Aerial drama

Aerial silk artist

Aerial silk acrobatics (in Austria known by the English term Aerial Silk ) is a form of aerial acrobatics. It is a type of performance in which one or more artists perform acrobatics on cloths that are hung at a height of a few meters and hang vertically. The artists do not use seat belts or nets during the performance and therefore rely solely on their training and skills to ensure their personal safety. The towels are used for wrapping, hanging, swinging, rotating and catching in and out of various positions in the air. During a performance , the actors move through the air in a seemingly flying manner as they wander from one acrobatic pose to the next. Some artists use resin or magnesia on their hands and feet or, alternatively, some water on the fabric to increase the friction, adhesion and grip on the cloths.

Tricks

The three main categories of tricks are climbing, winding, and dropping.

The climbing techniques of the artists range from purely practical and efficient techniques such as the Russian type of climbing to athletic and elegant techniques that are a trick in themselves, such as so-called "straddle climbing" or "knee climbing".

Windings are static poses for which the aerial acrobats wrap the scarves around one or more parts of their body in order to land in an aesthetic pose. In general it can be said that more wraps usually mean a higher friction of the cloths and thus less effort is required on the part of the artist to hold himself. Some wraps, such as the so-called bat, also allow the artists to completely detach their hands from the fabric.

Foot knots are a sub-category of wraps in which the towels are wrapped around one or both feet (individually or together). These enable the artists to appear to be standing in the cloths or hanging upside down on their feet.

For a fall, the performers wrap themselves up at the appropriate height in order to then fall into a lower position. Before landing in a new position, waste may include aspects of free fall, rolling movements, or rotations such as somersaults. While preparing for a litter may involve an aesthetic wrap, in the end that is the ultimate goal. Of the three categories of tricks, garbage is considered to be the most potentially dangerous trick.

Aerial acrobatics with the aerial silk is a demanding discipline that requires a high degree of strength, flexibility, endurance, courage and elegance.

material

Aerial Angels' Christianne “Flip” Sainz at a aerial silk performance at King Richard's Faire, a Renaissance fair in Massachusetts.

The fabrics that are used as vertical cloths are actually not made of silk, but simply have a silk sheen. They are tear-resistant and have varying degrees or little flexibility. The fabric usually consists of a mixture of polyester , elastane (Lycra) and / or polyamide (nylon) and is stretchable in both directions. The width varies depending on the artist's preference. The length of the towels must go at least twice from the point of suspension to the floor as they are folded at the top in the middle, which gives the acrobats two towels to use to perform their tricks.

• elasticity
  • Less elastic fabrics: So-called "low stretch" fabrics are mainly used by beginners who are still learning the correct climbing technique, or by advanced artists who train dynamic release tricks.
  • Medium stretch fabrics: Professional artists and graduates from professional training programs almost exclusively choose "medium stretch" fabrics for their training and performances.

• width

The artists have different personal preferences for the width of the material. The thickness of the fabric when it is gathered is also dependent on the number of denier of the fabric, which describes the technical thickness of the fabric. 40 denier is a common choice for the face cloths. The following applies to 40 denier nylon fabrics:

• 60 "(152 cm) - Narrow when opened, thin when gathered. Relatively common as the fabric is widely available.
• 72 "-84" (183-213 cm) - Common for the average adult artist.
• 96 "(244 cm) - Wide when open, thick when gathered. Ideal for adults with large hands.
• 108 "(274 cm) - Very wide when opened, very thick when gathered. For adults with very large hands or special shows.

• length
  • The length depends on the height of the suspension point of the available location.
  • For beginners it is an advantage if the towels are excessively long on the floor. This allows them to practice the wraps at a low height where they can be secured by coaches or a partner.
  • For more advanced and experienced acrobats, it is sufficient if the cloths lie on the floor.
  • For all users, the required height is typically between 6 and 9 meters or 20 and 30 feet. There are a variety of tricks that can be performed on a 3.7 to 4.6 meter or 12 to 15 foot long aerial sheet. Some litter can be more than 9 meters or 30 feet high, but 6 to 9 meters is sufficient for the majority. Please note that all length specifications refer to the height of the suspension point, the cloth must always be twice as long as it is folded in the middle at the top.

