Tuesday, August 31, 20043:43 PM - drop what you are doing...I just got back from Studio Z in San Francisco. I am producing an event there called "Before the Storm" on October 17th, a variety show/performance event that is also a fundraiser for the SF AIDS Foundation (as part of my work with the SF AIDS Marathon). The best part is that I will be performing trapeze that night. This will be my first trapeze performance in the Bay Area since I hurt my shoulder two years ago. I've been really looking forward to being able to show my local friends what I do, so please, if you have any interest at all in seeing me perform, mark the date on your calendars. Advance tickets will be available, and I will also keep posting updates as we get the other performers and flyers, etc. And of course, the money is going to a great cause. Monday, August 30, 200410:01 PM - I blame Ziggy.Today I was buying DVD's in Best Buy, and I saw them in the Anime section. As I am huddled on the floor checking out what they have, some guy who works there comes up behind me. "Can I help you find..." (notices 3 DVD's of pink sparkling circus in my hand) "....an....anime?" (Runs away.) In other news, we're up to $500 for the marathon! Yay! We're one sixth of the way there! Monday, August 23, 20041:15 PM - but enough about you, let's talk about meIn other exciting news, over the weekend, my new friend Leah had me do some voice acting as Legolas for a project she is doing. You can see how she instantly became my new friend ;-) Wednesday, August 18, 20042:35 PM - *plop*The festival was in Boulder, Colorado. Boulder is interesting in a few different ways. People have described it as similar to Berkeley, but I think there are a few major differences. First, there is a great network of bike paths and tunnels, so bikes (and often pedestrians) don't have to be on the side of the road or crossing at busy intersections. The system is really wonderful. Also, although Boulder has a very large community of artists and liberal people, that community seems to be juxtaposed with a huge college football community. There are pictures of buffalo everywhere, and the word "buff" seemed to come up everywhere. Also, Boulder is high above sea level, which means thinner air and altitude sickness. I could barely walk when I first arrived, and I kept guzzling water (even after I "adapted"). The sun is super bright, and everything is hot and dry, which is accentuated by the large concrete and stone buildings everywhere. I felt like a lizard baking on a giant rock that was being thrust upward into the sun. Still, since outdoor sports are very popular in Boulder, there were tons of athletic, outdoorsy young people with partially sun bleached hair, which didn't exactly make for unpleasant scenery. The festival itself was wonderful. I felt immediately welcomed by Lisa, who never seemed to stop moving the entire time I was there, but who still found time to give me a quick personal tour of the campus, drive me home a couple of times, and even hang out a bit once or twice. Lisa -even- helped me get onto the "free massage!" sign-up list for festival participants the night before my performance, which was awesome because I didn't even know there was a list. I also had a couple of good opportunities to spend time with Nancy, who organized the festival. What I loved the most about this festival was the mix of people who attended. There were circus aerialists, modern dancers who use aerial apparatus, contact improv dancers, non-dancers, two stage fight choreographers, and more. The people were awesome. I met too many cool people to even count, much less start mentioning names, for fear of leaving someone out. I really liked how willing everyone was to learn and share with other people, though. Too often in the Bay Area, the people from the circus school look down on the aerial dancers, and the aerial dancers refuse to associate with the circus acrobats, and there is a whole system of reverse snootology which was nowhere to be found at this festival. I really am glad to have spent time with as many people as I did, and I'm hoping to keep in touch with everyone (and maybe even get to hang out more with the people in this area!) I took two classes. One was Tim Harling's "Illusions of Flight" aka "Rope and Loop", which was interesting because no one really knew what to expect coming in. All he said was "bring tape for your wrists" and "practice doing pull-ups", so I didn't really know what would happen or if it would be ok for my shoulder. It turned out that "Rope and Loop" simply meant two ropes that hang from the ceiling and then have loops on the ends, which you could use to wrap around your wrists or your feet. That's about as simple as it gets for aerial equipment. Tim gave us a series of exercises, most of which were about subtlety and using the correct muscles to control the ropes and your body. It was all pretty challenging. As the week progressed, we moved into a lot of improvisation and small