An act of supreme strength
Stephen Heard ran away with circus-theatre troupe The Dust Palace for the ultimate mental and physical challenge.
‘ The most amazing thing about circus training is the unique combination of strength and flexibility required.’ EVE GORDON The Dust Palace co-founder
Ever noticed the physique of circus performers? There’s a reason they can pull off wearing exceptionally tight lycra. Performing extraordinary feats not only requires nerves of steel but superhuman endurance and strength. At Auckland’s The Dust Palace they practise a blend of circus and physical theatre, including aerial hoops, contortion and balancing on other people.
For this lesson I’d be learning the basics of aerial silks. The discipline uses two strips of long dangly fabric to suspend, fall, swing and perform graceful choreography above ground, without a harness. It was recommended I avoid wearing anything with metal or zips and to have the back of my knees covered. Before getting friendly with my crash mat, The Dust Palace cofounder Eve Gordon led me through a warmup. There were star jumps, yoga postures, and some general shaking and bending to limber up.
The first stage of aerial silks is getting up the suspended fabric. Eve demonstrated the French style of climbing with absolute ease. The technique involves wrapping one leg around the silk, extending the foot and stepping up with the other foot like a step ladder. The process is then repeated mid-air while lifting yourself up at the same time. Eve advised that the objective is to expel as little energy as possible. After a couple of relatively successful attempts, I’d done the opposite – my upper body was screaming. We’d barely even started.
The Russian style of climbing is more technical, using both feet to fold and manoeuvre the fabric. To everyone’s surprise I managed to throw the foot origami together on the first attempt, albeit a onemetre ascent. The next task was to pair those climbing techniques with several other motions above ground, including splitting the silk in two, shifting the torso through and taking one foot off the fabric. Then there was a crucifix-style pose held with just the arms and a no-hands alternative leaning back into a silk cocoon. The finesse was nil.
The final task was to attempt an inverted pose. In a perfect world, I’d lift myself upside down, fasten and hang onto the silk with one knee, thread the other leg twice and present myself like a trophy. Again, Eve made the process look simple. It definitely wasn’t. Once inverted, all focus went into not falling. While I managed to thread the second leg, the final product took some assistance. It finished in a sweaty heap on the crash mat – apparently where everyone ends up during their first attempt. It’s demanding both physically and mentally, yet very addictive. Eve says that circus training is a full body workout – the muscle fatigue that developed after my experience can definitely back that up. ‘‘The most amazing thing about circus training is the unique combination of strength PETER JENNINGS and flexibility required. If you want something that gives your physical youth longevity, circus is it.’’
It uses a combination of bodyweight exercises and isometric contractions – a form of contraction that sees the muscles tense but not change in length. Additionally, Eve says that a major benefit of circus training is increased confidence, ‘‘When you can hang on by one hand 5 metres in the air, you can’t help but trust yourself a little and feel good about it.’’ It’s no secret that circus training has a reputation for being dangerous. To combat injuries, The Dust Palace only ever trains over crash mats and has developed a grading system, similar to martial arts, so participants never complete anything outside of their current strength and flexibility – which minimises the risk of muscles tearing and ligament strains. thedustpalace.co.nz