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Month: 12
Year: 2009
| | We're Blogging
Posted on 12/23/2009 by Chelsea
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We facebooked. We myspaced. We twittered.
We even sent a letter or two.
We wanted a way to stay connected with YOU, and we found it. Welcome to the Aerial Angels' blog.
We've gathered our posts from years back, and what a ride it's been. So read away. And come back often for more from the Angels. Comment. Talk to us. We can't wait to hear from you. |
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Dear Friends of Aerial Angels,
As the fall Renaissance Festival season draws to a close, we are celebrating an incredible 2009! We developed Fallen at the University of Alaska, had our first audience for the indoor touring show Stand Up Eight , toured Eastern and Central Europe and Canada, and met amazing people along the way.
As we head into the off-season:
Luna is a Cirkus Princessan! "Thanks to everyone who voted for me online for the Cirkus Princessan 2009 Festival. I got selected for the Festival in Stockholm!" Luna performed with other female circus artists from all over the world and had a great time. "Djulia Mikhaylova won, and she deserved it!" See the winning act, Luna's act, and the other finalists on the Circus Princessan site. .
Isabella's publishing another play, The Scarlet Heart, through Theatrefolk. "The script is done and accepted, and I'm working through the support materials that teach actors the commedia dell'arte style of the play. I'm shooting for a January publication date, fingers crossed!"
Spike has started a new venture: Zay the Happy Hatter! Check out her site for cool holiday wear.
Frank's on a whirlwind tour, flying to Miami to train as an aerialist/dancer for a cruise ship show - catch him on the Norwegian Jewel this winter!
Mimi's taking time to travel and reconnect with friends.
Flame's teaching acrobatics and aerial classes at NECCA.
Flip's doing the audition rounds in LA.
Let us know how YOU'RE doing -the best answer gets a FREE winter hat from Zay the Happy Hatter! Your choice of kitty, wolf, rainbow lizard and many more. Send your answer to Chelsea@angelsintheair.com.
Renfest Season
Fall means Renaissance Festival season for the Aerial Angels. With a team at King Richard's in Massachusetts, the Maryland Renaissance Festival, and the Pennsylvania Renaissance Festival, the Angels have spent September and October in the Northeast (and Medieval Europe). They were happy to return to the company's roots, what Artistic Director Allison "Isabella" Williams calls "school for performers". Isabella began volunteering at Renfests at the age of fifteen. This crowd remains among her favorite to perform for. "I love that I get to play more with the audience, they're more willing to be part of the show - even from their seats - than street audiences, who are a little wary. Weather has been a huge challenge this year, but it's great to get the dedicated fans on rainy days that are up for something special and different - we love changing up the show!"
Frank remembers one particularly - uh - unusual day at the Maryland Renaissance Festival. "I did a handstand at the beginning of a show. On a scale of 1 to 10, it was probably a 6. The audience loved it though, and started clapping. Mimi wouldn't let them get away with it. She announces, 'Oh come on guys, make him earn the clap!' It took me a while before I realized what the audience was laughing at."
Canadians Beware: Angels Meet Dragons on November 11th
The Aerial Angels have been selected to appear in an upcoming episode of Dragons' Den, airing Wednesday, November 11th at 8 p.m. (8:30 p.m. in NFLD) on CBC Television. We hope our Canadian fans will catch the episode, dedicated to featuring memorable pitches from previous seasons of Dragons' Den. In case you're new to the Angels or haven't heard of the biggest thing to hit the circus arts since red noses: Last summer, the Aerial Angels pitched their "Big Show" idea to a panel of multi-millionaires. Brett Wilson invested $250,000 in Stand Up Eight (from the proverb, "fall down seven times, stand up eight"). Stand Up Eight combines the Angels' street and stage experience, performers interacting with and talking directly to the audience, but with a bigger budget allowing more technical, set and costume elements.
The show previewed in front of a live audience in May 2009. In 2010, Stand Up Eight begins its North American tour, bringing a unique mix of circus, athleticism, and powerful personal connections to theaters across Canada and the United States.
Six Questions with...MA "Mimi" Harrison
An Angel since 2006, MA has a BA in French Language and Literature and Music from Kalamazoo College. She wrote her thesis on French rap music, culture and politics...in French.
MA's background is in classical ballet, including the Metropolitan Dance Company and Michigan Ballet Theatre. She studied at summer programs with the Joffrey Ballet, Ballet Internationale and Pointe Park College. She discovered theatre in college and has played in Medea, A Dress for Mona, and Naga Mandala.
