With the current SLAM showing running, we have our one flying trapeze class on Friday nights from 9-11pm. But, this is turning out to be a nice, little, hidden gem...!
Our Denise M. (aka "Candy Wideback" or "Queen of the Straddle Tricks") was practicing & catching her Straddle Layout, Straddle Whip & Straddle Force Out. She's added a very effective "donkey kick" to her Straddle Layout, causing it to stall rather well! Emily took her last class w/us for a few months as she leaves to work in LA. But, she said she's gonna keep in touch & fly at the Gaona's rig! Emily was tough on herself as she honed her B/E positions w/a half turn to the mat/net.
Freshly back from her trip to the Dominican Republic, Lauren S. dusted off her Full Twisting Straight Jump, Half Turn & Hox Off. She felt like she was launched out of my hands during catches, performing the "Running Man" high above the mat. Hot on the tails of his 1st F/E Straddle Whip catch from just this past Wed, token-male student Charles followed up by catching his Back End Straddle Whip catch (multiple times) for his 1st times! And, these were his 1st B/E catches of any kind! Great work, Charles!
Our Susie W. showed us her improved swing w/a high force out & deep pull. Our Amy G. threw a couple of Fwd Overs in mechanic before throwing a few more OOM. Inspired, I took up the Fwd Over, too, adjusting my technique slightly & finding new ease w/it!
"If we [didn't] listened to our [hearts], we'd never have a love affair. We'd never have a friendship. We'd never go into business, because we'd be too cynical... You've got to jump off cliffs all the time & build your wings on the way down." - Annie Dillard
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Looking back... (or, the week (so far) in review...)
As w/flying trapeze, the events that happen w/in it w/all of my students & fellow staff members comes fast & furious. So, this is a tiny retrospect of some highlights of this week so far (forgive me if I've neglected to mention some events)...!
Side note: I'm sitting here as usual in the middle of the late night/early morning b/c I'm still wired from tonight's classes. So, I'm writing & uploading videos of all you students as I listen to the Strokes "Last Night". I'm getting so psyched to fly & see you all again! Obsessed?! Yeah, so what...? I'm thinking of bringing some speakers in tomorrow night to liven things up a little in our corner.
Tuesday:
Legal eagle Sharron C. really made some awesome improvements on her Layout which she only started learning in the past week or two! We had enough faith in her improvements that I even hung for her Layout catch. No cigar just yet, but pretty close! Take a look:
Our Denise M. is doing triple duty this week, taking the feisty Galit E.'s spots & even coming in on Fri, too! She's stalling out her Straddle Layout, tweaking her Flexus & catching her Straddle Whip easily. It's great to see more of her!
Wednesday:
Oh, man! Wednesday night was an absolute ball! Such a delight! I just learned that Ace's name is actually spelled "Uys". Go figure. He was throwing his Uprise Fwd Over extremely well! I've been working on taking that OOM, and he just shows up & it's well on it's way to being OOM. We almost snagged it in a catch; not perfectly, but that'll be soon enough.
I never liked Uys.
Our indomitable Matt T. not only learned his Uprise in one, two-hr session, but he also learned & caught his Uprise Shoot this night! It took me a year to get my Uprise! But, we still like Matt.
The jovial Charles is doing better w/his swing & he caught his F/E Straddle Whip for his 1st time! Congratulations, Charles! The adorable nerd, Brittany S., is learning her swing quickly on her 1st night of trying it! Dancer Rachael F. returned for her 2nd class ever & learned her regular 1 1/2 tricks per class! This time, she honed her Whip & learned her Pull Over Shoot before clocking our poor Cody S. during catch time. No worries, Cody's tough. Here's Rachael's Split:
Though I haven't seen her in a while, Naomi returned to show us how well she's come along w/her swing! And, for some more big news of the evening: as her mom watched, the ever-pleasant Alex K. learned & completed her 1st Angel return! Thanks for trusting in us & flying so well, Alex!
Thursday:
Prodigal flyer, Brandon R., wowed us again as he tweaked his Force Out Turn Around.
Seeing Brandon for her 1st time, the powerful & awesome Samantha W. asked, "Is he the one we're supposed to hate?" After doing some rather good Full Twisting Whips for his 1st times, he made awesome progress w/his Layout & caught it for his 1st time this night in his last turn of the evening!
Samantha joined us for a marathon session of flying, snagging her Straddle Cut/Catch again, catching & return her B/E Splits, improving her Layout beyond even her expectations, and torquing her Full Twisting Layout for her 1st times! She vows to bring her hubby, Pat, to fly w/us some time soon! Hi, Pat! Maybe I can bring my Catherine & we can make it "Spousal Night"!
And, to top off a great night, the perma-cute nurse Leslie W. had a big breakthrough w/her Turn Around w/the instruction of our Lizzy H.! W/a simple, add'l kick fwd, Leslie was able to conquer that pesky skill that's been plaguing her for so long.
Most of the time, it's funny how all it takes for a skill or position to "click" in a flyer's mind is for it to be explained in a way that makes sense to her or him. One avenue that works for one student may not work for another. So, that's why I've learned to say things at least half a dozen different ways. For example, "Hit your 7": "Stand in the B/E of your swing after your sweep towards the board" or "Get your hips fwd @ that point" or "Make your body match the tangent of your swing @ that point" or "Look over the bar as you cant your body angle slightly fwd"...
"Don't worry. No matter what happens, I know I'll be completely safe." - Dino Ramos-Stephens (cautioning Rachael F. against traveling her Split catch to Cody as I man the safety lines)
Side note: I'm sitting here as usual in the middle of the late night/early morning b/c I'm still wired from tonight's classes. So, I'm writing & uploading videos of all you students as I listen to the Strokes "Last Night". I'm getting so psyched to fly & see you all again! Obsessed?! Yeah, so what...? I'm thinking of bringing some speakers in tomorrow night to liven things up a little in our corner.
