The Do’s and Don’ts of Training Abroad

Wheeeeeeeeeeee! You’re headed to another country and there’s a CIRCUS SCHOOL! You’re going to do ALL the training! Taking classes in other countries – hell, even other states – can be such an incredible experience. You get to play with new vocabulary, a new approach, maybe even a new apparatus! That said, there are a few things to keep in mind before you rosin up and make with the upside-down. Let’s get all “international human of mystery” and chat about the ins, outs, and ups of training abroad.

What to Look For

Different countries have different teaching methods, offerings, and a varying tolerance for risk; what flies in Greenland may not fly in Florida and vice versa. How do you know if you’re walking into a questionable situation?

• Ask for recommendations from trusted sources. Post on the F-books, instagram, etc and ask people if they’ve trained in a particular city and what their experience was like. You can also poke around and see what kind of online reviews the school has.
• Check out that rigging & apparatus. Does everything look well-maintained or are fabrics dirty with lots of holes? Do things seem to be rigged properly or are you about to trust your life to a coat hanger and some dental floss? If you don’t know your rigging basics, you’ll need to do extra research on the school’s reputation. Your life is on the line – don’t assume that just because someone let them open a circus school that they know what they’re doing.
• What language will classes be taught in? If there’s no language barrier, you can be a bit more adventurous. If your French is as bad as mine, you may want to check and see if English is an option or if it will be more of a “charades” situation. If you can’t understand what the instructor is saying, that’s a safety issue. If you are an advanced student, it may not present a huge challenge, but beginners may really struggle.
• Safety equipment. Does the studio have photos online of students using mats? Hooray! Do they have photos of students doing drops over yoga mats? Boooooo. Skip it. Ditto for apparatus requiring safety belts, foam pits, etc – look for photographic evidence.
• Poke around their social media. Once you’ve got a few schools in mind, it never hurts to creep their social media a little. Look for mats, reasonably good technique (students often aren’t perfect, so go easy), the kind of atmosphere you’re after, etc. Some folks aren’t great at social media, so if you’ve gotten good recommendations for a studio but their Insta is crap, don’t let it be a deal breaker.

When to Pass

Whenever you get that funny feeling in your stomach, fake a dizzy spell and bow out. Trust your intuition if something doesn’t feel right. Beyond that, take a pass when:

• You’re crazy jetlagged. It’s easy to underestimate how wolloped you can feel from jetlag – if you’re really hurting, bow out (this goes for hangovers and funny tummies too).
• You observe a cavalier attitude towards safety. Is it raining students and no one seems concerned? Time to go.
• No safety equipment. If you get there and there’s no mat, buh bye.
• Dicey rigging. Is it looking a little fishy up there? Trust your intuition, even if you can’t quite put a finger on what looks wrong.
• When a language barrier interferes with safety. Did your high school Spanish fail you? Can you not understand a blessed word? Either take everything down to the floor, or gracefully bow out.

Class Etiquette

So, you’ve found a studio, apparatus looks great, and you’re not hanging from anything that makes you go hmmmmm. Now, get in there and soak up that training! BUT. Remember that you are a guest. MANNERS, PEOPLE.

• Do it the way they want you to. Within the bounds of safety, do things this instructor’s way. If they want you to ball instead of pike, try it – you might like it. If they want you to slow your decent, then slow your decent. Don’t be the a$$hole who comes into their class and is all like, “This is how we do it back home!” Shut up. No one cares how you do it back home. You came to learn something new, so learn something new.
• Be honest if you don’t understand. Be honest on the ground if you don’t understand. Do not climb to the top of a 20 foot fabric and then try to figure out what they want you to do. No. Na. Ne. Non. Niet. Nein.
• Don’t monopolize. See all those people in class with you? See the single teacher? Be extra sensitive to not monopolizing the instructor’s time.
• Take your cue from others. Is this a smiley group? Try to match that energy. More serious? Maybe save the fart jokes for another time.
• Make sure you sign up for an appropriate level. Email or call if you need to, and bow out gracefully if it becomes apparent that you completely overestimated your skills.

Know how else you can train abroad? (you know a shameless Escape plug is coming, and here it is!) Come on a retreat or an ESCAPE with a trusted teacher! Traveling with a coach means you’re traveling with an advocate – someone who can vet the studios and instructors, is knowledgeable about rigging, and can step in if you need a little extra hand holding, support, or translation.

Interested in a SassyPants Escape! Click here! Interested in our trip to Ireland in April? Click here (but do it quickly – registration closes completely Feb 10, 2020!)

I’m So Booooored – Bringing the Magic Back to Your Aerial Practice

Do you remember when you first started coming to circus classes? How you’d get all excited and tingly with anticipation, and everything was NEW and SHINY and FUN! Then, you got your first inversion! And your first pull-up! And OMG I’m going to love this forever and it will NEVER get boring or feel like work!

