Trapeze!!!!!!!!

So I have fallen in love with the trapeze. Just thought you guys should know. And guess what? I am kinda good at it!

Circus Fusion

 So I recently went to see a show in Greenville SC called Circus Fusion. This is a brand new show so I had no idea what to expect. When I first walked up to the lot it looked like any other circus. It had a brand new beautiful blue and yellow tent. On one side of the tent there were pony rides and on the other elephant rides. I met up with Justin Loomis a friend of mine when I got there.Justin is the owner of the Loomis Bros Circus. When he isn't touring with his own show he runs concessions for other shows. Being the nice guy that he is he upgraded me to a ring side seat!

 After I chatted with him for a few minutes I went inside to find my seat. When I entered the tent I felt like I was going into a rave. It was very dark with all kinds of different special effect lighting and fog everywhere. Justin helped me find my seat. The show started. The opener was very high energy. There were jugglers on both sides and showgirls. The first act of the show was a Russian swing act. It was a very fun act with lots of energy. In between acts there was a clown. He was funny....except for when he got my camera wet. There were lots of other acts. Each one was amazing and very unique. Lots of stuff I had never seen before.

  My favorite act of the night was the elephant act. It was a single elephant. The trainer was Patty Zerbini. This was the most beautiful elephant act I have ever seen in my entire life. The elephant enters the ring alone. Ms. Zerbini stands at the back of the ring. She just calls commands to the elephant. She never once enters the ring. The elephant does everything on her own. No hook. It was fantastic.
Circus Fusion was great! If you get the chance defiantly go check it out.

www.circusfusion.com

Cole Bros Circus

Sorry this post is a little late. Last week I drove to Myrtle Beach SC and saw the Cole Bros Circus. Cole Bros is a tent show and their new tent is beautiful. It is yellow and red on the outside and on the inside it is dark blue with stars. One of the high lights of my night was watching the interaction between elephant trainer John Walker and Viola the elephant. Viola is full of personality. She is one funny elephant. All Mr. Walker had to do was talk to her and she would follow. even though he did have a hook with him NO HOOK WAS USED!

 After I watched Viola for a little bit I went inside and found my seat. I had a great seat for the show (much better than the first time I came to see the show). My seat was right between the 2nd and 3rd ring. I could see everything.  The show was very good. They have a variety of different acts. The first act was the tiger act. This act has been great both times I've seen it. My favorite act of the night was Laura Herriot and her mixed animal revue. She just has such great energy and always looks likes she is having fun in the ring. As the show continued the acts just kept getting better. There was a great aerial display with straps, silks, net and lyra. It was beautiful. The Cole Bros Circus did a great job! Their show was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed myself. If you get the chance go see this show. You won't regret it!

The Daring Young Gal On The Flying Trapeze

Well the summer season for Caroline Calouche and Company has come to an end and the fall semester has begun. 


Instead of just taking an aerial silk class this semester I have decided to also take a Mixed Apparatus class. In the Mixed Apparatus class the piece of equipment you train on changes each month. This month we are training on trapeze and sling


A trapeze is a horizontal bar hanging between two ropes (usually high in the air) and left to swing freely.
A sling is made of the same material the aerial silks are made from but instead of it being two open silks its one piece.


I was a little shocked by all the stuff we learned yesterday. We learned a lot of moves and it was only the first day. We learned how to flip ourselves over the trapeze. We learned how to hang by both knees and then by one knee at a time. We learned how to keep the trapeze moving. We learned a move called amazon hip key where you hold the rope in one hand and the bar in the other then lower your butt down past the bar. You get the idea we learned tons of stuff.


Colton (my instructor) informed me that I would probably have bruises after class. Boy he wasn't joking!! The backs of my knees are black and blue. My tummy is completely covered in bruises. I have bruises EVERYWHERE! 


You know I wasn't too excited when I learned that we where going to be training on trapeze this month. But after yesterday I am hooked! I am ready for next week! Like they say, No Pain, No Gain!


--Ali

Acroyoga...getting to know you

On Wednesday I attended an Acroyoga workshop. "AcroYoga is a blend of strengthening yoga, partner balancing, and Thai massage. It draws on the dynamic power of acrobatics, the loving kindness of Thai massage, and the spiritual wisdom of yoga." This could be one of the funniest things I have ever tried. 

We learned how to use our core muscles to keep us balanced. One of the moves we learned involved one person to be down as a base in the bridge or table pose while the other person placed his/her head between that persons thighs then flipping up into a head stand type pose.

The moves we learned looked a lot like the basic hand and body balancing moves you would see in a circus. 

We learned how to base people who were much larger than ourselves. Ms. Natalie Brown was basing two men who were twice her size!!! 

Acroyoga was a great experience. I got to meet a lot of great people. I finally got to meet Natalie Brown and Gina Wolfe (two performers with Columbia Alternacirque)

If you ever get the opportunity  to take an Acroyoga class DO NOT pass it up! It is fantastic. If you want to learn more about Acroyoga just check out this website http://www.acroyoga.org/

Holy Silk Burn Batman!

Yesterday was aerial dance class day. It was an extremely fun class. During class we split off into little groups based on how many classes we had taken. I was in the group with people who have been going for a couple months. Brain Winn was instructing our group. We learned how to climb up the silks.....which is a lot harder than it looks. You would think climbing would use mostly upper body strength, no it uses mostly lower body. You sinch the fabric between the top of one foot and the bottom of the other. We also worked more on the same side knee sinch. I'm getting much better at that move. Brian told me a really helpful tip that makes everything in aerial silk easier. You have to push your pelvis towards the silks. This takes some of the stress off of your upper body. While I was doing a same side knee sinch I lost control and fell on to part of the mat below. As I was falling I tried to catch myself but all that did was give me silk burn on my finger tips. Silk burn is like carpet burn. My fingers were on fire. But after class I cooled them down with an iced coffee from Amelies the French bakery next door. Minus the silk burn class was fantastic!!!!! Can't wait for next week.  " The pelvis is the key!"

A little background info about my crazy life.

Hello internet world! In case you couldn't guess my name is Ali. I thought it would be a good idea for my first blog post to tell you a little about myself. If I don't you will probably be lost every time you visit this blog. Well to start off I am a professional magician. Yes you read right I am a magician. I have been performing magic for about 2 and a half years now. For as long as I can remember I have been performing. Wheather it was dancing, being in theatre productions, performing music or being in the marching band in high school I have always loved performing. I was made to be a performer. I love being in the spot light. My ultimate goal in life is to travel with a circus. Circus is my number one love. On my quest to become a circus performer I have started training in aerial dance......to make a long story short I hang from the ceiling by a giant silk and flip upside down, around and do all kinds of crazy stuff. Well thats just about all you need to know about me.

This blog is about my crazy unusual life. I go to so many different types of shows, know so many different performers and do so many crazy things, I thought I should share my adventures with the rest of the world!!!! I hope you enjoy it
-Ali