Dips, flips, spins, and falls were prevalent during last week’s performance by Little Apple Pilates’ Flight Risk Troup. Composed of eight women aged 18-60, the production was held at the Garage Bar at the corner of 5th and Lincoln Streets in Clay Center. Hammocks and cables hung from the ceiling, allowing the group to perform vertically – climbing and controlled falls – complete with artistic movements.
A story was told throughout the combination of individual performances and duets, with the theme of Love Through the Ages. It was narrated by Michelle Tessaro.
Clay County resident, Marcel Benninga performs with the Troup and has been practicing aerial skills for eight years.
“I saw a video of Pink, the singer, doing aerial and immediately I said, ‘I want to try that,’” she said. At the time, Benninga was practicing yoga and her instructor told her about a location in Manhattan offering the skill.
“I found out where it was, took one class and loved it,” she said, of Little Apple Pilates. “So I just kept going.”
Benninga attends classes at least once a week, sometimes twice before performances. She also has a hammock at home and another locally so she can keep up her skills. However, she said the one at home is only for strength and conditioning, as her home lacks the height to climb for larger moves.
“It’s a lot of upper body strength and a lot of core,” she said. “There was a learning curve building up those muscles; I’ve tried different exercises here and there, I did strong man competitions and like that. But aerial is just something that I felt like I could work out and have fun and that’s what hooked me.”
Benninga and others perform on a combination of devices, all affixed to a celing support beam. There’s the hammock, which is a loop of fabric that can be climbed and intertwined with the performer’s legs to achieve poses, turn flips, etc.
A lyra is a large hoop that hangs from a strip of fabric – Benninga performed on both during Cirque Du Clay. There is also a silk, which she said is the fabric portion without a loop.
Each is hung by a span set fasted to a ceiling support beam, rated to hold thousands of pounds. Next, a carabiner and swivel attach to the material, allowing performers to spin with ease; the equipment keeps the fabric from knotting, she said.
Benninga said the setup isn’t difficult, so long as the right equipment is in place.
As for the performing, that’s far more physical. In recent years, Benninga and the Flight Risk Troupe have performed at the Rex Theatre, as well as locations around Manhattan.
“You get burns and bruises doing this,” she said. “It’s pretty safe but I have fallen.” She said it’s more common with beginners who lack the upper arm strength to keep themselves in place. However, they are falling only a short distance.
“I like to get up there pretty high and fall; the first time you do some of the moves it’s like ‘Yeah I don’t know about that.’ The teachers are good about helping and doing walk-throughs and then once you let go it’s like, ‘Why didn’t I do that the first time?’ It’s a mind game sometimes.”
As a self-proclaimed “risk taker,” Benninga said it wasn’t long before she was climbing high and doing big aerial moves.
“The falls aren’t that hard but getting up into them can be harder because it’s effort to haul your body up that high; I love learning the new stuff. There’s so much to learn but it takes a while for your body to get it right.”