Tuesday:
Legal eagle Sharron C. really made some awesome improvements on her Layout which she only started learning in the past week or two! We had enough faith in her improvements that I even hung for her Layout catch. No cigar just yet, but pretty close! Take a look:
Our Denise M. is doing triple duty this week, taking the feisty Galit E.'s spots & even coming in on Fri, too! She's stalling out her Straddle Layout, tweaking her Flexus & catching her Straddle Whip easily. It's great to see more of her!
Wednesday:
Oh, man! Wednesday night was an absolute ball! Such a delight! I just learned that Ace's name is actually spelled "Uys". Go figure. He was throwing his Uprise Fwd Over extremely well! I've been working on taking that OOM, and he just shows up & it's well on it's way to being OOM. We almost snagged it in a catch; not perfectly, but that'll be soon enough.
I never liked Uys.
Our indomitable Matt T. not only learned his Uprise in one, two-hr session, but he also learned & caught his Uprise Shoot this night! It took me a year to get my Uprise! But, we still like Matt.
The jovial Charles is doing better w/his swing & he caught his F/E Straddle Whip for his 1st time! Congratulations, Charles! The adorable nerd, Brittany S., is learning her swing quickly on her 1st night of trying it! Dancer Rachael F. returned for her 2nd class ever & learned her regular 1 1/2 tricks per class! This time, she honed her Whip & learned her Pull Over Shoot before clocking our poor Cody S. during catch time. No worries, Cody's tough. Here's Rachael's Split:
Though I haven't seen her in a while, Naomi returned to show us how well she's come along w/her swing! And, for some more big news of the evening: as her mom watched, the ever-pleasant Alex K. learned & completed her 1st Angel return! Thanks for trusting in us & flying so well, Alex!
Thursday:
Prodigal flyer, Brandon R., wowed us again as he tweaked his Force Out Turn Around.
Seeing Brandon for her 1st time, the powerful & awesome Samantha W. asked, "Is he the one we're supposed to hate?" After doing some rather good Full Twisting Whips for his 1st times, he made awesome progress w/his Layout & caught it for his 1st time this night in his last turn of the evening!
Samantha joined us for a marathon session of flying, snagging her Straddle Cut/Catch again, catching & return her B/E Splits, improving her Layout beyond even her expectations, and torquing her Full Twisting Layout for her 1st times! She vows to bring her hubby, Pat, to fly w/us some time soon! Hi, Pat! Maybe I can bring my Catherine & we can make it "Spousal Night"!
And, to top off a great night, the perma-cute nurse Leslie W. had a big breakthrough w/her Turn Around w/the instruction of our Lizzy H.! W/a simple, add'l kick fwd, Leslie was able to conquer that pesky skill that's been plaguing her for so long.
Most of the time, it's funny how all it takes for a skill or position to "click" in a flyer's mind is for it to be explained in a way that makes sense to her or him. One avenue that works for one student may not work for another. So, that's why I've learned to say things at least half a dozen different ways. For example, "Hit your 7": "Stand in the B/E of your swing after your sweep towards the board" or "Get your hips fwd @ that point" or "Make your body match the tangent of your swing @ that point" or "Look over the bar as you cant your body angle slightly fwd"...
"Don't worry. No matter what happens, I know I'll be completely safe." - Dino Ramos-Stephens (cautioning Rachael F. against traveling her Split catch to Cody as I man the safety lines)
Friday, March 21, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 20008, Brooklyn, NY
This evening's flying was a building block & expansion day for most of us...!
Our much missed Emma S. came to fly w/us again after taking some time off from the rig. The stupendous Suzanne M. gained a little more insight into her bigger swing, bringing her closer to some grander flying. The feisty Galit E. practiced her Pirouette's before going for some Mod catches w/our Cody. Wonderboy Brandon R. is looking really good w/his swing & his force out turn around ("touching brick" past the pedestal!). He took his 1st steps towards planting his feet on the board to eventually remount. It was really funny to hear everyone (students & instructors alike) chime in w/how he could do it better! I told Brandon that they're only taking opportunity to criticize him since this is the 1st time he hasn't done a trick or skill perfectly on his 1st try! Brandon also started on his Layout, finding the nuances that make it deffer from tramp to trap.
Hard-bodied Thais K. was a little off w/her Fwd Over this evening, so she made some nice catches & even made a full round trip on one of them! Nice work, Thais. Joining us in place of our Molly G., young, hard-working Leah B. started work on her Full Twisting Layout w/promising 1st tries. Then, Leah went on to make some nice B/E Splits catches w/me! Our Amy G. was honing her Fwd Over, throwing it well a few times in mechanic. Our agile, awesome trampoline instructor, Myriah P., took some fly time to try out that pesky Full Twisting whip w/some great initial results! Here's her one of her very 1st attempt:
Here's me demonstrating a Full Twisting Straight Jump for Suzanne M. to try next wk:
And, for the big news of the evening: Allegra G. took her Layout OOM for her 1st time! She traveled the 1st couple of them, but each got better & better. Here's her very 1st one:
B/c of the recent rain, here's my Mukti in his little raincoat:
(poor kid's not very happy w/his raincoat)
"I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen." - Frank Lloyd Wright
Our much missed Emma S. came to fly w/us again after taking some time off from the rig. The stupendous Suzanne M. gained a little more insight into her bigger swing, bringing her closer to some grander flying. The feisty Galit E. practiced her Pirouette's before going for some Mod catches w/our Cody. Wonderboy Brandon R. is looking really good w/his swing & his force out turn around ("touching brick" past the pedestal!). He took his 1st steps towards planting his feet on the board to eventually remount. It was really funny to hear everyone (students & instructors alike) chime in w/how he could do it better! I told Brandon that they're only taking opportunity to criticize him since this is the 1st time he hasn't done a trick or skill perfectly on his 1st try! Brandon also started on his Layout, finding the nuances that make it deffer from tramp to trap.
