NO CLOWNS AT THIS CIRCUS
Marianne Schwankhart finds a potent workout with a terrifying twist
IMAGINE hanging upside down with your feet hooking onto a pole, two metres up. Using your hands to push away from the pole, you let go and tumble down, landing safely on your feet.
It took a second for me to realise I’d just done it — and was not lying in a broken pile on the floor.
After a month of training with Sircusynergy, a contemporary acrobatic circus class, I had mastered the basic aerial techniques on the trapeze, lira, silks and raw pole.
It’s a bit like an adults’ jungle gym — although you’re playing among IT consultants, asset managers and logistics gurus.
Orlando and Natalie Vargas, who devised this form of training, were performers in the first Madame Zingara show in 2007. They want to bring performance art to everyone — even those who have no trace of grace.
The techniques they teach are based on the Cirque du Monde (“circus of the world”), a project designed by the renowned Cirque du Soleil to bring the circus experience to ordinary people.
Sircusynergy is a commercial spin-off from this project, and open to anyone interested in exploring their limits.
“It’s a safe environment, with big mats and people spotting you, (catching you should you fall)” says Orlando, who hails from Santiago in Chile. “At some point you will get hurt, but you have to just keep going, and you’ll do what you never thought possible.”
He is right. I made friends with pain and bruises very quickly once I realised the potential when you let go of your fear. Trusting in what you’re told is the key to the next level. And as you progress, the bruises lessen.
A typical lesson starts with warm-up and strengthening exercises, co-ordination and cardio, then we practise aerial techniques on apparatus, with a lot of upside-down and sideways movements, swinging, pointing toes and engaging core and mind.
Marco Vargas, Orlando’s younger brother, is a master at pole acrobatics. He moves with absolute precision and control and, although his performance looks physically perfect, he reckons he needs to “grow his head space” to sync with his body.
When this happens, he’ll join Cirque du Soleil. • Sircusynergy costs from R100 for a drop-in class to R700 for 12 classes per month. Call 072 034 4408 or visit sircusynergy.co.za.