….. 3 years later….. 5 years later……15 years later……

OMG I’M SO BOOOOOOOOOOOORED. I CAN’T EVEN LOOK AT A SILK. I CANNOT. BECAUSE I’M SO BOOOOOOOOOOOORED.

My love, I. Hear. That. I hear that. After 20+ years of swinging from the curtains, I know where you are. Hell, I’m there more often than not. Where is the fun? Where is the sparkle? Where has the romance gone???!!!!

It’s a Circus Affair

Our relationship to our circus work is like any other romance. It starts with music, fireworks, and nights of passion that leave us in a sweaty heap on the floor. Even though there are way more fabric burns than O’s in circus, we love it. We absolutely cannot get enough of it. We stalk it for hours on instagram. Our friends are sick of hearing about it. It’s the honeymoon period.

Over time, as with any romance, some of the shine wears off. You start noticing that your hoop has the terrible habit of whacking you in the bits every time you try that swoop-y transition. There’s rosin in your armpits. Permanently. And if you have to do one more pull-up, you swear your eyes are going to roll so far up into your head that they’ll get stuck there. And then you’ll be the person who actually did roll their eyes so hard they stayed that way.

Eventually, open workout – which used to look like you up on your apparatus doing ALL THE THINGS – now looks like you standing at the desk talking to Louise about how you really should be training right now, or you lying under your fabric, staring up at the ceiling, waiting to want to actually get up there and do something.

But…..

What if I told you that you could light that fire again? Burn, baby, burn.

How to Keep it Spicy and Turn up the Heat!

Yes, I AM going to beat that metaphor to death. TO DEATH.

How do you bring the passion back and find those tinglies again?

• Play games. While role playing might be a bridge too far, there are tons of games and prompts for writers, dancers, and actors that can be adapted for circus. Examples:
  • String 3 moves together and do them in your style. Be the absolute most you that you can be.
  • The transition game! Pick 2-3 moves and try to find a way to connect them that doesn’t involve coming back to neutral. Be sure to video this – you’ll never remember how you did it.
  • Pick an adjective like sleepy, hot, or excited. Take 3 moves and do them with that word in mind. What did you find?
  • Google is your friend! Find at least 25 games and write them down. Pull them out when you just *cannot* with your apparatus.
• Learn new things from new people. Sign up for a workshop (or, better yet, an ESCAPE!), a class with a new teacher, or try studying something that parallels nicely with circus like photography and see how you can mix the two.
• Sign yourself up for a show. This is my favorite! Nothing is more motivating than having to strut your stuff in front of other humans.
• Make a glorified self promotion video. I’m not even kidding. Video yourself looking absolutely freaking spectacular on your apparatus and post it all OVER social media so your friends can shower you with praise for your badass accomplishments.
• Make some art! Do you have a passion project percolating in your brain? Do you want to make a piece about something close to your heart? Do you have something you need to say through your work? Get it out into the world!!!
• Try a creative challenge. Whether you do a structured program like “The Artist’s Way”, google creativity challenge, or make something up yourself, a 30 day (or whatever) challenge can get you out of a rut and excited to create again.
• Add a completely different class. Do you do aerial skills? Cross train handstands, flexibility, German wheel, or whatever else your little heart desires.
• Take a break. It’s good for our bodies to periodically take breaks, and absence makes the heart grow fonder. Need some time off? Take it!!!

Please believe me when I say that if you stick with circus long enough, you will reach this point with your apparatus. It’s totally normal. Like any love affair, it takes commitment, heart, and work to keep going, and the rewards are so very worth it. Love and pull-ups, Laura

Shameless Escape plug! The theme for the Escape to Ireland is “The Craic’s at 90”. This trip will be dedicated to reawakening the fun and joy in our circus work and beyond! With tons of training, creativity challenges, practical workshops on getting over humps, and more, this trip will be one for the books. Will you join me? I hope so!!! Earlybird registration ends February 1, 2020!

If It’s Not Perfect, You’re Not Done

Do you space out when your coach is describing (yet again) how to do a particular move? Do you want to just level up already? Do you inwardly (or outwardly) sigh when there’s nothing *new* in class that day?

Years ago, I was studying with a coach who just happened to be a very no-nonsense German lady. She would yell, “NEIN!!!” and whack me with a yard stick every time I repeated a bad habit (I promise it wasn’t as traumatizing as it sounds). I adored her. Why? Lots of reasons, but chiefly because if I even hinted at not wanting to do the “drudge work” on my apparatus, she would look me dead in the eyes and say, “Oh. Is it perfect yet?”