Hard-bodied Thais K. was a little off w/her Fwd Over this evening, so she made some nice catches & even made a full round trip on one of them! Nice work, Thais. Joining us in place of our Molly G., young, hard-working Leah B. started work on her Full Twisting Layout w/promising 1st tries. Then, Leah went on to make some nice B/E Splits catches w/me! Our Amy G. was honing her Fwd Over, throwing it well a few times in mechanic. Our agile, awesome trampoline instructor, Myriah P., took some fly time to try out that pesky Full Twisting whip w/some great initial results! Here's her one of her very 1st attempt:
Here's me demonstrating a Full Twisting Straight Jump for Suzanne M. to try next wk:
And, for the big news of the evening: Allegra G. took her Layout OOM for her 1st time! She traveled the 1st couple of them, but each got better & better. Here's her very 1st one:
B/c of the recent rain, here's my Mukti in his little raincoat:
(poor kid's not very happy w/his raincoat)
"I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen." - Frank Lloyd Wright
Looking back...
Some of the highlights of the past few days...!
This past Tuesday: The always enjoyable Patti D. caught her Layout of for her 1st time! Our Cody S. made an incredible debut as a catcher as she not only hung for all the students for two rounds, but also managed to help fulfill two returns, too! Amazing! Lauren S. is flying smooth as butter w/her Full Twisting Straight Jump. Emmanuelle C. caught w/our Cody & got the return bar twice! Karen DL was filling in for Allegra G. Karen is starting on her Layout w/some promising 1st tries.
This past Wednesday: We had newcomer, dancer Rachel, learn her KH & Splits in her 1st class ever. She managed to catcher her KH as well. More newbies, gymnasts Madison & Courtney, w/their non-gymnast friend, Britney, all learned & made their 1st KH catches ever! The so-adorable, self-professed nerd, Brittany S., was in pursuit of recreating her Cut Away Catch after working on inserting the "half" into her Cut Away Half. Emily & Charles are amping up their swings.
"The art of progress is to preserve order amid change and to preserve change amid order." - Alfred North Whitehead
This past Tuesday: The always enjoyable Patti D. caught her Layout of for her 1st time! Our Cody S. made an incredible debut as a catcher as she not only hung for all the students for two rounds, but also managed to help fulfill two returns, too! Amazing! Lauren S. is flying smooth as butter w/her Full Twisting Straight Jump. Emmanuelle C. caught w/our Cody & got the return bar twice! Karen DL was filling in for Allegra G. Karen is starting on her Layout w/some promising 1st tries.
This past Wednesday: We had newcomer, dancer Rachel, learn her KH & Splits in her 1st class ever. She managed to catcher her KH as well. More newbies, gymnasts Madison & Courtney, w/their non-gymnast friend, Britney, all learned & made their 1st KH catches ever! The so-adorable, self-professed nerd, Brittany S., was in pursuit of recreating her Cut Away Catch after working on inserting the "half" into her Cut Away Half. Emily & Charles are amping up their swings.
"The art of progress is to preserve order amid change and to preserve change amid order." - Alfred North Whitehead
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008, Brooklyn, NY
I know I may say this a little frequently, but this Fri night was a very productive one...!
During our staff training, Yoni G. & Matt T. learned the nuances the timing of half time catches. Yoni got to practice legs catches (and, how to "pants" a flyer!). Matt was calling his timing on more & more catches before pulling lines for our Lizzy H.'s Matt, a relative newby to trapeze. Lizzy worked on her Full Over. Cody S. pulled for more, diverse catches. Jason F. got to throw his Hox Off w/us. Amy G. kept her OOM Uprise Fwd Over current. Kitao S. worked on his catching. For the benefit of all you students, I got to teach all of us Angel & Double Angel returns both as flyers & catchers.
And, for poops & giggles, I went up & attempted a Triple. I learned that, alas, I cannot do a triple on our little rig in Brooklyn. When as much height & power as possible is needed, I toned down my swing for fear of hitting the ceiling on both the F/E & B/E. Plus, there is not nearly enough clearance above the mat/net to get in those rotations. But, I'm glad I went for it & learned in the process. We have hopes for me developing my Triple on a regular rig this summer...!
As for the student's class right after our training: Billy caught a nice B/E Planche & worked the return. Lauren S. cleaned up her form w/her Full Twisting Straight Jump. We had a great deal of confidence w/Patti D.'s Layout, so I hung for it in the catch trap! No cigar just yet, but we'll be catching that in the near future! From last wk's awesome group of ladies, Kara & Vanessa came to class again to learn their Splits. In her last turn of the night, Vanessa managed to catch that Splits! And, true to their words, they brought some new friends, Jenny & Hyra, along to learn the highs & lows of the Knee Hang. And, almost on a whim, Tanya E. tried out a 1 & 1/2 to legs. Her 1st attempt was really quite good, too!
"Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That's why we call it the present." - Babatunde Olatunji
During our staff training, Yoni G. & Matt T. learned the nuances the timing of half time catches. Yoni got to practice legs catches (and, how to "pants" a flyer!). Matt was calling his timing on more & more catches before pulling lines for our Lizzy H.'s Matt, a relative newby to trapeze. Lizzy worked on her Full Over. Cody S. pulled for more, diverse catches. Jason F. got to throw his Hox Off w/us. Amy G. kept her OOM Uprise Fwd Over current. Kitao S. worked on his catching. For the benefit of all you students, I got to teach all of us Angel & Double Angel returns both as flyers & catchers.
And, for poops & giggles, I went up & attempted a Triple. I learned that, alas, I cannot do a triple on our little rig in Brooklyn. When as much height & power as possible is needed, I toned down my swing for fear of hitting the ceiling on both the F/E & B/E. Plus, there is not nearly enough clearance above the mat/net to get in those rotations. But, I'm glad I went for it & learned in the process. We have hopes for me developing my Triple on a regular rig this summer...!
As for the student's class right after our training: Billy caught a nice B/E Planche & worked the return. Lauren S. cleaned up her form w/her Full Twisting Straight Jump. We had a great deal of confidence w/Patti D.'s Layout, so I hung for it in the catch trap! No cigar just yet, but we'll be catching that in the near future! From last wk's awesome group of ladies, Kara & Vanessa came to class again to learn their Splits. In her last turn of the night, Vanessa managed to catch that Splits! And, true to their words, they brought some new friends, Jenny & Hyra, along to learn the highs & lows of the Knee Hang. And, almost on a whim, Tanya E. tried out a 1 & 1/2 to legs. Her 1st attempt was really quite good, too!
"Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That's why we call it the present." - Babatunde Olatunji
Thursday, March 13, 2008, Brooklyn, NY
This wk's IFW sessions were stepping stones of differing degrees for our flyers...!
Some of the highlights of the night: Karen DL is beginning to tackle her Layout. Galit E. played w/her multiple uprises, Cut Away Halves & Layouts. Marisa B. worked on taking her Shooting Star upwards. Molly G. Maryam W. showed us her powerfully high swing before we taught her a Full Twisting Straight Jump. She got that FTSJ rather quickly, too, before making some nice OOM B/E catches w/me! Suzanne M. is in pursuit of adopting the technique to acquire a bigger swing. She has all the components, she just needs to put them together at the right tempo. Take a look at one of Suzanne's latest Layout's:
And, for the big news of the evening: our Amy G. did her 1st Fwd Overs OOM! (Yes, she knows she still has to stay tight & present to the catcher, but it's a huge step fwd nonetheless!)
Lastly, thanks, Renee, for today's quote:
"The shell must break before the bird can fly." - Alfred Tennyson
Some of the highlights of the night: Karen DL is beginning to tackle her Layout. Galit E. played w/her multiple uprises, Cut Away Halves & Layouts. Marisa B. worked on taking her Shooting Star upwards. Molly G. Maryam W. showed us her powerfully high swing before we taught her a Full Twisting Straight Jump. She got that FTSJ rather quickly, too, before making some nice OOM B/E catches w/me! Suzanne M. is in pursuit of adopting the technique to acquire a bigger swing. She has all the components, she just needs to put them together at the right tempo. Take a look at one of Suzanne's latest Layout's:
And, for the big news of the evening: our Amy G. did her 1st Fwd Overs OOM! (Yes, she knows she still has to stay tight & present to the catcher, but it's a huge step fwd nonetheless!)
Lastly, thanks, Renee, for today's quote:
"The shell must break before the bird can fly." - Alfred Tennyson
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008, Brooklyn, NY
This evening, the staff got to fly & have some fun before we had a full class of really nice, diverse students...!
S. Africa's agile Ace & the indomitable Matt T. were both working on lofting their Layout's, and both of them are pretty much ready to catch their tricks! Matt was especially progressive tonight: not only did he perform a solid B/E Planche for his 1st time, but he also performed a nice B/E Straddle Whip for his 1st time. And, that was before learning & pretty damn near perfecting his Layout on his very 1st night! Our studious Whit C. flew right through the tiny barriers holding her back from doing her B/E Whip w/a half turn to the mat/net. Aspiring triathlete, Lizzy H., through some very, very nice Double Backs as she also worked on her "Full Over" (Full Twisting Fwd Over) & Full Twisting Layout. I took things back to basics by throwing some Cut Aways (sans the "Half") before throwing a decent Cut Away Half towards the end of our session. And, twice, our Amy W. successfully half turned her Fwd Over to the mat/net! It was a fun night, indeed, & only the beginning!
This night's token male student, Charles, was making nice strides w/his swing as he took his 1st stabs at a B/E Planche. Self-professed nerd & book-shepherd, Brittany S., tried to recreate her Cut Away catch after trying (w/sporadic success) to get her Cut Away Half. Brittany, given your tempo & kicks w/your Cut Away, I think you're long overdue to develop your swing. Emily B. was absolutely adorable when, for her 1st time ever, she half turned very quickly & cleanly to the mat/net out of her B/E Splits! I think she was more surprised than anyone else. Then, she recreated it w/a better Splits. Great work, Emily!
Right after sweating it out in Fabio's Flip/Tuck class, Angela flew w/two of her friends from Buffalo: Christy & Alana. Angela dusted off her Pull Over Shoot, adding more "pump" to the "pump & shoot", later making a catch w/our Lizzy H., smiling that great smile the whole time! Experiencing earlier success, both Christy & Alana made their 1st KH catches this night!
Though we haven't seen her in a while, Jane was back & getting some insight into the B/E of her swing. I love it when we see that light bulb turn on, as it did w/Jane, when she hears something that just clicks for her flying. Elena G. made more progress w/her Full Twisting Layout; it's only a few degrees away from being catchable! Alex K. was throwing really nice, lofty Layouts but felt some "catching anxiety" when it came time to connect w/our Lizzy as she let go earlier than she did during practice. And, I had the pleasure of catching Renee F.'s B/E Splits OOM on our little rig in Brooklyn!
"The heights by great men reached & kept
Were not attained by sudden flight,
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upward in the night." - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
S. Africa's agile Ace & the indomitable Matt T. were both working on lofting their Layout's, and both of them are pretty much ready to catch their tricks! Matt was especially progressive tonight: not only did he perform a solid B/E Planche for his 1st time, but he also performed a nice B/E Straddle Whip for his 1st time. And, that was before learning & pretty damn near perfecting his Layout on his very 1st night! Our studious Whit C. flew right through the tiny barriers holding her back from doing her B/E Whip w/a half turn to the mat/net. Aspiring triathlete, Lizzy H., through some very, very nice Double Backs as she also worked on her "Full Over" (Full Twisting Fwd Over) & Full Twisting Layout. I took things back to basics by throwing some Cut Aways (sans the "Half") before throwing a decent Cut Away Half towards the end of our session. And, twice, our Amy W. successfully half turned her Fwd Over to the mat/net! It was a fun night, indeed, & only the beginning!
This night's token male student, Charles, was making nice strides w/his swing as he took his 1st stabs at a B/E Planche. Self-professed nerd & book-shepherd, Brittany S., tried to recreate her Cut Away catch after trying (w/sporadic success) to get her Cut Away Half. Brittany, given your tempo & kicks w/your Cut Away, I think you're long overdue to develop your swing. Emily B. was absolutely adorable when, for her 1st time ever, she half turned very quickly & cleanly to the mat/net out of her B/E Splits! I think she was more surprised than anyone else. Then, she recreated it w/a better Splits. Great work, Emily!