1. What do you do?
I do aerial, fire eating, partner acro, knitting, cooking and dancing.
2. Who is your favorite hero/heroine in literature?
The Lorax.
3. Do you have a motto to live by?
Anything worth doing is worth doing right.
4. Do you have a hidden talent?
I just found out that I can cut hair! (Just ask Frank!)
5. What item of clothing do you wear most often?
My Tinker Bell pajama shorts.
6. When you're on the road, what do you miss the most?
My cat and visiting my favorite Michigan beaches.
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Dear Friends of Aerial Angels,
After finishing up a whirlwind Canadian summer tour (read on to find out the naughty way we made $3000), the Angels will spend the fall in New England performing at King Richard's, Maryland, and the Pennsylvania Renaissance Festivals. We hope to see you with a turkey leg in hand! (Mmmm...tryptophan...) If you are receiving this message in horror, jump down to the bottom of the email to unsubscribe.
Angels Find Unprecedented Success at Waterloo Busker Carnival
The girls are back in town! In late August, the Aerial Angels completed an exhilarating summer tour of Canada at the Waterloo Busker Carnival in Ontario. The Angels were invited to present their signature "Naughty No No Show" as Waterloo's late-night adult performance, an annual benefit for the festival. Randy Warren, Director of Entertainment for the Busker Carnival, is grateful for the Angels' "polished, fun, and always unique" contribution. "In one word - outstanding! The show was fast paced, fun and had the perfect mix of adult entertainment in it. The audience votes with what they put in the hat, and with a hat of over $3,000, it was very clear people were thrilled and impressed with what they saw! The Naughty No No Show exceeded our expectations, wowed our audiences and contributed a nice sum of money to our starting budget for 2010."
Hoop, Silk and Trapeze Workshop Outside Boston - REGISTER NOW!
In this exciting, all-levels workshop, beginning aerialists will practice proper form while learning aerial holds, wraps and positions. Taught by Allison Williams, Artistic Director and founder of Aerial Angels, the class will start low and move upward with confidence, safety and fun! More advanced students will learn sequencing, multiple drops, and new ways to invent choreography and find inspiration for routines. The sessions are geared toward students 10 and up, but serious younger students may attend with instructor permission. This is a great opportunity for adults rediscovering circus or moving forward as aerial artists, as well as gymnasts who want to expand their skills and interested people of all ages. The workshop will be held at Tumble Time Gym in Pocasset, Massachusettes on Thursday evenings between October 1st and November 5th. For more information call Tumble Time at (508) 563-1200 or email Chelsea@angelsintheair.com.
Cassie Competes to Create Dream School
Cassie 'Miss Pussycat' Truskowski is on fire! An Aerial Angel since 2007, Cassie's skills include aerial silks and hoop, sideshow acts, burlesque, dance, equestrian arts, and fire-eating. Last summer, Cassie was the only woman extreme variety performer to make America's Got Talent...And she wasn't stopping! This summer, Cassie graced the cover of Revue Magazine's August "Hot" issue, and this week she begins performing for Grand Rapid's ArtPrize Competition. Her interactive show is "a dream that becomes reality, a world that opens all possibilities". If she wins the competition, Cassie will have the funds to start a circus school in Grand Rapids. "I want to give my gift to the world, and make its home in Grand Rapids." Cassie is currently teaching circus classes for Aerial Angels at For the Kidz Gym in Grand Rapids. Classes run Mondays and Wednesdays, and while the next session starts in October, drop-ins are always welcome. If you're in the area and want to join in, email Cassie at catraa@yahoo.com. If you don't catch up with Cassie at For the Kidz, she'll be performing every day at the B.O.B., fighting for her circus school. Watch the Aerial Angels schedule page for times!
