, and those of us that can have a lot of freedom to practice what we want for the time being. So far, we're restricted to balls, which will help me focus on improving my ball juggling. Can't wait until we get to rings though...
On Saturday, I tried to go for a run by myself and forgot to turn at a gas station, and wound up lost for a good hour. Still, a good way to get around. I managed to do some shopping and got back in time to have practice with some other jugglers. Though we had mismatched clubs (my delphins and someone else's radical fish), we managed to pass between two walkarounds and made a good attempt at vishnu.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)