Right after sweating it out in Fabio's Flip/Tuck class, Angela flew w/two of her friends from Buffalo: Christy & Alana. Angela dusted off her Pull Over Shoot, adding more "pump" to the "pump & shoot", later making a catch w/our Lizzy H., smiling that great smile the whole time! Experiencing earlier success, both Christy & Alana made their 1st KH catches this night!
Though we haven't seen her in a while, Jane was back & getting some insight into the B/E of her swing. I love it when we see that light bulb turn on, as it did w/Jane, when she hears something that just clicks for her flying. Elena G. made more progress w/her Full Twisting Layout; it's only a few degrees away from being catchable! Alex K. was throwing really nice, lofty Layouts but felt some "catching anxiety" when it came time to connect w/our Lizzy as she let go earlier than she did during practice. And, I had the pleasure of catching Renee F.'s B/E Splits OOM on our little rig in Brooklyn!
"The heights by great men reached & kept
Were not attained by sudden flight,
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upward in the night." - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008, Brooklyn, NY
This Tue night's Catch & Return sessions showed some jumps in some students' trainings...!
This night, we had the boisterous Brian A. instructing & catching w/us. He'll be w/us during upcoming Tue nights. French Emmanuelle C. made improvements on her Straight Jump returns (getting her feet behind her on the release to the return bar) off her Cut Away catches! The adorable Lauri W. caught her B/E Whip w/our Brian. Come to think of it: both Lauri & Kristy M. seemed surprised to be caught at all!?! Have faith!
Allegra G. is making headway w/her Pirouette & smoothing our her Layout at her point of catch. Lauren S. is insistent on earning her returns w/o pulls from the lines or being chucked by the catcher. W/a little more push from her end, she'll be earning all of them soon enough!
When instructed to just do it & not over-think, the comely Kristy M. easily inserted the "half" into her Cut Away Half! Then, she proceeded to make it a cognitive action as she reverted to her previous, partial rotations. You have it in you, Kristy. You'll find it again soon enough. The feisty Galit E. is looking strong as a flyer as she once again achieves Multiple Uprises.
Much to the lighthearted contempt of myself & our really cool & beautiful trampoline instructor, Myriah P., Brandon "Don't call me David" R. showed us how to do a Back Drop into a Full Twisting Half Somersault. That is the trampoline equivalent of a Full Twisting Whip on the trapeze. Then, Brandon proceeded to earn more eye-daggers & unbelieving grins from the students as he effortlessly learned his Turn Around & Force Out over the pedestal! THEN, he couldn't stop there: he had to go & learn his Force Out Turn Around!!
me: "Remember to pull when you're forcing out over the board & then try to touch the blue mat w/your toes."
Brandon: "You didn't see my last turn? I just did."
me: "Oh."
We never liked Brandon.
"Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly; devils fall because of their gravity." - G. K. Chesterton
This night, we had the boisterous Brian A. instructing & catching w/us. He'll be w/us during upcoming Tue nights. French Emmanuelle C. made improvements on her Straight Jump returns (getting her feet behind her on the release to the return bar) off her Cut Away catches! The adorable Lauri W. caught her B/E Whip w/our Brian. Come to think of it: both Lauri & Kristy M. seemed surprised to be caught at all!?! Have faith!
Allegra G. is making headway w/her Pirouette & smoothing our her Layout at her point of catch. Lauren S. is insistent on earning her returns w/o pulls from the lines or being chucked by the catcher. W/a little more push from her end, she'll be earning all of them soon enough!
When instructed to just do it & not over-think, the comely Kristy M. easily inserted the "half" into her Cut Away Half! Then, she proceeded to make it a cognitive action as she reverted to her previous, partial rotations. You have it in you, Kristy. You'll find it again soon enough. The feisty Galit E. is looking strong as a flyer as she once again achieves Multiple Uprises.
Much to the lighthearted contempt of myself & our really cool & beautiful trampoline instructor, Myriah P., Brandon "Don't call me David" R. showed us how to do a Back Drop into a Full Twisting Half Somersault. That is the trampoline equivalent of a Full Twisting Whip on the trapeze. Then, Brandon proceeded to earn more eye-daggers & unbelieving grins from the students as he effortlessly learned his Turn Around & Force Out over the pedestal! THEN, he couldn't stop there: he had to go & learn his Force Out Turn Around!!
me: "Remember to pull when you're forcing out over the board & then try to touch the blue mat w/your toes."
Brandon: "You didn't see my last turn? I just did."
me: "Oh."
We never liked Brandon.
"Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly; devils fall because of their gravity." - G. K. Chesterton
Monday, March 10, 2008
Friday, March 7, 2008, Brooklyn, NY
This Friday night's staff training & open class were very productive & fun as I once again found myself in a very enviable environment...!
As a great boon to the staff & students, the boisterous Brian A. is joining our staff! He pulled for some catches before catching a strong Uprise Fwd Over w/our Amy W. One of our newest catchers, Matt T., is coming along extremely well as he's already calling the timing on all his catches! Kitao S. made his 1st catches w/the staff this night! Our Dap & Eli took their 1st swings OOM! And, Eli is also getting back into the swing of things in the catch trap.
Having a "Girls' Fun Night Out", J. Pagan brought the very adept & awesome group of Ashley, Kara, Lindsay, Vanessa & Theresa. Pagan's group each caught their 1st KHs ever as Pagan caught her 1st Set Splits ever! As we went out for celebratory drinks afterwards, we let them know that we really enjoyed them in class, so we kept telling them that they should come back for new positions & catches. Our Whit C.'s roommate, Erin, as also a newbie who was dressed ready for business; she easily learned & caught her KH, too! Lauren S. not only cleaned up the form on her Full Twisting Straight Jump, but also made her 1st returns w/o any line assistance at all! Twice! She asked our Amy W. to not help her w/the lines to pull her back to the return bar (a la Club Med) w/her Half Time Straight Jump, and Lauren rose to the occasion to snag that return bar!
