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