CORE
The centre of artistic movement
Aerial Edge Halloween Spectacular!
Inside the world of Parkour
Aberdeen Addition to the Circus World
Contents en e d r e b A : Inverted n the Block so d i K w e N y s a e P y e Trapez ld r o W w e N A Whole
! Parkour Jam. Train. . Move Play.
Aerial Edge lar u c a t c e p S n Hallowee
DIY Dave Homemade Acrobat
“Handstands make all the sad fall out.� Photo courtesy of Paul Lagah, West Coast Shift.
New Kids on the Block
Aberdeen has its very own Circus School! Inverted: Aberdeen opened one month es in a whole range of aerial, pole, and conditioning based disciplines.
What: classes in Silks, Singles Static Trapeze, and Aerial Hoop. Pole is taught at beginners, intermediate and doubles on the static and the spinning, and there are also classes in Acrobalance, Handstands, Strength and Flexibility, and contemporary dance.
When: There will be an ing free workshops on the 28th-29th of November. Otherwise classes run on a regular weekly basis. Where: studio at 15 James Street, near the docks. How: You can book classes through their website, and also get details about a monthly membership. They count.
Who: Inverted has three directors – Theo Robertson, Ritti Soncco and Elsie Liontou. They have 10 instructors whose abilities and backgrounds range from self-taught to professional ballet schools and circus establishments around the world. They all have seperate day jobs or are full time uni
Why: It’s a great opportunity to try something new, or develop environment!
students. at their website: http://invertedaberAn Aerial Hoops class underway
Trapeze-y Peasy A Whole New World... However, the trapeze can also be static. No platforms, cradles or swinging back and forth. Just a stick between two ropes. It looks pretty nondescript to the untrained eye but aerial acrobats are constantly in a certain frame of mind. Some pioneer of the ridiculous came along, saw that stick between two bits of rope and thought, “how can I hang from that?” Of all circus equipment, the trapeze really does stand out. The most iconic display is an act up on a rig, 40 feet above ground with humans being tossed between platforms by other humans. That is bound to stick in one’s mind. But the trapeze has hidden depth. It’s more versatile than it looks. is the Flying Trapeze - the aforementioned spectacle of an aerodynamic team where timing and accuracy is key. On the receiving man who is stationary, and normally hanging from the knees. The section of rig from which they hang is called the cradle. This in itself is also an option for an act. The catcher in the cradle or feet, allowing them to switch between grasps via stunts like as neither is going to want to stray too far from the other. The act always draws gasps from the audience with heart-stopping moves at a huge height.
Pick a leg, any leg! In order to fully appreciate the trapeze I took on the Doubles Static, and the Flying. Trapeze on the whole did not appeal to me enough to have tried it before now. Every circus discipline is and straps to acrobalance and people depending on their style, character and skill. Fundamentally, as long as you can hold your own weight and don’t have any aversion to inversion, you’re good to go. The rest comes with lots and lots of practice.
Personally, I have a background in ballet which sounds like more use than it really is. Ballet is all in the legs, but aerial work favours upper body strength. So my next best selling point is that I’m pretty light; there’s not much call for strength to ever, as a 90lb ballet dancer, I wasn’t quite prepared for how ungracefully I would be hauled about to start with. In Doubles Trapeze there are similar team units as for Cradle, but it’s less dynamic and more about drama, elegance and strength. In place of the catcher, there is a base,
Transitions occur between the lifts and holds. There’s more room for an interpretive performance; set it to music and it becomes a dance. Both performers need strength and co-ordination to make a seamless routine.
“Dangling from a person dangling from a trapeze... I was a mere sack of potatoes.” professionals get up there, but they know where everything needs to go to get into the unbelievable shapes they do. On in an upside down straddle while being talked through the moves I was supposed to be making. Dangling from a person dangling from a trapeze is not the best setting for a game of 20 Questions. My partner –and instructor of the classknew what he was doing and about while navigating his own way around the equipment. I was a mere sack of potatoes to him. He’d give me instructions such as “tuck your head in,” “arms between my knees,” keep your feet behind my back,” etc. In those situations, you do it. You don’t ask how. You trust your partner and take the plunge.
the air in a 180 degree arc, then up again, like a human pendulum. Hanging on for dear life by only your knees, watching the ground rush past you as the motion follows through and gravity itself shifts. But the fun doesn’t end there. Oh reach the maximum distance from whence you came, arms outstretched and back arched. Then, you let go. Straighten your legs and project yourself towards the awaiting catcher. There is a moment of serenity as your forward momentum is overpowered by the downward pull of gravity. You’re weightless and suspended, much like a cartoon character comical pause before physics is applied. I wish I could tell you that the but that would be lying. The Trapeze I was on the rig for a whole afternoon – longer than your average lesson. Flight addictive, and each time I got closer to the catch but I was also in agony. Every muscle in my back was screaming.