The Joys of Mastery

We do circus for a lot of reasons, but we cheat ourselves if we stay at the superficial “tricks for Instagram” level. Circus is hard work. It’s a LOT of repetition and practice (as Shannon McKenna likes to say to her students, “chop wood, carry water”). There’s a world of difference between learning a move and doing it well. Even when your goal is just to try something new or have fun – I mean, it’s circus, it oughta be fun – reaching for your personal best is intensely rewarding. Self efficacy = joy!

Our brains are hard-wired to crave new things, but did you know that learning and mastering skills can relieve stress, create new neural pathways in the brain (neuroplasticity for the win!), and make us happier? Science says so! Here are some tiny ratties driving cars to adorably illustrate my point.

Have you ever been to ballet class? Now. Have you ever watched a professional ballet class? Notice anything at the barre? You’ll see the same elements you encountered in yours – endless tendus, plies, ronde de jambs, etc. Do you think that Misty Copeland or Mikhail Baryshnikov doesn’t know how to do a f**king tendu? Of course they do. So why do they still do them? Because they understand that there’s never a day when you just magically arrive at perfect. You’re never done. Tendus are not “too easy” for them. They are not too big for their britches to do plies.

So, the next time your coach is going through positioning again, listen deep. Ask yourself if you’re hitting all those elements perfectly (if you’re not sure, ask). Chances are really good that you’re hitting about 50%-75% of your target, which means that you’re not done. Chop wood. Carry water. Love and pull-ups, Laura

Restorative… Circus?! How to Train When You’re Drained

This past weekend, my Dear Danglers put on one helluva show! It was time for the annual SassyPants Student Showcase, and mah bebbehs delivered big time. I was so proud! Saturday night was a triumph! And then came Sunday….

Training When You’re Pooped

Maybe you had a big performance, or you’re recovering from being sick/injured/hungover. Perhaps you flew in on the red eye, or you’re so stressed you’re ready to spit nails. Or you’re cranky. Or tired. Or feeling generally le poo. LE POO. BUT. You still want to train! Or maybe you don’t want to train, but you really should, because remember that time a couple of missed classes suddenly cascaded into six months? Yeah, me too.

• IMPORTANT – Determine if it’s safe for you to train.
  • Friends, there’s a big difference between cholera and “a little heartburn”. If you’re super sick, stay home and watch “The Great British Baking Show” (but NO SPOILERS!)
  • Did you just have surgery, break something, squeeze a baby out of your nether-regions, etc? Get the all clear from your doc before jumping back in.
  • If you’re so tired you can’t string two thoughts together, go h…….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz……..
  • If you’re a professional (or training to be one/training really hard), rest days/weeks are mandatory. Make sure you’re taking your breaks! Jen Crane has a few excellent posts on this – read up!
• All safe? Proclaim it a “Moving Meditation Day”!

The Moving Meditation (or Restorative) Day

I swear by Moving Meditation Days. Not only do they get me to class or training when I don’t feel like it, they give me permission to be where I am on any given day (and sometimes I surprise myself!). How does it work?

• Right off the bat, let your teacher know that you’ll be taking it super easy today, or say it out loud to yourself (bonus – you’ll get a whole row of seats on the subway!).
• Take everything down to about 20% effort, and tune waaaaaaay into your body. If something feels good? Lean into it. Feels like too much? Back off. Got a burst of energy or inspiration? Let it carry you.
• Set the tiniest of goals. Instead of 8 climbs, try one and see how you feel.
• Modify modify modify. If you need help finding the gentlest version of a particular position or move, ask your coach.
• Feel zero guilt (and don’t let anyone else make you feel guilty, either). Your big win today was showing up and moving through, and that’s enough.

Here’s an example of what this might look like in class:

Miranda has been burning the candle at ALL the ends. She’s tired, cranky, and depleted, but always feels sad when she misses sessions. Off to class it is! When she arrives, she does the no-jumping/Level 1 version of the warm-up, checking to see where her body is today. Her back is super tight, so she gives it some extra love before she starts the apparatus warm up. She moves slowly and carefully, and decides to focus on excellent form and simple moves close to the ground. Instead of the more elaborate twisting Russian climb, she opts for the simple Russian climb, moving really slowly and paying close attention to her technique. Hip keys are next, and she’s feeling pretty warm and surprisingly good – full steam ahead! She sits out ankle hangs because her right ankle is really sore from the other day, but she listens carefully to comments from her coach to other students, and notes that she should also keep her quads more engaged the next time she tries it. She writes that down. She skips the drop, but does the wrap just off the ground, focusing on being smooth and consistent. For to-fatigue conditioning at the end of class, she keeps her feet on the ground during pull-ups and watches her shoulder position.

