CANOPY

Once again we went to an exhibition of young aerialists from the Canopy studio here. As I sat watching, I thought how much like a gym it is. Though mostly for women/girls, more boys seem to be getting interested in the acrobatics part.

Anyway, it was fun to see the students perform.

The first act was a troop of older boys who did calisthenics and trapeze exercises to music. They were quite good, but I failed to get a picture of them. Too bad, because there was a floor-pounding sequence that was quite exciting. Afterward, the older girls demonstrated their abilities. This particular act featured six girls on what looked like a metal gate-like structure. They hung and swayed and climbed in perfect harmony while we watched from below:

This act garnered the most applause though it was not nearly as high off the floor. I believe the acrobat is from Canopy's Outreach program, and she did an amazing job. The other students seemed so proud of her, clapping and hugging her afterward. Notice she has her teacher on the side coaching and encouraging.

There were other acts, but the less experienced acrobats had to wait till the next day to have their moment in the spotlight. These younger students (I'd guess anywhere from four to twelve) were just as entertaining as their older colleagues.

Hard not to marvel as the strength and grace of all these students!


PS - If anyone wants to help Canopy's Outreach program that enables kids (who normally couldn't) to participate, donations are always welcome.

Canopy Studio
160-6 Tracy Street
Athens   GA   30601

AERIAL DANCE

Last weekend we went to an aerial/trapeze dance exhibition. Little girls used to take tap and ballet but nowadays they've branched out! This is something you usually see in circuses but now it's found a place in everyday life!

The ones we saw use trapezes and hanging silk ropes. They did some amazing postures and poses, including swinging by their legs and/or feet and falling, only to have the silk catch them.

This duo shared a trapeze and at one point, had one girl supporting the other with her knees, among other difficult feats. Amazing!

Then we come to the silks. They're two long panels of silk that the performer climbs, holding up a loop and putting a foot in it, then repeating until she's in the air. Then she uses brute strength to go through various poses.

Here's another silks performer. I wish the camera could have captured one movement where the silks are wrapped around the body and then the performer suddenly drops several feet. It was quite spectacular!

And this is a group performing on the silks. You can see how the performer has to have upper body strength, lower body strength, and core body strength to do all these stunts.

An amazing show, considering they were all kids who'd only been taking trapeze a few years!

We saw this spring exhibition at the Canopy Studio in Athens, GA, but I learned the founders have moved to the coast near us where they've constructed a large studio and give classes and workshops.

Not that I'll be taking any, thank you very much!

WOMEN'S GYM

On the outside, nestled close to railroad tracks, the place looks like an old warehouse. Stepping inside, it turns into a classroom for canopy students. The same feel, appearance, and odors mark it as a gym. But where most people go to exercise and box and lift weights, this gym is for aerial students. Most of them are female. So it's like a gymnasium for women!

This photo shows two classes going on. Trapeze class is in the front and the silks class (the pink and blue streamers) is toward the back.

Here is a closeup of some trapeze students:

And here are the silks students behind the trapeze students:

And here is a closeup of a silk student in the air:

If they fall, they have a thick mat on the floor but no nets. Scary, huh? Don't know if I'd be brave enough to try it!