• Resilience
  • The breaking load (BLL - Breaking Load Limit) of the cloths that are sold explicitly for artistry is generally around 13.5 kN in Europe. According to the official French circus standards, this means a load capacity (WLL - Working Load Limit) of approx. 190 kg. The artists need to know very well how much their movements and especially their waste weigh in order to comply with the permitted loads.

Rigging

Aerial rigging refers to the suspension of aerial silks and other aerial equipment. The equipment to securely hang the aerial towels usually includes the following items:

• a figure eight , ring, or other piece of metal to hold the cloths in place
• a vortex (also called Sviwel), which prevents the cloths from twisting and allows the artists to incorporate fast turning movements into their performance. This property is not always used, but it makes turning easier to use.
• two carabiners to connect the figure eight (or alternative piece of metal) to the swivel and the swivel to the suspension point.

literature

• Sharon McCutcheon, Geoff Perrem: Circus in Schools Handbook. Tarook Publishing, 2004, ISBN 0975687409 .
• Hovey Burgess, Judy Finelli: Circus Techniques. Brian Dube, 1989, ISBN 0917643003 .
• Carrie Heller: Aerial Circus Training and Safety Manual. National Writers Press, 2004, ISBN 0881001368 .
• Shana Kennedy: Aerial Skills Illustrated 2007. Project 630570 on Lulu.com, 2007.
• Jayne C. Bernasconi and Nancy E. Smith: Aerial Dance. Human Kinetics, USA 2008, ISBN 0736073965 . Google Books
• Elena Zanzu, MA: Il Trapezio Oscillante: Storie di Circo nell'Aria. ( The Swinging Trapeze: Histories of the Circus in the Air. ) Bologna University, Italy, 2004–2005. (Italian)
• Rebekah Leach: Beginning Aerial Fabric Instructional Manual. Project 7604664 on Lulu.com, 2009. AerialDancing.com
• Rebekah Leach: Intermediate Aerial Fabric Instructional Manual Parts 1 & 2. Lulu.com, 2010. AerialDancing.com
• Kayla Dyches: The Aerialist's Companion . MagCloud.com, 2011. RiotHooping.com

Web links

Commons : Aerial silk  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Tango in the air ; Laura Dasi (video)
• Simply Circus: Aerial Silks Resource Page
• Simply Circus: Aerial Fabrics - FAQ for Aerialists [PDF, 137 KB]
• Aerial Silks Visual Glossary
• Aerial silk hanging example and tutorial
• Simply Circus: Aerial Arts FAQ
• Basic Circus Arts Instruction Manual : Chapter 2 - Static Trapeze, Rope and Silks. [PDF, 6.2 MB] and Chapter 8 - Manual for Safety and Rigging. [PDF, 3.3 MB] European Federation of Professional Circus Schools (FEDEC), 2008.
• FM 5-125: Rigging Techniques, Procedures, and Applications. [PDF, 3.6 MB] US Army, 1995.
• Steven Santos. Simply Circus: Rigging I. [Powerpoint presentation, 572 KB]
• Marcia Neves. Up close and personal - the Aerial Silk fitness trend is conquering Vienna. Student Life Journal.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Aerial Silk Vienna - Your New Obsession. In: aerialsilks.at. Retrieved May 29, 2016 . 
2. ↑ The Beautiful Yet Dangerous Art of Aerial Silk. In: www.aerialists.org. Retrieved May 29, 2016 . 
3. ↑ Aerial Silk - Nadine Brandl 2016. (No longer available online.) In: www.nadinebrandl.com. Archived from the original on May 29, 2016 ; Retrieved May 29, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ The Beautiful Yet Dangerous Art of Aerial Silk. In: www.aerialists.org. Retrieved May 29, 2016 . 
5. ↑ Up close and personal - the Aerial Silk fitness trend is conquering Vienna | Life in Vienna. Retrieved May 29, 2016 . 
6. ↑ The Beautiful Yet Dangerous Art of Aerial Silk. In: www.aerialists.org. Retrieved May 29, 2016 . 
7. ↑ Hors les Murs: AGRES de Cirque - Conception & Fabrication. In: Association Européenne pour la Recherche, l'Innovation et la Sécurité du Cirque. Retrieved August 29, 2019 (French). 
8. ↑ Aerial Silks. (No longer available online.) In: www.aerialessentials.com. Archived from the original on May 29, 2016 ; Retrieved May 29, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.