Great job, Miranda! Your moving meditation class might not be one for the books, but a funny thing often happens when we slow way down, tune into our bodies, and focus on conserving our energy – awareness. How often do we zoom through class like demented bumble bees with our eyes solely focused on the next move/sequence/drop so we can post it on instagram? Probably more often than we ought to.

90% of progress happens because we show up – consistency matters. The magic of the restorative session is that we give ourselves permission to pull back, explore, focus, breathe, and think for a hot second about what we’re doing, and this has value, friends. So, the next time you’re in class and you just cannot, declare it a Day of Moving Meditation and rock on with your bad self – you’ll be glad you did. Love and pull-ups, Laura

Group Class is a Group Experience – Behave!

OK. Raise your hand if you’ve ever seen a class slowly sink into the mire because Samantha had a bad day? Yup. Me too. Now, raise your hand if there’s a classmate you always look forward to seeing because they never fail to bring the level of fun up to 100? ME TOO. Most of us fall somewhere in between. Group classes are a shared experience – it’s not all about you, Samantha! How do we make group classes awesome for everyone?

It’s Not All About You, Samantha

Chris Delgado, my long-suffering wheel coach, is laughing his a$$ off at this post. In the interest of full disclosure, I have done every last thing I’m going to tell you not to do (just call me Samantha). I’ve sulked, I’ve cried, I’ve pitched a veritable hissy fit in the middle of class. BUT. If you come away with one thing from circus, let it be that it’s never too late to teach an old dog new tricks. Literally. I’ve since moved out of that torturous phase (thank goodness) and learned a lot along the way. Like what, you ask? I’m so glad you asked.

The Quick n Dirty Guide to Being a Rock Star in Group Classes

Look – we don’t feel like Pollyanna every day. I’m a moody somebody with lots of BIG FEELINGS and COMPLICATED EMOTIONS. When I’m in a private session, I have more leeway to let it all hang out, but what about group classes? How do we participate authentically without torturing our teacher and classmates? How do we support folks that are in the weeds? Let’s explore.

• Some days, the tears are right there behind your eyes. You’re emotional AF, and feel like a live wire. Been there! Oh, have I been there.
  • First, let your coach know (there’s nothing worse than giving a standard correction and having a student burst into tears). If appropriate, give your classmates a heads up too. “Hey friends! Sorry if I seem out of sorts, I’m having a really tough day today.” This gives your people an opportunity to support you and show you a little love! Of course, if that idea gives you hives, you can also keep it between you and your coach.
  • Second, remember that physical movement can provide a much-needed break from big emotions. A class, a run, a good stretch, etc all have to power to lift you out of that head space (even just temporarily) and help you get your feet back underneath you.
  • Third, set an intention for your class. Without getting too “woo” about it, approaching the class mindfully can help you resist the urge to dissolve into misery. “I will take this one hour and be here. I will focus on the sensations of my body, one minute at a time.”
  • Fourth, go for the easy wins. Friend, this is NOT the day to tackle your demons! No no no. Embrace the easy!
• Contain. Everyone has bad days. Everyone. But, when you are having a bad day, be aware that the energy you bring to class – positive or negative – has an effect on the group as a whole; the smaller and/or tighter the group, the more amplified the effect. Can you leave your terrible, horrible, no-good very-bad day in the lobby for one hour? Try it and see. I believe in you!
• Speaking of bad days, it’s a lovely thing to remember that your teacher is (gasp!) also human. You likely have no idea what they’re going through – terrible day, financial fears, family troubles, etc. Your coach has a lot to deal with if there’s more than one of you in the air, and Tatiana is climbing too high again after you’ve told her 12 times to keep it low, and your French isn’t good enough to communicate with Pat so you’re both using a weird English/French hybrid and they’re giving you the I-don’t-understand-a-word-you’re-saying look, and Biff got laid off, and Maria is doing that weird shoulder thing again, and why is it so freaking loud in this space, and so on. Do not torture your teacher.
• Think before you speak (this is a lesson I will struggle with in perpetuity). Before you ____________ (complain loudly, body shame yourself and by extension others, give unsolicited feedback on someone’s work, etc), ask yourself if your words are a) true b) necessary c) kind. Not kind or helpful? Consider just saying them in your head and maybe forgo the spoken version.
• A core value in my classes is inclusion, and I hope it’s the same in your studio. I still have a lot to learn, and am often surprised by things I never considered or missed the first time. A big part of inclusion is making others feel welcomed into classes. I have some students I’ve mentally dubbed The Welcome Wagon, because they never fail to make new students feel welcome and included. Say hello to newbies or offer encouragement! Is there a culture of clique-y behavior in your studio? It doesn’t have to be that way! Be the change, people. Everyone wins! Be on the lookout for folks who are getting left out.