Mask Workshops in Monaco
While you may know her better as 'Isabella' as she cracks the whip, swallows fire, and soars through the air, in her other life, Allison Williams is a noted mask and movement theatre artist. In August, Allison traveled to Monaco to offer mask workshops at the Mondial du Theatre festival. Doctor Roger Ellis of Grand Valley State University and the Grand Valley Shakespeare Festival serves on the Artistic Committee that extended the invitation. "The organizing committee of the Mondial sought a workshop leader with prestigious international experience, and someone specializing in physical theatre - mask, comedy, and characterization," says Ellis. Of her time in Monaco, Allison says, "The participants are 'amateur' in the original and best sense - here because they love theatre. And while I was challenged to explain exercises to a group of mixed ability and background, and to teach simultaneously in French and English with the help of my patient students who doubled as interpreters in both directions, I was also inspired by their work. The participants made joyful, open, unselfconscious and refreshing choices that expanded my work as well as theirs." |
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Dear Friends of Aerial Angels and Starfish Circus,
We have had an exhilarating summer! Our tour of central Europe was a success: learning to sputter out our hat line in the tongue of Alexander the Great, enjoying unique theatre (a castle was actually part of the set!), and performing daily against the beautiful backdrop of the Balkans. Visit our facebook to read our blog and check out pictures. Our summer continues with a Canadian tour. This week we move on to the Edmonton Fringe! Always on our minds is the fast-approaching North American tour of Stand Up Eight, which previewed outside Chicago in May. And through all this, we managed to keep up with the social networking demands of the time (and our fans) by getting ourselves addicted to Twitter.
Oh, Canada!
Isabella, Spike and Luna are returning to some old favorites and finding new places to love across Canada. Their tour began at the Calgary Street Performer's Festival, hometown of "Dragon's Den" entrepreneur and Stand Up Eight investor, Brett Wilson. The tour continues at interPLAY, the Edmonton Fringe Festival, and the Port Credit Busker Festival. They finish at the Waterloo Busker Carnival in Ontario where they'll perform their original Naughty No-No Show, a thrilling combination of spectacle, skill and sexy. The Naughty No-No Show sold out in Anchorage, Kalamazoo, and two years in a row at the London Fringe. This month, the Naughty No-No Show returns to Ontario for the first time in three years.
Stand Up Eight Videos Available
After a successful preview in May, Stand Up Eight begins its North American tour at the end of this year! Audiences raved about Stand Up Eight. "Gut-wrenching". "One of the best shows I've seen." "I really liked getting to know the people. It was really incredible to hear their story." Have you ever seen aerial hoop in ice skates? Someone escape from inside a piano? The tongue-to-tongue (eight tongues in all) fire transfer? Watch a series of clips from the preview on You Tube by clicking here.
The Angels are Twittering
The Aerial Angels have joined Twitter! You can follow our feed: AerialAngels. We look forward to keeping up with our friends. We'll keep you posted with our tour schedules, new projects, and the next time we eat a sandwich. |
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We hope you are eating lots of watermelon and wearing lots of sunscreen! Summer is a busy season, as always, for the Aerial Angels. If you are joining our newsletter, welcome! If you've been with us this year, you'll notice this one looks a lot cooler than the rest. We just couldn't bear the one-size-fits-all templates. In true Angels fashion, we made our own.
Angels in Central and Southeastern Europe
Isabella, Mimi, and Frank begin their European tour in late May at the Skopje Buskerfest, an International Multicultural Street Art Festival in Macedonia. The entire event, like other traditional festivals of its kind, is free to spectators. Entertaining in front of the beautiful backdrop of the Balkans, the Angels share cobblestones with street performers from all over the world. Next, the Aerial Angels move to Montenegro for the Budva Buskerfest, currently in its second year. Its inaugural year saw 50 participants from more than 15 countries. After another week in Croatia at the Shibenik Buskerfest, the Angels move to Austria for the Festival Fantastika in Freistadt and the Muhlviertler Speckdackel, before returning to the states in mid-July to continue a busy summer schedule on this side of the pond. Meanwhile, Luna, Spike, Flame and Miss Pussykatt perform at the Flint Institute of Art in Michigan and for the Teamsters at Chateau Laurier in Ottawa, Canada.
Angels Performing at Historic Chateau Laurier
Aerial Angels is delighted to be partnering with Capital DMC events management in Ottawa for performances at the Teamsters' dinner at the Chateau Laurier, a landmark hotel in downtown Ottawa, a designated heritage property constructed in the early 1900s. Built with the classic Canadian copper roof, the Chateau has hosted luminaries such as Nelson Mandela and Shirley Temple. In our second appearance there, we're glad we already know how to set up the rig under the lovely antique ceiling.
