Armed w/her great smile & attitude, Debbie D. is improving her swing & poised to learn some new tricks to push her training to her next level. The powerful Allegra G. is honing her Layout & even onto her Double! It's only a matter of time before she's throwing round trips with those tricks! Alpha Girl Zane F. is making some nice, smooth Layout catches of her own. The adorable Lauri W. is applying a sense of urgency with her B/E Splits & she even caught it w/me a few wks ago! Good work, Lauri! Back from her trip to Africa(!), the surprised Kristen R. actually grabbed the return bar for her 1st time! Finally, Kristen! See?! It's not that scary.
The cerebral Susan W. is showing flashes of brilliance as she gets her swing a little more each time. After missing the catches of her Cut Away multiple times, french Emmanuelle C. managed to catch her Cut Away 4 times in a row one night! When asked what was different, she replied, "I opened my eyes...!"
On Tuesday nights, the feisty & diverse flyer, Galit E., works her Angel returns w/ease. Here's one of Galit's latest B/E Planche catches:
Since Galit does double duty w/us each wk, she's also been working on taking her "Mod" to higher heights w/virtually no travel. And, she's also been working on developing her Cut Away w/the full force out over the board (versus sweeping right into a set). AND, despite her own skepticism, Galit got her Front End Uprise after only a few tries! To shake up her training, the demure Sharron C. has also taken up her B/E Splits catch w/Angel returns. She hasn't quite snagged that return bar just yet, but she's close. And, soon enough, she'll be using this as a "go to" return...!
On Thursday evenings, the superbly capable Karen DL made her 1st return! She's learning tricks & catches & her swing so quickly; soon she'll be onto Layouts & Doubles! Cute nurse Leslie W. is becoming more stable w/her catches as well as with working her returns. She'll be grabbing that return bar soon enough. The elegant Maryam W. will soon be known as the Strong Maryam W.! Even w/some details to be smoothed out w/her swing's timing & positioning, she's still flying sky high & showing off those biceps!
The tight-bodied Thais K. is smoothing out her own flying & back to tackling her Uprise in pursuit of her Fwd Over. Molly G. once told me that there is virtually nothing in her life that she hasn't done to full completion; she's never quit. And, as she dazzles us w/her Layout (which is pretty much ready to be taken "Out of Mechanic"), Full & Double, she shows us that she there is virtually nothing that she does not excel at as well. The flyer-formerly-known-as Amy G. is working on some pretty cool stuff! She's already completed round trips with her Splits to Straddle Cut/Catch to an Angel return! We're now in pursuit of adding in a pirouette...!
Tanya E. is looking to recreate her B/E Splits Out of Mechanic (OOM) again. Marisa B. is making good headway w/her Layout, tightening up & regaining the glory of her older swing. W/me (previously her "personal catcher") Alison C. made her 1st B/E Whip catches ever not long ago! Though I was VERY jealous, Alison C. made a few catches w/our Manny. You see, until then, I had the honor of saying that I was the only person to ever catch her! But, Alison calms my jealous heart by assuring me that you never forget your first...!
You'd never guess that Emma G. had her little baby boy, Max, only a year ago! Emma is flying strong & has all her high flying tricks back under her belt. Not long ago, the charming & lovable Suzanne Monto made the 1st of her very own "Monto" returns! Instead of the traditional Half Turn return to the fly bar, Suzanne pulls a 180 degree turn in a flat, horizontal position! (Think, if this were on trampoline, it would be Belly Drop to a 180 to a Belly Drop.) Pretty cool stuff!
Our dear, worldly & lithe Emma S. has come such a long way in her flying. Far from her days of when I called her "Gumby", Emma's swing & form now exude so much more power & control. It doesn't hurt, too, that her long, lithe lines contribute to making it all look nice. The determined & focused Emily S. smiled along w/the rest of us as she had a nice, little epiphany w/her swing. I told her to simply present her upper chest toward the ceiling in the F/E of her swing &... relax. The results were immediate & effective. She's been toying around w/her Hox Saulto, and it's pretty close to being caught! And, the very strong Lex R. is returning so regularly that we can hardly ever remember a time when he wasn't doing so! Here's Lex a wk before Christmas:
Just last wk, Lex didn't even take a warm up swing before going for a Hox Off catch & making the return! But, in true flying trapeze student form, he barely ever allows himself to enjoy the moment before becoming his own harshest critic. (We all do that.) The more relaxed real estate agent, Renee F., is in prudent pursuit of recreating her B/E Splits OOM on our indoor rig.
Just this Wednesday night, Strong Island's own Lauren (last name?) surprised herself by holding onto her B/E Straddle Whip long enough for a catch (her 1st in a while w/that trick). The always generous & fun Alex K. has come a long way herself. She's now working on her Layout & catching it regularly. If only she can cut that rotation down at the point of catch... I think we made another convert to our little rig in Brooklyn in the flyer, Peggy (last name unknown). She improved her F/E Splits & her basic swing all in one session w/us! W/her incredible toe-point, our Meghan B. dusted off her gorgeous B/E Straddle Whip, her Half Turn & powered up her swing.
We congratulate our Jeff & Elena L. on the arrival of their first born, Madison! Also, we'd like to congratulate Nina & Todd for their first born, Gabriel! And, congratulations goes out to Renee F.'s brother in the arrival of his son. All of those births in the same, last week of 2007!
Our Lizzy has been catching more often & more smoothly than ever before. Just recently, I got to catch her B/E Splits to a Straddle Cut/Catch w/a 540 return! Yonatan G. has straightened out his swing a little more in between his med school studies. Joining our team is Cody S. from Battleboro (sp?), VT, and Sam G. from Boston, MA! We warmly welcome them to our team. I can hardly wait to see what they're each capable of...!
We say a fond farewell & wish the best of luck & safety to our Lisa R. who is now flying in Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba show in FL. I miss you already, Lisa...
Here's some videos of my latest training w/my Double which I love so much:
I love what we do.
"Keep in mind, if your hands were taped to the bar, you took off from the 5th riser & you passed out, your body would be completely straight in the F/E of your swing. It takes way less effort to straighten out than you are applying." - Dino Ramos-Stephens
"Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy." - Thich Nhat Hanh
