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Disa's ACA Diary 2006 |
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I think that maybe, just maybe, it’s starting to sink in that I’m going to circus school. Greg and Ann met me at the airport when I landed; they talked and talked and talked. It was so funny. Literally. I laughed for a half an hour straight. They told me all these stories about past students and about each other and about England in general. I felt at home almost right away, like I’d known these people forever. So. Where should I start? Basically where we’ve been the past few days is settling (sorta) into a pattern. We wake up and eat breakfast, then have to be in the tent to start training. First we warm up, then we do conditioning and flexibility training, stretching everything from our toes to our necks (sometimes even our faces). Our first show is this Thursday, so we’ve been learning the opening and our vaulting piece. Yesterday we had a lot of open ring time to play with the juggling stuff. It was really fun! Opening night was fine, really. The audience was really responsive, which was great for us. Now I have some incredibly exciting news! Yesterday, I had my debut as a solo aerialist! Usually Megan does the web act in the show, but she's not well, so Ann called me over and said "Go get your costume, you're going to do the web act tonight". It went really well. Because I'd been listening to the music for weeks, I was even able to hit some of the music cues. When I looked down, I could see all the other students had come out to watch too. I was grinning like a maniac. It was so fun. |
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Things have gone on pretty normally: wake up, eat, warm-ups, conditioning, and stretching, training of some kind, lunch, more training, get ready for the show. We had a barbeque last night, everyone sitting around and laughing together and I think it was really good for us. Before every show, we have a word of the day, one that reflects something that we‚re doing or thinking. The day we all got our new costumes the word was "Ooo! Shiny!" We all put our hands in the middle and yelled it at the top of our lungs. Today, when we all gathered for the word of the day, Greg looked at us all for a little while, much more seriously than usual. He said that today we had an amazing opportunity to realize how lucky we are. Half of our audience (and it was a full house) were in wheel-chairs. They couldn't use most of their bodies. And not only are we able to use our bodies, but we're able to use them in ways that many people can't. We can use them to inspire people, and make them smile or laugh. That was our gift, and it's on days like today that we really get to see how much of a gift it is. So the word of the day was "Grateful". When we burst out of that curtain and started dancing, I danced better than I have yet. I forgot about being tired and having to do another show. It felt like I was celebrating myself, my ability to do what I was doing. I'd never thought of it that way before, and I don't think I'll ever really think of it the same way again. |
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This week was really fun, teaching workshops at a school. Before I knew it, it was Friday and I was telling my kids not to worry about their show, that it would go fine and I'd be right there with them. Honestly I was as nervous about their show than I've been for any of ours! And they did so well; I was so proud of them. As soon as they got on stage they all just started grinning. And as soon as they were back through the curtain again they started jumping up and down and hugging each other. It was really cute, and really gratifying, too, to see them having so much fun and doing so well. We all made huge progress this week. Now I not only have my fabric/lyra act all blocked, but I know all the tricks in it, including the crazy impressive fabric roll down (yep, the sideways one that you turn over three or four times in), I know the theme, the music, and am working on designing my costume. The act is going to be based of the Quetzal bird, so I get to have a really super pretty costume in bright magenta and green and red and yellow and purple and feathers and stuff! Perty! Yesterday we went on a field trip to the Blackpool Tower Circus. It was really cool. We had a workshop with Sergei Ignatov, who is hailed as being the best juggler in the world, and not by himself but at the Monte Carlo Circus Festival and everything. He's pretty much a living legend, in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the person to juggle the most rings at one time: 13. And we met him. Coool. |
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I went back into the tent to finish my exercises. There were other people hanging out in there doing their own training. Luke and Nora were juggling, Joe was practicing rolas, John was doing back-flips, Donald was playing around in the fabrics, and Sabrina and I were stretching. It was great, like circus study hall. There was some corny latin music playing over the sound-system, the kind of music that you know is bad and that you'd hate under any other circumstances, but at that moment in time is perfect. It felt like a party. We were all doing our own thing, but yelling back and forth to each other and laughing and cheering each other on. It was one of those moments that made me realize why I'm here. Other exciting news: I can now get all the way down into my oversplits on my left side, and very nearly on my right! Yay! It‚s not a very big oversplit yet, and I have to be really warmed up, but it's there! Sweet! We‚re going to Scotland! Yaaaaaaaay! This is going to be sooo cool. I'm really content right now, sitting in the Transit, listening to random music on the radio (we seem to be going between classical and 60s rock), talking and laughing with Ann and Ross, and staring out the window. It's really pretty here. It's all big bare hills, almost like the ones I've seen in Colorado or northern California, except instead of dry, and brown, they're green, and criss-crossed by ancient hedges and rock walls. The clouds are really low today, and you can't see the tops of the taller hills. There are more trees up here than in I've seen in a while, too, which is really nice. I've been missing forests. And, if possible, there are even more sheep here than in England. |
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Well...it's done. The Showcase we've all been working towards for since May is finished. And it went really well. Of course there were things that I wish could have gone better, but there always are, and not as many as I was afraid there'd be. It was really strange, that waiting leading up to the show. We'd all been running around with our hair on hire for the past week, sewing sequins, practicing, rigging, things like that. There were always been about ten different things going on at any given moment, and it never seemed like we were going to get it all done. But then, suddenly, we were out of time. One of the reasons, one of the big reasons, that I like circus is the sense of family and community and teams that you develop. That's what it was feeling like before going on for the web ensemble act. The four of us were all putting on our fishnets and green and gold celtic-ish costumes and wrapping tape around our wrists, tucking each other in. We went into the magical little curtain box again and waited for the music. Nora and I were standing next to each other like mirror images, right leg tucked behind left, head up, hands flat palm down at our sides. Just before the curtain opened I gave her hand a squeeze and we grinned at each other, and then off we went. I was awarded the Best Aerial Act trophy. Then Greg announced that there was one from the World's Fair newspaper for Outstanding Performance. This guy came up and made a speech, then, all of a sudden, announced me. I had no idea. It was amazing! I was so happy! I'd never imagined getting an award like that, it's always something that happens to someone else. But not this time. It was great. As Ann always says, I was grinning like a monkey. |
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ACA is supported by Zippos Circus - visit Zippos website - www.zipposcircus.co.uk |