Stand Up Eight
STAND UP EIGHT IS A LIVING, BREATHING SHOW! Stand Up Eight (from the proverb, "fall down seven times, stand up eight") and known to some of our friends as "The Big Show", premiered as a work in progress, complete with slow-motion finale as we sorted out complex rigging and flight cues, in front of a live audience May 21st and 22nd at Northern Illinois University. We chose Dekalb in order to work with Tracy Nunnally of Halls Flying FX, a giant in the stunt flying world. Partnering with Tracy, we are developing a flight act never before seen in a circus or theatre production. The show will be completed and the tour officially begins in November. We will perform all over North America and we would love nothing more than to see friendly faces in our audiences. Watch www.angelsintheair.com and your inbox for our schedule as it becomes available. If you think we should come to a 700-2500 seat performing arts center near you, email the center's name, your name, and your city to chelsea@angelsintheair.com - if we book it, you get a pair of free tickets! |
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| | Macedonia: The Language Bridge - Macedonian is more difficult than any language I have ever encountered, and I m including Czech and Japanese. For starters, it s written with the Cyrillic alphabet, like Russian, and there s just enough letters that look like the Roman alphabet to ma
| 06/02/2009 | | | Macedonia: The Language Bridge - Macedonian is more difficult than any language I have ever encountered, and I'm including Czech and Japanese. For starters, it's written with the Cyrillic alphabet, like Russian, and there's just enough letters that look like the Roman alphabet to ma
| 06/02/2009 | | | Night. Eastern Europe. Yes, the Toilet Paper is Still Communist. - We landed in Amsterdam this morning and Sofia this afternoon, where we meet Charlie, who is to drive us the four hours through Bulgaria to Macedonia. After claiming our two bundles of eight foot pipes, bundle of four foot pipes, hoop, and gear bags,
| 06/02/2009 | | | For the Busy Stand Up Eight Fan - Our 90-second promotional video by the talented Rachel Peters. For more, see rachelcpeters' channel on Youtube.
| 05/28/2009 | | | Stand Up Video - Our incredibly talented friend and colleague, Rachel Peters, visited our Dekalb premiere. She made us some promo videos! Check them out.
And read about her visit.
| 05/28/2009 | | | And Now There's An Audience... - How did the past month go so fast? Where did the time go? Here we are. Tonight there will be an audience. Tonight there will be reaction (hopefully) gasps (hopefully) and applause (would be nice). It was almost a year ago that Allison and Zay went on
| 05/21/2009 | | | Everybody Eats Fire Now! - In a moment of insanity, Lindsay the dramaturg bet the cast that when they got the tongue to tongue to tongue fire transfer for the Fire Party Act, SHE would learn how to eat fire.
So they did, and she did.
(Pssssst, she always knew they'd get it)
| 05/20/2009 | | | Not Every Day Goes According to Plan - Today was supposed to be a flying day. It wasn't.
Flying is the finale. The big deal. The big picture. The thing that's never been done. Never been staged. Never been worked on. The thing we should have started working with way back on Thursday. Did
| 05/18/2009 | | | We Are in the Building - Stand Up Eight has traveled to Dekalb where the show will be performed next week. We are in the theatre.
The next step in the adventure begins. The lights are being hung and focused. The magnitude of the trampoline and tramp wall is being dis
| 05/15/2009 | | | Stand Up Eight Is Ready For An Audience! - After years of dreaming, developing, begging, and rehearsing, Stand Up Eight is ready for an audience. We would love to see you, our loyal friends, in the house. If you know others in the Chicago area who'd enjoy the show, pass this email along to th
| 05/14/2009 | | | Warming Up - Everyone warms up in their own way before a run. Except the stage manager who looks askance at being on camera....
| 05/13/2009 | | | Whip Boy and Whip Girl - Allison and Brett work on their whip routine.
| 05/12/2009 | | | All Hail Brett - So today's post was going to be about silks. But someone (Brett) thinks there are too many pictures of silks and someone (Brett) thinks there's not enough pictures of others (Brett).
So today, we offer you a tribute of other people in Stand Up Eight
| 05/11/2009 | | | Something Worth Watching - And another week begins at Stand Up Eight rehearsals. We have four days left in Grand Rapids and then the whole troupe moves to Dekalb. We work for a full week in the theatre the show will be in, which is awesome.
There are many pieces to this puzzl
| 05/10/2009 | | | More Tramp Wall - A unique view of Brett on the Tramp Wall.
| 05/08/2009 | | | And then the piano rolls in - Kim and Richard worked all day long on their acro routine for Act Two in Stand Up Eight.
It's going to take place around and ON a grand piano.