. The ligaments behind my knees were black and blue, and when they took my weight I had to gasp, and spent the rest until I was lowered back to Muscles I didn’t even know existed were hurting. I was left with the painful reminders of my encounter. Any acrobat will say the same, no matter what level they’re at. The physical pain and suffering it causes is undeniable. Although it sounds like an ominous note to end on, it shows, lessons and training pain linger on. I bruise incredibly easily, and after any form of partner-based acrobatics I will discolorations on my wrists, ankles, ribs and waist from being lifted and supported. Burst veins erupt over the top of my Muscles solidify, leaving you to stew in lactic acid from head to toe. The pain is satisfying, it means you worked hard. As for my relationship with Trapeze? I fell in love. I fell in love the way a commuter falls asleep on a train; reluctantly, uncomfortably, inevitably.
We Jam. We Train. We Move. We Play.
“I set up West Coast Shift because I had a real passion for parkour, and it’s done me a lot of good favours, psychologically and physically, throughout the time I’ve been training.”
“I introduce parkour into communities that can’t easily get coaches to teach in their areas. We’re acting as a Community Outreach Organisation.”
Parkour has a freedom of expressing yourself through movement in a way that involves play, and I love playing.
Paul Lagah, 32, set up West Coast Shift with the aim of coaching Parkour in and around the west coast of Scotland. An IT tech by day, Paul runs the school as a business in his spare time. He’s been into Parkour for over three years now.
“I set up West Coast Shift because I had a real passion for parkour, and it’s done me a lot of good favours, psychologically and physically, throughout the time I’ve been training.”
“I can introduce parkour into communities that can’t easily get coaches to acting as a Community Outreach Organisation.”
“I love parkour, and want to show that love by spreading parkour to as many people as I can.�
Class of November 2015
Aerial Edge Halloween Spectacular!
One of the top Circus Schools in Scotland hosted a Halloween spectacular this October. Aerial Edge regularly hosts Scratch Nights and displays, open to friends, family and any member of the public to help raise money. The shows are held in the Briggate Studio where most lessons take place.
Left: Harley Quinn’s Revenge Right: a Spooky Scary Skeleton
The audience were also encouraged to come in fancy dress, and there were prizes for the best dressed children. The instructors were on hand to help with the lights, sound and safety of the performers. The turnout was impressive, especially for being on Halloween itself. establishment, so the money donated goes to helping the school improve classes and opportunities. The acts had a good range, but were mainly aerial based. This is a fair representation of
The Halloween theme allowed dramatically, with costumes like Harley Quinn, spooky skeletons, zombie fairies and vampires. Above: A trapeze act
Right: the entire cast of performers
the space they have is used well. There are many other classes that are unlikely to be featured in a performance, such as Handstands, Aerial Conditioning, Flexibility and Circus Fitness. However it is likely that the performers in the show attend these classes to improve their skillset, and they are advertised during the show.
The night was a success. It was family friendly and entertaining. The crowd of friends, family, students and teachers created a supportive, encouraging environment. The next show will be in 2016.
DIY DAVE: HOMEMADE ACROBAT
Meet David Shaw, 48-yearold engineer who currently lives in Aberdeen. He cycles to work and builds his own clocks in his spare time. That, for a man of his description is what could be considered the norm. Get to know the guy, and you’ll hear about his adventures in kayaking and the like, something he likes to dabble in from time to time. Ask him what he’s doing at the weekend and that’s when the magic happens. “Got a cradle class followed by doubles trapeze. Maybe some handstands.”
David travels down to Aerial Edge in Glasgow every weekend he possibly can. He has a passion for all things trapeze, but there’s a catch (pun not intended).
Once David started working in the cradle, he really was hooked (This pun game is strong). What he came to realise though, was that he simply was not equipped to perform his duties as a catcher to the necessary level. So he went ahead and measured up the cradle with the aim of having one of his very own to train with at home. “I simply wasn’t strong enough. I’m in charge of someone else’s safety and I wanted to get to a standard where I could safely execute a move, or save it if it goes wrong. That’s one of the main things that appealed to me about the role in the first place.” David sent off the measurements to a friend who welded him the metal for the cradle, and used structural timber from B&Q to build the rig. Though his instructors at Aerial Edge had their doubts about the safety of the homespun contraption, it hasn’t failed David yet.
as to why he didn’t take to it. and all the challenges it presented but it took him a year to work out what was missing for him “It took me a year to realise it was the person on the other ested me the most. The one responsible for catching the the platform. That appeals to
The cradle itself