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| | On the Road, On the Road, and On the Road Some More...
Posted on 05/07/2008 by Flame
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~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 teaching partner acrobatics, hoop, trapeze and silk to hundreds of high school theatre students at the Florida State Thespian Festival in Tampa. They lined up hours in advance for the limited-participation part of the workshop, and cried, complained, and fought with each other to get into the room. Finally, the smartest ones realized that bribery was the only answer and carried heavy rig pieces back and forth for us.
By the end of the Saturday workshops, muscles were sore and voices nearly gone, but spirits were high. Students who originally whined about ending up in the much larger partner acrobatics group instead of the smaller climbing groups came back to learn more and show off their new routines, and the climbers proudly displayed rope burns to their friends. Ahhh, circus.
Sunday morning, deployment began. Star went home to Lakeland, Flame, Isabella and Spike headed out to historic St. Augustine, the oldest city in North America, and home to the delicious Casa Monica Hotel Brunch. Because nothing says Sunday Morning like grits and creme brulee. The weather was gorgeous, the crowds much larger than we expected on short notice, and we had a great time messing with the angry "Ban the Adult Entertainment District" sign-holding lady. Clearly excited to take advantage of our crowd for a political statement, she shyly hid behind her sign when we directed focus her way. Funny, we thought the whole point was to be looked at. After we hugged each other as a bit, one of our teddy-bear-shaped male audience members requested his own hug, and Isabella quipped, "We're starting our own Adult Entertainment District right here." Other highlights included the sun burning into our retinas for partner acrobatics, wind blowing the silk out of our hands, and the angriest blogger in the world (don't ask.) However, we got so much positive feedback from the audience, kids showing us their acrobatic tricks, and excitement about the revival of street performing in St. Augustine, we definitely want to come back.
Deployment continued. Flame attended The Longest Most Boring Graduation In The World (diploma recipients were nodding off on the platform), and Spike and Isabella headed for Daytona to teach a silks workshop to a group of liturgical dancers. It was such a pleasure to work with performers who had a movement vocabulary and the fitness level to express it in the air.
And then...oh God, and then...
Flame takes an evening's respite in Daytona!
Spike and Isabella drive off to Atlanta, arrive at 4:30AM, check in and pay the Nastiest Airline Ever (I won't say who, but it rhymes with Smelta) SIX HUNDRED AND TEN DOLLARS in oversize, overweight baggage fees, dash to our favorite Lost Boy's house for three hours' sleep and a load of laundry, get on a plane to Canada, and arrive so tired that Spike attempts to brush her teeth with the tube of toothpaste, and Isabella can't figure out why the faucet is dispensing soap onto her hand instead of water!
Spike and Isabella continue to the National Gallery of Canada. At this point, they are so exhausted that they can't tell you much about the evening, other than:
1) We spent longer getting into and out of statue makeup than we actually spent as statues
2) If you're so tired you can't pull up, just put your feet to your head and the audience will never notice
3) There were lamb wraps. Yum...lamb wraps...
Spike and Isabella spent a token ten minutes before bedtime with the relatives we stayed with. Meanwhile, back in Atlanta...
Flame discovers that traveling with an infant means the Daytona-Atlanta run takes four hours longer than you might expect. She picked up the car in Atlanta and headed for Little Rock, arriving at 7AM.
Spike, Flame and Isabella converge at the lavish Airport Travelodge, dine sumptuously on OJ and donuts in plastic wrap, and head out to Eureka Springs, Arkansas.
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