We are not always our best selves when we come to class – that’s just part of being human! We’ve all had bratty moments, found the tears impossible to hide, gotten stuck in an unbelievably crappy mood, taken a criticism really personally, or wanted to hibernate – sometimes all in the same class. The question to ask yourself is whether this is your weekly normal, or if it’s a once-in-a-blue-moon occurrence. It’s worth remembering that we don’t train in a bubble (unless you actually do)! Love and pull-ups, Laura

You’re Not As Good as You Think You Are: The Dunning-Kruger Effect in Circus

As an aerial coach in NYC, I often bemoan one common experience with my fellow teachers: why is it that the students with the most to learn are the same ones who think they’re ready to join Cirque du Soleil in 2020? Why is it that the students who consistently make the worst safety choices are the least likely to take a rigging or aerial safety workshop? Conversely, I’ve seen it time and again: the students who sign up for the technique class? You guessed it. They’re ones who need it the least (meanwhile, Tessie Terrible Technique is sending casting submissions to 7 Fingers). “What the hell is that?!”, we wonder. That, dear friends, is the Dunning-Kruger Effect.

M’Kay…. What is the Dunning-Kruger Effect?

The Dunning-Kruger Effect is a phenomenon in which people with a little bit of knowledge or skill think they know more or have more skill than they do.

Sound familiar? It should, because it’s crazy common. When we look to our peers to evaluate our own performance we are most often wrong – sometimes a lot wrong. Low skill performers tend to grossly overestimate their performance or skills, while high skill performers tend to slightly underestimate.

Newbies don’t know all the things they don’t know.

Remember when you were 16 years old and supremely confident that you could drive a car like Danica Patrick? Do you look back and cringe just a little because oh sweet LORD you were a terrible driver and could have taken somebody out at any second? Even if you were a spectacular teen driver (….), I’ll bet there’s at least one thing you can look back on and admit that maybe – just maybe – you weren’t the hot shizzle you thought you were. Novices will often:

• overestimate their level of skill
• fail to recognize skill in others
• fail to recognize the magnitude of their ignorance
• NOT respond well to feedback that they need to improve
• look back and cringe once they’ve learned and improved (we’ve ALL been there)

The problem is that the skills needed for proficiency are the same skills needed to recognize proficiency in others. D’oh! This is why it sometimes goes so poorly when you try to tell someone why their rigging – using fishing line on a rotten tree over a cliff – is a terrible idea (“Shut up! You don’t know me! You don’t know what I know! That is the strongest mono-filament money can buy, I’ve hung on it like 4 times, and no one ELSE has had a problem with it!”)

Highly skilled performers tend to do the opposite – they are now at the top of the mountain, and often don’t believe they’ve accomplished anything particularly spectacular. In fact, they tend to underestimate their true ability, and sometimes can’t imagine why you’re having so much trouble (this is why great performers don’t automatically make great coaches).

Look around and you’ll see the Dunning-Kruger effect everywhere – driving, politics, chess, and yes – circus. Interestingly enough, in circus, I’ve observed that the Dunning-Kruger Effect flares up not in the very beginning when the student still has a healthy respect for the work, but after they have been training for a while and *know* a few things. Then – THEN – they get what my grandmother used to call “a little too big for their britches”. Sometimes, they’re coming to me from another coach who let them get away with the worst technique on the planet and blew sunshine up their butt for months on end; when they find themselves getting corrected on basic climbs and inversions, whoa Nelly! It’s party time. Sometimes a student has done a few showcases, or is the best in a particular class. They start thinking they’re Really Something, and le sigh… the student mindset goes out the window and is replaced with an ego demon.

Why Does This Matter, Anyway?

We’ve been having good discussions on risk assessment. Accurately evaluating your abilities in circus can be a matter of life or death – believing you are much more capable than you actually are can be deadly. All you have to do is google “Darwin Awards” for folks who made Very Poor Choices and paid the ultimate price. In circus, even a marginally poor choice can mean the difference between a smart, safe progression and one that results in injury. Circus CAN be safely taught and performed, and developing the skill of self-assessment is your most powerful safety tool.

So, How do We Accurately Self-Assess?

Self assessment is a skill that can be learned. You’ll never be perfect at it (hello, bias), but you can get a whole lot better than you are now. Here’s how.