And, for some more big news of the night, Patti's Layout is coming along very, very well! Great work, Patti! You'll be catching that w/us real soon...!
"First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do." - Epictetus
As a great boon to the staff & students, the boisterous Brian A. is joining our staff! He pulled for some catches before catching a strong Uprise Fwd Over w/our Amy W. One of our newest catchers, Matt T., is coming along extremely well as he's already calling the timing on all his catches! Kitao S. made his 1st catches w/the staff this night! Our Dap & Eli took their 1st swings OOM! And, Eli is also getting back into the swing of things in the catch trap.
Having a "Girls' Fun Night Out", J. Pagan brought the very adept & awesome group of Ashley, Kara, Lindsay, Vanessa & Theresa. Pagan's group each caught their 1st KHs ever as Pagan caught her 1st Set Splits ever! As we went out for celebratory drinks afterwards, we let them know that we really enjoyed them in class, so we kept telling them that they should come back for new positions & catches. Our Whit C.'s roommate, Erin, as also a newbie who was dressed ready for business; she easily learned & caught her KH, too! Lauren S. not only cleaned up the form on her Full Twisting Straight Jump, but also made her 1st returns w/o any line assistance at all! Twice! She asked our Amy W. to not help her w/the lines to pull her back to the return bar (a la Club Med) w/her Half Time Straight Jump, and Lauren rose to the occasion to snag that return bar!
And, for some more big news of the night, Patti's Layout is coming along very, very well! Great work, Patti! You'll be catching that w/us real soon...!
"First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do." - Epictetus
Friday, March 7, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008, Brooklyn, NY
This Thursday night was a great one that got us laughing, experimenting & having fun...!
We were graced w/the presence of the wonderful Marisa B. who has been diligently working in the legal world. She dusted off her Shooting Star (rather well we say) before making some B/E Splits catches w/me. The tight-bodied Thais K. was making some B/E Splits catches OOM.
The powerful & smiling Molly G. embraced "going back to basics" (as only someone like Molly can do since her Layout was actually her 1st catch of any kind OOM) as she caught her B/E Splits OOM for her 1st times this night! She was even going for the return bar, too. Renee F. I noted that even Molly's Suicide looks powerful!
The much liberated & lighter-spirited Renee was in a Super-Sized, Dbl Bonus w/Extra, Special Sauce Day, doing triple duty of aerials this week! Tiny, agile prodigal flyer, Karen DL, was returning to the pedestal board a few times before making a really nice return off her B/E Planche catch w/our Jeff L. I foresee full round trips very soon for Karen. The flyer-formerly-known-as Amy G. was practicing her Half Turn returns & Angel returns. She gave our Jeff L. his 1st time w/an Angel return OOM. See, we're all learning.
The adorable & sweet Suzanne M. is gonna be quite the flyer! She played w/her Layout & B/E Splits catches before fatigue set in. So, I suggest she try a "Kill & Build". At 1st, she was a little confused, but after seeing a demonstration, Suzanne implemented a great pull & found a better tempo. She was building height in her swing like a champ! Mark my words: she's gonna be one of our flyers avoiding the ceiling...!
For some big news: We had two flyers making certain catches for their first times! The feisty Galit E. caught her Half Turn OOM for her 1st times. Even though they were solid & smooth, she still couldn't help but sound surprised when we 1st caught it! And, the powerful Lex R. is really ramping up his flying. His swing is looking SO powerful & fluid now! For a long time, the Turn Around on the bar to force out over the board was the bane of Lex. But, no longer is that true. He can not only "touch brick" when forcing out over the pedestal, but he did his Turn Around for his 1st times OOM this night! Great work, great progress, Lex.
And, right after class & late into the night, I met my Catherine & our friend, Luis, at the nightclub, Cielo, to hear the tunes spun by DJ Benny Benassi.
The whole scene w/the fast music, thumping bass, moving bodies, swirling lights & high energy made me dream of having a party w/aerialists on silks, static, straps, lyra &, of course, flying trapeze strutting their best stuff among a crowd of dancing watchers. Imagine the fun we'd have flying through the air in front of friendly eyes, everyone moving to the same music...!
Recently, I've tried one of those high bar & uneven bar moves that I was hoping to translate to the fly bar: a free hip circle into a force out. It didn't go so well. I found that we can't do it at the top of the swing when a force out would normally come b/c the bar doesn't have any more force for us to push against when we drop through the hip circle. So, I tried it at poles. That didn't go so well either. At that point, as we all know, is when we're heaviest. So, do fall through a free hip circle at that point is like trying to hold a lever under great centrifugal force.
On the bright side, I found out that one of the other moves (Layout w/half turn to re-grab the bar) is called a "Gienger". And, the other one (Cut Away flip to re-grab the bar) is called a "Jaeger" or "Yaeger".
"The dream was always running ahead of me. To catch up, to live for a moment in unison with it, that was the miracle." - Anais Nin
We were graced w/the presence of the wonderful Marisa B. who has been diligently working in the legal world. She dusted off her Shooting Star (rather well we say) before making some B/E Splits catches w/me. The tight-bodied Thais K. was making some B/E Splits catches OOM.
The powerful & smiling Molly G. embraced "going back to basics" (as only someone like Molly can do since her Layout was actually her 1st catch of any kind OOM) as she caught her B/E Splits OOM for her 1st times this night! She was even going for the return bar, too. Renee F. I noted that even Molly's Suicide looks powerful!
The much liberated & lighter-spirited Renee was in a Super-Sized, Dbl Bonus w/Extra, Special Sauce Day, doing triple duty of aerials this week! Tiny, agile prodigal flyer, Karen DL, was returning to the pedestal board a few times before making a really nice return off her B/E Planche catch w/our Jeff L. I foresee full round trips very soon for Karen. The flyer-formerly-known-as Amy G. was practicing her Half Turn returns & Angel returns. She gave our Jeff L. his 1st time w/an Angel return OOM. See, we're all learning.