Very cool. Even without the piano and in the middle of the gym, the moves the two were practising looked
| 05/07/2009 | | | The Stuntman and The Comedian - So the comedian makes it look funny.....
And the stuntman makes it look painful....
Or is it always funny?
| 05/06/2009 | | | Richard and the Splinter -
| 05/06/2009 | | | Que Pasa? - What does this picture mean? What is happening? Why is everyone gathered around? Hmmm, if only there were a video to explain the situation! Stay tuned....
| 05/05/2009 | | | Fire! - Not everyone in Stand Up Eight has worked with fire before. There are some fire newbies.
In the show, everyone will have to extinguish a torch in their mouth.
And the finale of the act is a tongue, to tongue, to tongue transfer.
That's righ
| 05/05/2009 | | | Lyra..... AND skates? -
| 05/04/2009 | | | Brett and Richard Play with the Trampoline Wall -
| 05/03/2009 | | | Rehearsal Strap Video for Stand Up Eight Finale -
| 05/02/2009 | | | What do you mean it's only been THREE days??? - Three days can feel like ninety when you're working your butt off. But, ha, it's all paying off.
There would have been pictures of newbie fire eaters Brett, Misti and Sam swallowing fire for the first time (YAY) ..... if we hadn't spent so much tim
| 05/01/2009 | | | Tramp Wall, Tramp Wall, Tramp Wall! - Day Two.
It's amazing to see how in just one day those working on the tramp wall have improved.
After their time on the wall, Richard talked about the tramp wall becoming less of a work out and more fun.
We can't wait to see where they are in a we
| 04/30/2009 | | | And Stand Up Eight begins! - There's nothing like diving into the deep end of the pool! Today marks the first day of rehearsal for Stand Up Eight - and the first act we worked on was the Aerial Silks Party.
The aerial silks section of the show is going to be fun, fun, fun.
| 04/29/2009 | | | April Showers - NEWS:
Cirque du K, Kalamazoo College's circus club, debuted their second main stage performance on March 15th in the Dalton Theatre. MAERD (dream spelled backwards!) incorporated a cast of ten student performers and was a great success. Skill
| 04/23/2009 | | | Summer 2009, Here We Come! - Last week, Kitty and Mimi were joined by special guests Brett and Dan for some serious training to whip ourselves into shape and learn new skills for the upcoming shows and season. Oh boy, just you wait until you see what we came up with. Of course
| 04/15/2009 | | | Young Hearts Be Free Tonight - Happy Valentine's Day! We hope this finds you wading into 2009 with fun and excitement!
2008 saw the Angels travel farther than ever, with exceptionally notable events and festivals at home and abroad and incredible people along the way. We were tou
| 02/14/2009 | | | Midsummer in Florida! - To kick off 2009, Isabella and Todd Espeland of Commedia Zuppa are in Winter Park, Florida avoiding truly cold weather and directing twenty-four Rollins College theatre students in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. And, as can b
| 02/12/2009 | | | The off-season? - So the winter is what we at the Aerial Angels like to call the "off-season" because it's the time of year when we stop driving or flying upwards of 2 hours at least twice a week to perform all over the country and the world. This is our time to rela
| 02/03/2009 | | | Aerial Angels on Dragon's Den Online Now! - Hey there all - our episode of Dragons' Den airs Monday night on CBC. However, we have access to a "sneak peek" and you can watch the episode online now! We are at the very end of the episode, and I recommend watching the opening credits so that you
| 10/06/2008 | | | Splish Splash in Maryland - This Sunday at the Maryland Renaissance Festival the Aerial Angels found themselves in awe of some other worthy performers. They gave an adorable, unexpected performance of splash-tacular proportions.
This performance was made possible because, at
| 09/30/2008 | | | Merry in Maryland - ~also from Flip
Greetings all!
