Aerialists are a special bunch. Bruises are badges of honor and sore muscles are a daily reminder of our secret lives (away from the daily grind of our jobs and life responsibilities). Aerialists come in all shapes, sizes, and skill levels. But one thing unites us: circus.
7 Things Every Aerialist Knows About Doing Circus
The aerial arts (or as I like to call it: circus) are a combination of many different apparatus. Aerialists play on hoops, trapezes, poles, straps, silks, ropes, and hammocks. And we each end up loving an apparatus more than another.
But if you’ve been doing circus for one day or for years, every aerialist begins to notice these things.
1. Wide shoulders reign the scene.
Get a glimpse of any aerialist who’s been doing aerial for a few years, and you’ll see SHOULDERS. No way can you spend hours hanging off of apparatuses and not have shoulders. The fun part is the stories of how aerialists tend to bust out of their shirts in the shoulders. #askyourteacher
2. Bruises appear in the oddest places.
Have you ever had a bruise on your upper, inner arm? How about your pubic bone? Or maybe the back of your knee? Not only do the bruises show up in odd places, but they also look different. I’ve had bruises that appear like a trail of dots across my arm!
3. Our grip strength is like a pitbull’s bite.
Grip is a part of every move in aerial, from gripping with hands to gripping with knee-pits and elbow-pits. After all, that grip is keeping us from falling. If you need to work on grip, join the circus.
4. Watch out for the circus kisses.
Circus hurts. Aerialists know it better than anyone (so tuck in your shirt). We have silk burn, ripped skin, and strap cuts on our skin. And we’re proud of these marks. It usually means we did a super cool trick that you gaped at.
5. Crowds love a split in the air.
We know that splits are neat, but of all the circus tricks we’ve performed, a split is usually our chance to catch a breather. It’s easy. But crowds go wild for splits and barely blink an eye at the truly difficult tricks. Want applause, pop into a split!
6. Aerialists say the weirdest things.
Out of context, some of the things we say sound weird. For example, my teacher once yelled at me to “bite it with your crotch.” Context: I was trying to do a trick and drag my foot towards my butt. And that’s the type of funny things you’ll hear in nearly every class.
7. Your nerve endings will die.
Everything is pinchy in circus. And some of the tricks and moves we do HURT. But our bodies are super cool and can grow calloused to the pain. Some things might never feel good, but they’ll hurt less. And besides, you’ll be doing a super cool move.