The adorable & sweet Suzanne M. is gonna be quite the flyer! She played w/her Layout & B/E Splits catches before fatigue set in. So, I suggest she try a "Kill & Build". At 1st, she was a little confused, but after seeing a demonstration, Suzanne implemented a great pull & found a better tempo. She was building height in her swing like a champ! Mark my words: she's gonna be one of our flyers avoiding the ceiling...!
For some big news: We had two flyers making certain catches for their first times! The feisty Galit E. caught her Half Turn OOM for her 1st times. Even though they were solid & smooth, she still couldn't help but sound surprised when we 1st caught it! And, the powerful Lex R. is really ramping up his flying. His swing is looking SO powerful & fluid now! For a long time, the Turn Around on the bar to force out over the board was the bane of Lex. But, no longer is that true. He can not only "touch brick" when forcing out over the pedestal, but he did his Turn Around for his 1st times OOM this night! Great work, great progress, Lex.
And, right after class & late into the night, I met my Catherine & our friend, Luis, at the nightclub, Cielo, to hear the tunes spun by DJ Benny Benassi.
The whole scene w/the fast music, thumping bass, moving bodies, swirling lights & high energy made me dream of having a party w/aerialists on silks, static, straps, lyra &, of course, flying trapeze strutting their best stuff among a crowd of dancing watchers. Imagine the fun we'd have flying through the air in front of friendly eyes, everyone moving to the same music...!
Recently, I've tried one of those high bar & uneven bar moves that I was hoping to translate to the fly bar: a free hip circle into a force out. It didn't go so well. I found that we can't do it at the top of the swing when a force out would normally come b/c the bar doesn't have any more force for us to push against when we drop through the hip circle. So, I tried it at poles. That didn't go so well either. At that point, as we all know, is when we're heaviest. So, do fall through a free hip circle at that point is like trying to hold a lever under great centrifugal force.
On the bright side, I found out that one of the other moves (Layout w/half turn to re-grab the bar) is called a "Gienger". And, the other one (Cut Away flip to re-grab the bar) is called a "Jaeger" or "Yaeger".
"The dream was always running ahead of me. To catch up, to live for a moment in unison with it, that was the miracle." - Anais Nin
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Looking back...
It's fun to look back to older videos of ourselves & see how far we've come...!
Here are views of my latest Cut Away Half (03/04/08):
Tivo view:
"Change alone is eternal, perpetual, immortal." - Arthur Schopenhauer
Here are views of my latest Cut Away Half (03/04/08):
Tivo view:
"Change alone is eternal, perpetual, immortal." - Arthur Schopenhauer
Wednesday, March 5, 2008, Brooklyn, NY
It was a fun & casual Wednesday night as our Lizzy H., Whit C. & I fly & caught the students...!
My Catherine held on as long as she could despite the pains in her hands to make progress w/her swing. Renee F. took a "bonus day" for herself on the rig as she once again diligently worked on her B/E Splits OOM. Taking the leap (pun intended), newly engaged Brian & Sharon celebrated their commitment & Brian's b-day by taking their 1st flying class ever & making their 1st catches ever! Talk about dedication: Allegra G. did dbl duty by taking her classes 2 days in a row. Her hands were ripping w/huge holes in her palms, but she toughed it out really well as she made progress w/her Pirouettes/360's! Charles was finding the tempo of his swing before catching his Set Planche once again.
Once we slowed down his apron work, Ace finished a full round trip w/his sky-high Uprise Shoot! Sam G. stopped by for a few swings & to practice his Back Mount again.
Denise M. practiced her Straddle Layout & dusted off her "go to" B/E Straddle Whip.
Our Dap & Matt T. are developing great swings! For the big news this night: After committing to his training, our Matt T. made his debut performance as a flying trapeze catcher for his 1st time ever! And, after repeated attempts, Brittany S. kept w/it & caught her Cut Away for her 1st time! Her reaction is priceless!
"The irony of commitment is that it's deeply liberating -- in work, in play, in love." - Anne Morriss
My Catherine held on as long as she could despite the pains in her hands to make progress w/her swing. Renee F. took a "bonus day" for herself on the rig as she once again diligently worked on her B/E Splits OOM. Taking the leap (pun intended), newly engaged Brian & Sharon celebrated their commitment & Brian's b-day by taking their 1st flying class ever & making their 1st catches ever! Talk about dedication: Allegra G. did dbl duty by taking her classes 2 days in a row. Her hands were ripping w/huge holes in her palms, but she toughed it out really well as she made progress w/her Pirouettes/360's! Charles was finding the tempo of his swing before catching his Set Planche once again.
Once we slowed down his apron work, Ace finished a full round trip w/his sky-high Uprise Shoot! Sam G. stopped by for a few swings & to practice his Back Mount again.
Denise M. practiced her Straddle Layout & dusted off her "go to" B/E Straddle Whip.
Our Dap & Matt T. are developing great swings! For the big news this night: After committing to his training, our Matt T. made his debut performance as a flying trapeze catcher for his 1st time ever! And, after repeated attempts, Brittany S. kept w/it & caught her Cut Away for her 1st time! Her reaction is priceless!
"The irony of commitment is that it's deeply liberating -- in work, in play, in love." - Anne Morriss
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Saturday, March 1, 2008, Manhattan, NY
Spread throughout Madison Square Garden, a disparate bunch of us watched the Tyson American Cup Gymnastics Championship...!
In various parts of the large arena, Ann W., Marcie B., Jason F., Amy G/W, Molly G., Emma S., Nicole A., Samantha W., Dawn (last name?), my Catherine & I watched world-class gymnasts from the U.S., Canada, China, Venezuela & Columbia. These champions included Canada's Allysa Brown, 2007 all-around world champion Shawn Johnson; 2004 all-around Olympic champion Paul Hamm; 2007 balance beam & team world champion Nastia Liukin; 2007 all-around world silver-medalist Fabian Hambuechen; 2006 pommel horse world bronze-medalist Alexander Artemev; 2007 all-around world bronze-medalist Hisashi Mizutori; 2006-07 Tyson American Cup champ Jonathan Horton; 2001 & 2003 team world silver-medalist Raj Bhavsar; and 2007 team world champions Samantha Peszek & Shayla Worley.