It has been three weeks since Flip, Peanut, Sparkle and Mimi began our performances at the Maryland Renaissance festival. So far it has been a pretty exciting run. The show is different, it's more of an artistic nat
| 09/24/2008 | | | How to Survive the Eastside of NYC in a traffic jam in the driving rain - So imagine this: You've just had your FIRST DAY OFF in 43 days. In fact, you've just had 5 consecutive days off, and you've spent your treasured time with your blooming romance in NC. 5 blissful days of vaca and now you're en route to KRF where a bea
| 09/16/2008 | | | Halifax Champs! - We were so pleased to be runners-up for the Audience Choice Award at the Halifax Busker Festival! The largest (and one of the most prestigious) busker festival in North America, Halifax had a terrific line-up this year - we were honored to come secon
| 09/05/2008 | | | A Blue Team Summer - Hello Aerial Angels' fans! Flame here. You may remember me from such events as King Richard's Faire 2007, the Alaska 2008 extravanganza and the Spring 2008 Southeastern Tour de Force. Up until now, you have known me as the number 3 - the shadow, t
| 08/27/2008 | | | London - Every gig has a schedule. In Dublin, we headed down to the pitch around noon to warm up for a 1PM show, got some yogurt along the way, said hello to fellow performers at the festival, threw down three shows hour-on-hour-off, then took the minibus to
| 07/19/2008 | | | Singapore: Signs and Portents - Here's what makes Spike nervous:
Chopsticks
Food poisoning
Hepatitis
Here's what makes Isabella nervous:
Meals without napkins
The death penalty
Squat toilets
...let's go to Singapore!
Spike and I roamed London Heathrow preflight, changing the 2kg
| 07/09/2008 | | | Mimi the Brilliant! - Aerial Angels congratulates Company Member MA Harrison (Mimi) on graduating with high honors from Kalamazoo College. MA has been working really, really hard on her Senior Individual Project (big deal at K-College) and has a 90 page thesis paper writt
| 06/30/2008 | | | Postcard from Ireland - After the Street Performer World Championships in Dublin, Spike and I have fetched up in Camden, London, at the flat of Sparky Mark (Senor Chainsaw I realize these stage names mean nothing to most of you, but if you keep a picture in your head of a
| 06/21/2008 | | | No-One Can Smell You On TV - Dragon's Den Day. The Triple D. Aerial Angels Spike and Isabella are headed into Toronto to pitch our Big Show idea in front of a panel of Canadian multi-millionaire investors who will decide then and there whether to shower us with buckets of cash,
| 06/10/2008 | | | Overheard/Overseen at the Dundas Busker Festival - ...Star, Isabella, Spike and Rachel Peters (pavement artist and the graphic designer of our lovely new website) learning to say "Spike is a small grapefruit!" and "Star wants to know where is the library of my aunt!" in French, for the sake of having
| 06/08/2008 | | | How to Have a Good, no, Great, no, FANTASTIC Show! - As the head Aerial Angel, newer performers often ask me for advice on how to turn their shows from "ok" to "FANTASTIC!" I'd like to share some of those little tricks that work for myself and the other Senior Company Members, in hopes that they will h
| 06/07/2008 | | | New Site, New Show, New Summer - Exciting News from Aerial Angels!
The new website is up - check it out at www.angelsintheair.com!
* * *
Aerial Angels will be on the Canadian reality TV show Dragon's Den! The show features entrepreneurs
| 05/31/2008 | | | Chains don't love you back - Aerial fabric is hurty. Rope burns, wrapping up so tight you can't breath, sliding down too fast for your hands.
But hey, nothing says fun like a challenge. So I get a set of aerial chains. I've seen them around, tried Silea's in Germany, watched so
| 05/15/2008 | | | On the Road, On the Road, and On the Road Some More... - ~Also from Isabella and Spike
Six states, two countries, several flights and 24 hours of driving in four days - a snapshot of the Aerial Angels Southeastern Tour 2008.
Friday and Saturday found Spike, Isabella, Star, Flame and guest hamster Rikki t
| 05/07/2008 | | | Alaska Take Three! - So the first day of our Alaksa Adventure, take 3, was greatly influenced by the wind. 12 hours of travel and 4 time zones post birthday celebrations, we arrive in Anchorage, which is a lot like Michigan's weather, but with less sun. Exhausted, giddy,
| 02/28/2008 | | | Short Video of Starfish Circus - Click here!
Made by a local newspaper - this shows a bit of what we are doing!
"(Not so) high wire" my behind :)
| 01/16/2008 | | | New Entry - All my conditioning has to get done in the hotel room, at this point in the process the kids are good enough to lead each other in abs and arms while I sort out the costume dispute, send the stage manager to call the welding guy and find out why we d
| 01/15/2008 | | | What I Did On My Day Off - Performing in St. Augustine
| 01/14/2008 | | | In Praise of Dance Belts...Day Four. - The boys have mostly all had to buy dance belts. It's like thong underwear crossed with an athletic supporter. They are always surprising to the first-time wearer ("Wait a minute, that thing goes where?").