performances, and that was really fun, too. The people in my class were super awesome and creative, and by the end of the class we were doing all kinds of crazy fun things. After feeling timid about my strength at the beginning of the class, I actually had a lot of fun with feeling strong and turning upside-down, having people stand on my shoulders, and just crawling all over people or sending them flying around in circles. My other class was Elsie and Serenity's Static Trapeze Repertory class. "Repertory" means that we gave a performance at the end of the festival, along with people from other Repertory classes. This was my first performance since I had shoulder surgery two years ago, and Elsie and Serenity are pretty hardcore with circus technique, so I was a bit intimidated about whether or not I would be able to handle the class. I told a couple of people that I felt like I was in a room with 15 swans, and I was this cow that was trying with all my might to be like a swan. It turned out that my fears were exaggerated, and the class was awesome. We performed a really interesting piece that had 9 people on 9 trapezes, sometimes in sync, sometimes doing our own slow movements, and sometimes getting all crazy. I'm getting video of this performance, because it went really well. I also found that, even though I was pretty shaky the -first- time I did the synchronized routine at the beginning of the class, everyone was shaky while they were still learning. By the end, we were all moving smoothly and in sync just by practicing and watching each other. I am amazed at how quickly we put this together, and it's really encouraging for me when I think about performing in the future. The list of fun things goes on and on. I really enjoyed seeing Keith Hennessey and Terry Sendgraff in an animated discussion about some of the new aerial work they've seen. At one point there was a whole big panel discussion. We even had a group of dancers called Humanicorp come from Mexico City-- they taughtan interesting hybrid of competitive gymnastics and modern dance. I think more than anything, I really enjoyed the cross-pollenation between all the different kinds of aerial work that all different people were exploring. I think (hope!) that everyone who went to the festival will be taking something new and different home to inspire them... I certainly know that I will. As an added bonus, I was left with some extra time in the airport on the way home, so I was able to standby onto an earlier flight. It turned out that Terry Sendgraff was on that earlier flight, so we were able to shuffle seats and have an incredible, intense conversation on the way home. So yeah, I'm excited to work with her more now in the coming months ;-) The only bad part of the festival was are the 3 bleeding patches of rope burn that I have on my feet. I have named the two on the left Elsie and Serenity, and the one on the right is Tim, and (thank goodness) they are slowly starting to heal. In other news, I am approaching my first fundraising deadline for the AIDS marathon. I'm still at $200, and I have a much longer way to go, so if you were considering donating some money but were procrastinating, this would be a great time to donate. There is a link on the left that you can use to go to the donation website, or you can also contact me personally... thanks so much! Saturday, August 07, 200412:51 PM - but at least I have an interesting weird layout thingie going on for this post...I'm not going to kid anyone-- today was tough. It was hot, we were running near a freeway (I thought I was covered in a slight tan, but it was just a blackish layer of grime), and today was no cake walk. Our entire group was feeling challenged, only 6 of the 8 of us actually completed the full length of the run, and those of us that did finish were limping our way to the end. Even so, it felt triumphant to accomplish 12 miles. 200 dollars! So far people have contributed $200! Woohoo you guys rock! I am doing my best to thank you all individually, although in some cases I don't have the proper contact information yet (Mochi doll, I need your e-mail address!!). I really appreciate the generosity of everyone who has contributed so far. I would also like to point out that I need to raise $3000, and I am still far from that goal, so please take the time to click the banner on the left, read my personal statement, and consider donating to the cause. I really appreciate it! 7 days. I like the format of this blog entry so I am just keeping with it. Tomorrow I am leaving for the aerialist festival in Boulder, Colorado. I'll be spending a week studying trapeze and other aerial arts, and I'm even scheduled to be in a small group performance with one of my classes. Oooh! Of course many of my favorite teachers will be there, so hopefully it's going to be a blast. I still have laundry and packing to do, and I'll get to it right after this nap... I gotta go to bed early though, because my trip tomorrow starts at 4 am. |
