Replies to This Discussion

TeacherPermalink Reply by saray on January 15, 2011 at 11:12am

methodologie de corde et tissus  by Yvette Challande

It's in french but it is a book filled with step by step diagrams and very little text.

Permalink Reply by Camille on January 15, 2011 at 11:23am

lovely! do you know where I could acquire it? is there a version online?

Permalink Reply by Chi Chi Revolver on January 15, 2011 at 2:49pm

http://www.firetoys.co.uk/juggling/Rope_Aerial_Silk_Methodolgy_Book...

You can buy it online here! :)

StudentPermalink Reply by shimarella* on January 15, 2011 at 10:15pm

I practice on my own because I can't get to class right now...but I have taken workshops & classes over the years. I mostly refine things I already know. I do not try to work on things I can't remember or not know at all.

I'm going to strongly urge you to be very careful!! You can really hurt yourself with bad form, inattention & just plain working your way into tricks that you end up getting into wrong. Please, find someone to work with you, to spot you at least. Honestly I'm personally not comfortable recommending sources to you; the danger level is not at ALL the same as working with hoops on your own.

I suggest researching workshops & festivals near you to save up & go to..most of the things I learned, I got from going to the Aerial Dance Festival in Boulder, CO. AT least that way, you'll know what you're doing when you work on your own and you will have been taught/trained by experts.

 

Good luck.

StudentPermalink Reply by Kinetic Kristen* on January 16, 2011 at 12:19pm

I agree with Shimarella. I am completely against teaching yourself aerial just from books & Youtube/DVDs. There are subtleties in aerial that are very difficult to pick up on from a book or video. Save up & take some workshops and then practice what you have learned with a spotter. Never climb alone! I've been taking lessons for almost a year and there have been a few times where I have thought I totally had myself safe & then ended up locked in or slipping, even with the instructor there.

 

Aerial Dance Festival in Boulder is awesome; I haven't been yet but both my instructors & a fellow advanced student have attended and they strongly recommend it. I'm also attending an aerial workshop next weekend in Atlanta -- there is a strong aerial community there as well. And then, of course, New England Circus Center for the Arts in Vermont is a top place as well :-)

If you ever come out to Nashville, TN, you will want to contact the Aerial Fabricators. They're my teachers/friends and Molly (the main instructor) has taken intensives from aerialists all over the world. If they have any workshops I'll post them here in case you or anyone else is interested.

StudentPermalink Reply by shimarella* on January 17, 2011 at 11:03am

 

Kristen, I highly rec ADF! I learned a lot and Boulder is a beautiful place to be for a week or two. NECCA is founded by Elsie & Serenity Smith who are probably my favorite teachers of all time.It's on my list still to go take classes there. I miss Vermont!

 

Can you give me  more info on the Atlanta scene? Are you going to Canopy? I have yet to check them out and really, its easier to get to than Boulder and I have friends I could stay with.

Permalink Reply by inspin on January 17, 2011 at 7:49pm

Hi,

I am also looking into going to the ADF in Boulder, hopefully. Can anybody give me an average price, like how much do I have to save up in addition to flights etc.?

Thanks.

StudentPermalink Reply by shimarella* on January 18, 2011 at 8:13pm

It depends. You sign up a la carte for classes. They all run either a week ( for example a beginner silks class goes M-F and you pay for all of that, no drop-ins) or two. I would say I paid $125 on average for each class I took, and I tried to take 3 classes a day if the schedule allowed. 1 is a waste of my time & money, 2 is OK and 4 is just too hard on my body since I am neither a pro circus performer or 19 years old :P Also I wanted to be able to have time to hang with my friends.

 

Which brings me to the other costs. Boulder is not cheap to stay in for a week but you can cut costs depending on where you stay: student hostel, cheap (or not) hotel, friend's house ( my choice for the last two years but not everyone is that lucky) etc. I prefer to stay closer to campus where classes are but if you have a car or bike ( depending on where you stay) that will help. Boulder is also so pretty that it would be a shame to not enjoy it.

 

I think its a worthwhile investment, at least once. When the ADF 2011 schedule comes up, let's look at the teacher & class list & I'll be happy to give you my input. I may not make it this year due to other commitments :( but I do plan to go back, esp. since I have re-connected with some beloved college friends.

Permalink Reply by Aerial Monster on June 14, 2011 at 1:03pm

Agreed with all of the above. The ADF is awesome, I have been the past two years and am really bummed out that I don't have the time off work to go again this year.

 

And I will add to the chorus of not trying to learn on your own. Once you have some basics down you can pick up things from youtube, but lots of poeple edit things they post so you can't see specifics of how it was wrapped so people can't take their moves.

 

I have been doing aerial work for years now, I teach, but still, when I am in an empty gym I won't do anything other than stretch on the fabrics, because I at least want someone there to call for help if something goes wrong, despite all my experience I still make mistakes, especially when I am trying to work on something new to me. I won't even train on my rig at home unless my roommate is around and knows what I am doing.

 

 

Permalink Reply by Sabrina Moxie* on June 16, 2011 at 2:01pm

I've been training for about 6 months.  It's not impossible in the beginning to teach yourself, but I wouldn't recommend it.  There are a lot of steps in the beginning that are better explained by a live person than in a book or learning on your tube.  Initial foot locks and hip keys need to be supervised and reworded for your body type.  I've definitely sustained a few injuries that could have been avoided if I'd understood better what the full execution of a move entailed.  

 

I don't want to be a negative nelly.  Follow your dream for sure, but be very careful that you don't injure yourself in a way that prevents you from moving forward with your goals.