They run down the hall, first upright, the
| 01/09/2008 | | | Day One - We work in two rehearsal periods, each two hours long, each with about 35 kids. They're in groups - first we see acrobats, poi spinners and clowns, the clowns departing to another space with Todd to learn rolling globe and rolla bolla and balancing o
| 01/05/2008 | | | Seventy Six Children - No, really. SEVENTY SIX children in the latest incarnation of Starfish Circus, down here at Douglas Anderson School for the Arts in Jacksonville. And we still turned away fifty more - sorry, guys.
We're down here in sunny-yet-freezing Florida, havin
| 01/03/2008 | | | First Show - We conditioned during the carols at the end of the show, and then joined everyone on stage for Silent Night. Quite moving when the piano dropped out and the soloists went off mic and everyone just sang, the audience to us and we to them, casual cloth
| 12/23/2007 | | | Easy/Hard - The scary part is not performing at 35 feet. Or flying around the room on the silks while the winch takes me to 45 feet and back down again, which is in fact incredible and easy and fun.
The scary part is climbing through and over the catwalk raili
| 12/16/2007 | | | Getting It - Bela Karolyi was famous for his little nicknames. Betty Okino was a "fat spider". Mary Lou Retton was a "fat dwarf". He carried Kerri Strug in his arms off the floor, he urged her to make the second vault that (we sort of overlook) didn't actually ma
| 12/10/2007 | | | Honoring Michael Carl O'Neil - We were saddened to hear that Canadian busker Michael Carl O'Neil passed away in October.
Luna, Spike and I met Michael at the St John's Busker Festival in New Brunswick this summer. He was a fantastic performer - an amazing human statue and a hilar
| 12/09/2007 | | | Better than alone at the drive-in - I go to the gym. It's the day after Thanksgiving, haven't gained anything yet, but it's never to early to anticipate...I'm meeting Miss Pussycat and there's an insane open gym filled with the children of Black Friday shoppers.
Instead, all is dark a
| 11/23/2007 | | | Cue James Bond Theme... - So after dropping in on a rope class, I go home to shower before flying out while Spike and Luna take a straps class. Rope class was great - I got a bunch of new moves and worked on fine-tuning bascule climb, dive, and a big rotating drop that's lik
| 11/14/2007 | | | Run for the Border... - So in contrast with last week's adventure...
I was xing into Canada. Had the ole passport open and ready. The guard didn't even look up at me.
"And where do you live?"
Spike: Michigan
"And what's your business in Cananda?"
Spike: Passing through
| 09/06/2007 | | | Fruit vs. Customs - SO... (Insert apology for lack of blogging here) ... I'm crossing the border into the US, having dropped off Luna at the airport, the rig at Rachel Peters, and my garbage into the proper duty-free provided receptacle.
Rewind to Orangeville: the gig
| 09/04/2007 | | | We love the Canadian Border! - Ahhh.clearly Max and Lady used up all the Angels' border-crossing karma. Luna, Spike and I made our way towards New Brunswick, crossing into Canada once at Detroit/Windsor, where we were stopped briefly for the usual "Hi, this is who we are, this is
| 07/27/2007 | | | Canada- A brief in notation form. - "It's like French Toast, foreign French Toast." -Max on his first encounter with tofu
Crossed the border seven times in five days and were not sent to customs once.
Total time crossing border, less than 30min.
Cannot avoid belligerent drunken Amer
| 07/09/2007 | | | CANADA, CASTLES, and ALLERGIES - Co-written by Flip~
Things we've learned so far:
-You must change your voice mail BEFORE you hit the border to Canada... it only took luna four or five tries.
-One must bring a cargo net and duct tape to get a rolling globe on top of a car
-Every
| 03/12/2007 | | | Oh, Toronto Nothing Punny. - So Isabella and I have journeyed to our neighbor to the North to "audition" before Ag Fairs of Ontario. Once again we got stopped at the border, but it was a relatively painless visit. We're getting to know the border office officers, and they are st
| 02/17/2007 | | | Strange Dream - The adventures of Super Spike-
I had a very peculiar dream last night involving a New Years Eve gig in a big city and some has-been actress going to maybe or maybe not blow up a part of the city. I happened to be in the room where she was recording
| 02/13/2007 | | | Boot camp kicks my BOOTY - AHHHHHH is all I can really say about boot camp. It was hard, hurty, sweet, fun, and absolutely amazing. It was fun to have new people join us Angels at camp this time. I enjoyed watching them learn and try new things as we did the same. It was also
| 01/06/2007 | | | Oh God It's Day Four - Friday. Or as I like to think of it, the LONG day. We went until 6:30 today instead of 4:30 because we had the gym and tomorrow is a short day. So it was great, and by great I mean exhausting and painful. But still great!