• DO: Use measurable standards when pursuing your goal (example: hips high on an inversion – closer to your hands than your elbows). This is your top tool – use it often.
• DON’T: Use your peers as your yardstick.
• DO: Debate and discuss. Any coach worth their salt can give you the “why” behind corrections. Do you have a different take? That’s OK! Discuss it respectfully, and everyone benefits from a deeper understanding.
• DON’T: Assume it’s personal. Really try to understand where your coach is coming from with corrections.
• DO: Assemble a team of trusted experts. In my world, I look to industry leaders in circus PT, general fitness, aerial arts, flexibility, etc. There are SO MANY folks who have SO MUCH amazing knowledge and different perspectives – what incredible resources! Pursue knowledge like your hair is on fire.
• DON’T: Assume you know all there is to know. Remember – you could be wrong about anything and everything. Go where the research takes you!
• DO: Solicit feedback! And then listen to it. And say thank you (even when you don’t want to).
• DON’T: Be afraid of feedback! Feedback is how you get goooood. When you get some, don’t ignore it or argue with it.
• DO: Break goals into sub-tasks. Research has shown again and again that sub-tasks help to break the illusion that we know All The Things.
• DON’T: Make sweeping claims about your abilities. Example: “I’m amazing at performing!” (NOPE!) Instead, try looking at all the different aspects of performing and looking at how to improve each one: skills, technique, choreography, audience interaction, concept, costumes, music selection, etc. You’re never done, my loves. Welcome to performing arts.
• DO: Proceed with caution. Risk aversion (and risk assessment) can be learned!
• DON’T: Assume you’re immortal, or that nothing bad will ever happen because nothing bad has ever happened before.
• DO: Encourage your peers and classmates.
• DON’T: Assume that because something came easily for you that it should for someone else.

We can learn to be more accurate! We NEED to learn to be more accurate. We don’t take classes and perform in a bubble – incidents affect us all. Instead of rejoicing in what you know, focus on all the exciting things you have yet to learn. Embrace beginners mind. Think things though. Be careful. Be spectacular. Love and pull-ups, Laura

DANGEROUS – Meaningfully Assessing Risk in Aerial Arts

This past week after a very disturbing accident, the aerial community was abuzz about a controversial drop with a completely craptastic fail rate. Incidents like this are thankfully very rare, but, when they do happen, they bring up the very important topic of risk management. What is risk management? Can it even be applied to circus? Is circus safe? Is everything we do… dangerous?

Is Everything We Do Dangerous?

Only if you’re not accurately assessing risk or you are being Very Dramatic. No – everything we do does not carry the same level of risk, and to suggest it does is being a tad extreme, don’t you think? If we want to continue as an industry, we need to be able to have honest (read: not hysterical) conversations about what presents a real danger and what likely does not.

In our day to day lives, we do quite a few things that have the potential to harm us: walking down stairs, crossing streets, driving cars, etc. While we acknowledge that the potential for harm is there, we do not generally label these things “dangerous” per se because they fall within an acceptable level of risk that we assume in our existence as human beings. That level can fluctuate with the circumstances (much like circus) – walking down a regular set of stairs on a regular day while holding the regular handrail is really different from navigating a spiral glass staircase, drunk, in stilettos, in the rain, while using both hands to carry an angry cat. See the difference? It’s an important one. The first example – regular stairs, regular railing – falls under acceptable risk. The second example – glass spiral, drunk, stilettos, rain, cat – change the game completely and move “going down the stairs” into a level of risk I would not willingly assume. Here are some other possible/impossible examples that apply to circus:

• Acceptable risk: A basic climb on aerial silks
• Unacceptable risk: basic climb on aerial silks in a hurricane over a shark tank
• Acceptable risk: knee hang on trapeze
• Unacceptable risk – knee hang on a trapeze that has been covered in oil and is rigged from a coat hanger and dental floss.
• Acceptable risk: inversion in the knot
• Unacceptable risk: inversion in the knot if you are feeling dizzy or disoriented
• Acceptable risk: single star drop
• Unacceptable risk – drop that, if a small mistake is made, completely fails and launches you head first into the ground

So, how do we begin to sort through all the different scenarios and likelihoods? Enter risk management.

What is Risk Management?

First, let’s define “risk”:

(from Stakeholder Mapping) A risk is measured by the probability of a threat, the vulnerability… to that threat, and the impact it would have if it occurred. Risk can also be defined as uncertainty of outcome, and can be used in the context of measuring the probability of positive outcomes as well as negative outcomes.

If you ask the lay person what would increase safety in circus, some common answers include nets, safety lines, mats, helmets, and bubble wrap. All of these are excellent tools when they actually remedy the real risk, but, as many of us know, using the wrong tool for the job actually increases risk (example: a safety line with a traditional aerial silks act can be more hazard than help). The real thing that increases safety in circus? Troubleshooting, friends.

Risk management is an active process that requires constant, in-the-moment evaluation, assumes a degree of expertise and troubleshooting acumen, demands the right tools for the job, and requires a hefty amount of preparation.