My first personal favorite was Raj B. who I felt was a sort of underdog w/his solid performances even though the judges were hard w/his scores. The crowd actually booed the judges after Raj was given a much lower than expected score for his high bar routine! It was funny b/c the sound of MSG filled w/booing spectators was washed w/the high pitched sound of dozens of very young, aspiring gymnastic girls! My other personal favorite was Shawn Johnson who performed solidly through every event & did so w/a great, winning smile the whole time. My heart went out to Canada's Allysa Brown b/c I feel like my Canadian wife was one of the few really cheering her on. And, I was rooting for the champion underdogs from Columbia & Venezuela, too.
Here's Allysa Brown on the balance beam:
I was keeping my eyes & mind open for new ideas to try on a flying trapeze bar. So, w/that in mind, I took some videos of these incredible gymnasts on the uneven bars & high bar.
Here's Paul Hamm on the high bar:
Here's Nastia L. on the uneven bars:
Shawn Johnson on uneven bars:
I'm thinking of various bar tricks. Imagine a bar release trick involving a Layout w/a half twist to re-grab the bar. Or, imagine an B/E Uprise to a free hip circle casting up to a handstand/force out! Or, imagine a straddled Cut Away to re-grab the bar! Let's keep these in mind & develop them together...!
"I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it." - Pablo Picasso
In various parts of the large arena, Ann W., Marcie B., Jason F., Amy G/W, Molly G., Emma S., Nicole A., Samantha W., Dawn (last name?), my Catherine & I watched world-class gymnasts from the U.S., Canada, China, Venezuela & Columbia. These champions included Canada's Allysa Brown, 2007 all-around world champion Shawn Johnson; 2004 all-around Olympic champion Paul Hamm; 2007 balance beam & team world champion Nastia Liukin; 2007 all-around world silver-medalist Fabian Hambuechen; 2006 pommel horse world bronze-medalist Alexander Artemev; 2007 all-around world bronze-medalist Hisashi Mizutori; 2006-07 Tyson American Cup champ Jonathan Horton; 2001 & 2003 team world silver-medalist Raj Bhavsar; and 2007 team world champions Samantha Peszek & Shayla Worley.
My first personal favorite was Raj B. who I felt was a sort of underdog w/his solid performances even though the judges were hard w/his scores. The crowd actually booed the judges after Raj was given a much lower than expected score for his high bar routine! It was funny b/c the sound of MSG filled w/booing spectators was washed w/the high pitched sound of dozens of very young, aspiring gymnastic girls! My other personal favorite was Shawn Johnson who performed solidly through every event & did so w/a great, winning smile the whole time. My heart went out to Canada's Allysa Brown b/c I feel like my Canadian wife was one of the few really cheering her on. And, I was rooting for the champion underdogs from Columbia & Venezuela, too.
Here's Allysa Brown on the balance beam:
I was keeping my eyes & mind open for new ideas to try on a flying trapeze bar. So, w/that in mind, I took some videos of these incredible gymnasts on the uneven bars & high bar.
Here's Paul Hamm on the high bar:
Here's Nastia L. on the uneven bars:
Shawn Johnson on uneven bars:
I'm thinking of various bar tricks. Imagine a bar release trick involving a Layout w/a half twist to re-grab the bar. Or, imagine an B/E Uprise to a free hip circle casting up to a handstand/force out! Or, imagine a straddled Cut Away to re-grab the bar! Let's keep these in mind & develop them together...!
"I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it." - Pablo Picasso
Thursday, February 28, 2008, Brooklyn, NY
It was Layout central this evening w/our IFW...!
Both Suzanne M. & Maggie F. were both making very smooth Layout catches w/our Jeff L. I didn't have to bolster their swing heights nor kill it at all at catch point! They earned those catches all by themselves. I still have high hopes that Suzanne & others will adopt & adapt to my new swing technique. Kristy M. has the height & distance just right w/her Layout, but her pesky legs are still swinging right under her at catch point. No worries, Kristy, you'll conquer that soon enough.
Fresh from her trip to California where she flew w/Stephan G., Simon & (my very tough but wise, highly talented & highly experienced mentor) Janene D. She was making some nice catches OOM w/our Jeff. Prodigal flyer, Brandon R., recreated his B/E Straddle Whip catch & is gaining valuable experience w/his swing as well as w/his aerial & body awareness on the rig. Thais K. was successful in recreating her B/E Splits catch OOM. And, for the big news of the night: Molly G. made her 1st ever catch OOM! And, it happened to be her great Layout! LOL
Molly's 1st Layout catch OOM (Tivo view):
Molly's 3rd Layout catch OOM:
Molly's 3rd Layout catch OOM (Tivo view):
"To fly, we have to have resistance." - Maya Lin
Both Suzanne M. & Maggie F. were both making very smooth Layout catches w/our Jeff L. I didn't have to bolster their swing heights nor kill it at all at catch point! They earned those catches all by themselves. I still have high hopes that Suzanne & others will adopt & adapt to my new swing technique. Kristy M. has the height & distance just right w/her Layout, but her pesky legs are still swinging right under her at catch point. No worries, Kristy, you'll conquer that soon enough.
Fresh from her trip to California where she flew w/Stephan G., Simon & (my very tough but wise, highly talented & highly experienced mentor) Janene D. She was making some nice catches OOM w/our Jeff. Prodigal flyer, Brandon R., recreated his B/E Straddle Whip catch & is gaining valuable experience w/his swing as well as w/his aerial & body awareness on the rig. Thais K. was successful in recreating her B/E Splits catch OOM. And, for the big news of the night: Molly G. made her 1st ever catch OOM! And, it happened to be her great Layout! LOL
Molly's 1st Layout catch OOM (Tivo view):
Molly's 3rd Layout catch OOM:
Molly's 3rd Layout catch OOM (Tivo view):
"To fly, we have to have resistance." - Maya Lin
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