We spent the morning stret
| 01/05/2007 | | | Training Camp Day Three - Today was a bit of a take-it-easy day - it's the middle day, we're all tired and full of stiff muscles! Focused on hoop/lyra this morning, with some free aerial time, then after lunch we tumbled and had more aerial and ground skills time, then ate fi
| 01/04/2007 | | | Training Camp Day Two - Well, they're all in bed tonight...9PM and the house was dark and silent except for little old me - so tired I was weeping in the shower. Fortunately, my dear one will be slathering me with Tiger Balm before bed.
Great aerial time this morning - eve
| 01/03/2007 | | | Training Camp Day One - So we gathered in the gym this morning for training camp. Well - everyone else gathered, I was still up a 32-foot extension ladder, finishing rigging. You'd be amazed how many aerialists are afraid of heights!
Spent the morning on silk in a begin
| 01/02/2007 | | | Ahh, the holiday - I love Christmas. Specifically, I love cooking. I hit the grocery store at midnight on the way back from Cleveland last night and picked up a few necessaries...and thought, OK, I'm going to make a mincemeat pie - have to make, very hard to find in
| 12/24/2006 | | | Autumn time - Know what I like about Thanksgiving weekend? It's my big stay-home holiday. After working every weekend since the beginning of February and spending the last 4 1/2 months more or less continuously on the road, I have spent seven straight days letti
| 11/30/2006 | | | Chiggers! - I have chiggers.
Many of you may be wondering, "what the heck is that?" and so, I, the wikipedia informed Spike, a victim of supreme discomfort and master of all matters relating to the current plague, shall educate you.
Chiggers are little red bug
| 11/17/2006 | | | Flip goes to London - Thursday, November 09, 2006
Over the past weekend I have had the wonderful opportunity to compete in London at the David Ward Cup competition. There were teams from all over the world that attended. London of course was everything I expected; beau
| 11/9/2006 | | | Arrested Development, anyone? (or, the curse continues...) - So we are staying in the Model Home of the new CENTRAL PARK Condominiums. In two of the model homes, actually. I feel like we're on arrested development. We have this great flat screen TV. It only gets the nature channel and never turns off. Also, no
| 11/04/2006 | | | Are We There Yet? - So a shout-out to my peeps at the BWI Microtel for listening to our sad story about the no hot water until two AM and then not just giving us a credit but a full refund. Thank you, Brenda, you've restored my faith in American commerce.
I drove in m
| 10/29/2006 | | | All work and no play make Jack a dull boy. - All work and no play make Spike a dull spike. All work and no play make Jack a dull rhino. Spike and Lady found themselves. They were lost on super underground Gov't property. Just searching for a Walmart. Spike, Lady, and Isabella covered themselves
| 10/28/2006 | | | Return of the Sunshine King or Sing for Your Supper - Today Lady, Isabella and I went "down to the docks" and ate fire for fishermen in exchange for soft shell crabs.
It rocked.
So did the crab. Yum.
| 10/19/2006 | | | Paid to play - So Just Vince tells me this wonderful quote over the phone from a story on a Colts player:
"I'm paid to practice. Playing is what I'd do for free. That's the fun part. What I get checks for is all the time I spend preparing to play."
I'm misquoti
| 10/19/2006 | | | Big Fun in the Big Apple - Thank you, Heathers fans.
So Lady, Isabella & I made a trip into Manhattan yesterday - and what a glorious day it was! Sunny, warm, a slight breeze blowing through my braided hair (guess who has SAD?) and an excellent day for gathering show supplie
| 10/19/2006 | | | My Life as a Rennie - So the van - yeah, the van - I've been sleeping in in Maryland is in for surgery. Remind me to send flowers. Here's hopin the car doc takes pity on Moby Dick and gives the inside a facelift - maybe supercharges the electric blankets so that next w
| 10/17/2006 | | | Riders and Rock Stars - We're making our Rock Star list.
You know, that list of things that should be provided for you at a gig? It's usually called a "rider" because it's an extra page (or two, or five) of your contract. Of course, there's the bare minimum - a dressing/wa
| 10/02/2006 |
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