Traditionally, there are 4 steps:

1. Identify hazards – what could go wrong?
2. Assess the risk – how likely is this to happen?
3. Control the risk – how can I make this safer?
4. Review and evaluate – did it work?

What Does that Look Like in Circus?

This process is used for every single blessed move, and for every single student every single day. Let’s look at one very simplified example: knee hang on static trapeze.

Student 1 – confident long-time aerial student, has been doing trapeze with you for 2 years

1. Identify hazards – legs straighten and the student falls. How? Head towards the ground, head or upper back landing most likely.
2. How likely is this to happen – unlikely.
3. Control the risk – appropriate mat under the student, trapeze high enough to allow an optimal fall position to increase odds of landing on back instead of head or neck, monitor the angle of the knee hang & alert the student if corrections are needed

Student 2 – has had two trapeze classes with another coach, is still working on hamstring strength, tends toward disorganized movement as evaluated during the floor warm up

1. Identify hazards – legs straighten and the student falls, panic, back of knee discomfort. How? Head towards the ground, head or upper back landing most likely.
2. How likely is this to happen – more likely. Exercise caution.
3. Control the risk – Determine readiness (use a large mat to support their upper body in a modified knee hang if necessary). If student is ready, use appropriate mat which still allows you to spot, trapeze low enough for you to hover an arm over their legs in case they suddenly make a poor decision, simple verbal cues, shorter amount of time spent in the position to minimize discomfort & panic potential

This process is never ending, and it’s the main reason why seasoned instructors get grumpy when wanna-be coaches who have never touched an apparatus take a two hour “certification training” and proclaim themselves Certified Lyra Teachers. That makes me so mad I want to spit nails, and it should make you mad too. That is a big steaming pile of bull doodinky. They cannot accurately troubleshoot, and that’s a big fat NOPE.

Aerial Circus Can Safely Taught & Enjoyed

Yes – aerial work has the potential to be dangerous. Some moves are more dangerous than others, some you have to work really hard to fail at. Circus can be safely taught, with an injury rate comparable to (or possibly less than) gymnastics or team sports. Are students routinely raining from the sky in your classes? Are YOU “failing” (read: falling) at all? While we cannot remove all risk, we can manage it, just as we do in our day to day lives. Falls, acute injuries, and close calls should be exceedingly rare – if you’re seeing it on a regular basis where you are (or in yourself), it’s time to to change schools or find Jesus – er, rethink your safety parameters.

Correctly managed, we can DRASTICALLY reduce risk in aerial arts. Start by employing the 4 steps every single time you learn something new (this goes for both teachers and students). Stay vigilant. Emphasize best practices, KEEP LEARNING, and don’t deify reckless behavior that erodes what many have spent upwards of twenty years creating (or you’ll soon find your local circus school closed because they can’t get insurance).

This is a MASSIVE topic, and one not easily distilled into a blog post, so please bear with me, and stay tuned for next week’s post where we’ll look at why we’re so awful at evaluating our own abilities – it’s relevant. Love and pull-ups, Laura

Move Feeling Impossible? Just Sit With It

We don’t like to sit with things. Sitting with things is Uncomfortable. Who wants to be uncomfortable? Not me. I do not like to sit with my worries about All the Things (I also do not like to sit with Mr Manspreader on the subway). My son Sebastian doesn’t like to sit with fractions. And you? I’m betting there are plenty of things you don’t like to sit with, but today we’re going to look at one particularly squirm-worthy moment: the move you can’t wrap yourself around… literally.

Sit Your A$$ Down

Not really, just go with it. You’ve just been introduced to a move that makes ZERO sense. Maybe it’s a nutty flamingo sequence that starts on one side and ends in Nebraska. Maybe you’re new and that inversion is hurting your brain. Maybe it’s something you’ve been revisiting periodically for months and HOW does it not make sense yet????!!!!!!!

Friend, I HEAR THAT. I do. How do I know all the parts of a perfect handstand, but I still banana the crap out of every attempt? How can you recite every element of a textbook inversion, but still not be able to haul your butt over your head? How can Laverne write a thesis on the theory behind a Sparkle Twirly Hip Circle Drop, but still crumple every time they get to step 4? Because some things just take time to set up residence in our bodies, and like St Celine says, “that’s the way it is”.

(“When you want it the most, there’s no easy way out; when you’re ready to go and your heart’s left in doubt, don’t give up on your faith…” Come on people, it’s practically perfect, just replace “love” with “circus”. 😉

Learn from the Inside Out

When a move or a skill is new, it’s new. You’ve never done it before! Sometimes, the very best thing you can do is just try it a dozen times and give it a second to click.

It’s SO tempting to immediately ask, “What am I doing wrong? How do I fix it?” Sometimes, the answer is to straighten your leg, point your danged toe, and squeeze your butt. But often, the answer is way more frustrating: just try it a few times, and try to feel your way through.

WHAT? I want you to TELL me what my body needs to do, dammit!

M’kay, valid, but that doesn’t always work. Sometimes, you need to FEEL it in your body; you need to inch your way through the movement, feel where the silk rests, find where the bar needs to settle, sleuth out the timing. You have to discover it from the inside out rather than the outside in. UNCOMFORTABLE, right?

You can mentally understand a movement pathway, but feel hella confused when you’re actually doing a move because you’re still in your head. Not to get all woo on you, but you’ve gotta get out of your head and into your body. What can you feel? Where is your weight? Where are your limbs? Where is the apparatus? OK, now where should it be? Can you move your body in a way that gets you closer? Try this. No? OK, try that. No? Oh wait – there it is!

I’m not going to stop banana-ing my handstands until I feel the banana and find the pathway to straight. It took me a full year before I figured out what Ms Ivory meant when she said “pull with your fingers”! It wasn’t that one day she simply explained it better, it was that I FELT it and connected the dots on my own. Lightbulb moment!

I’m certainly not saying to refrain from asking questions, or that you should just wait to “feel” everything. I am suggesting that, if something is overwhelming or eluding you, that you give it a hot second; do your best, and see if it sorts itself out. If it’s a long term battle, get input from lots of different sources and see if something clicks, but if your teacher says, “it just takes time”, well…. it may just take time. Love and pullups, Laura

Don’t Die! Staying Safe While Training on Your Own

It’s happened! You’ve got the green light to train on your own, and you are in rare form, Sparkle Panties! Congrats. Now – how do you know what to train? How do you structure your training? And what about Ermandine who keeps asking you to teach her what you learned in class this week? (Very sneaky, that Ermandine.) Let’s chat!

The More the Merrier – Don’t Train Alone

Look into my eyes and put on your listening ears. I don’t give a rat’s a$$ whether you have a silk in your salon, and trapeze in your trunk, some straps in the studio, or a rig in your room – do not train alone. DO. NOT. TRAIN. ALONE. Ever. You need someone with you in case something happens. Period.

Do What You Know

So, what should you work on? So many things!

You know that thing you did last week in class that you just learned and have never executed successfully and can’t quite remember? Yeah. That’s not the thing you want to work on. Instead, have a look at:

• Moves you know well, but need to practise for form, technique, sequence, flair, etc.
• The 85 things your teacher has been correcting you on FOREVER. Sicled feet? Bent knees? Noodle legs? This is the perfect time to work on your form. Fly, video, watch, rinse, repeat.
• Sequences! It’s fun to begin to string things together! Pick two moves, then three, then more. Remember – start low and slow.
• Fancy business! Open workout is a great time to work on “dancing it”. Take a move and see if you can get it to come right from your belly button. Experiment with arms, leg positions, fabric foofing, etc.
• Work with music when you’re ready! How does it make you feel? How does it inform your movement? Remember to video!
• Do you have questions? When we work on our own, we discover that (SHOCK) we don’t know a lick of what we thought we did. What questions begin coming up for you? Write them down and ask your coach during your next session.
• AWESOME tip from Beverly Sobelman of Versatile Arts: “How about you and your training pals practice rescuing each other from various stuck situations? Even the best aerialists sometimes get their clothing eaten by a rogue S-lock.” I love this! Knowing how to help yourself and others when you get stuck is a tremendously important part of aerial fabulousness.

Make Good Choices!

Like a good romantic evening, you’re gonna want to keep new things slow and low. This is not the time to shimmy to the rafters and bust out that questionable triple you saw on Instagram, Penelope! Give yourself the height you need for safety, but keep newer stuff or experiments in movement close to the ground until you understand how they’re going to play out.

But What About Ermandine?

Raise your hand if this has happened to you. You’re at open workout, working on not doing that weird noodle thing with your back leg (it’s legit super weird), when an “Ermandine” appears.

“Hey, Penelope! Can you teach me the Fussy Flamingo move I just saw you doing?”

Hold up, Ermandine. First, you’re putting dear Penelope in a really awkward position. You see, she paid her money and went to class and learned that move. She isn’t a teacher. She may or may not be able to safely communicate the ins and outs of this sequence. She may or may not want to assume the liability of teaching you. She may want to (gasp) focus on herself and her own work during her open training. That said, is there a time and place for skill sharing? Absolutely! Click here for more.

Here are a few more thoughts on open workout – I hope they’re useful! Love and pull-ups, Laura

Do you need help organizing your training time? This might help!

Are you the person everyone at open workout hates? You might be….