Sunday: Trapeze School!
I am not blessed with what you might call “upper body strength.” Nor do I have a real “core strength” or “lower body strength.” I have long hardbored a suspicion that to hold up my six-foot-four frame, my toes are particularly strong, but I have no objective way to test that. I like to think that my real muscle mass is in my heart. My heart has ripped abs.
But none of this was of any help today when I attended Hollywood Ariel Arts Academy. Despite the name, it is not in fact in Hollywood, but in Inglewood, a section of Los Angeles that has been trumpeted in numerous Dr. Dre songs. The neighborhood was littered with crumbling warehouses and vacant lots and stood directly under the flight path to LAX. The web site advised we show up in sweatpants; having none, I came in pajamas bottoms and a T-shirt. I was joined by Jennie CC, Dana, and Keren - once again, female friends seems more brave than the males for the death-defying adventures of the All New Year.
Our instructor was named Ray Pierce, a densely-packed man with the natural patter and rhythm that befitted a circus performer. He is the sort who wouldn’t let a nervous moment lay in the air, instead choosing to fill it with facts and quips he had obviously said dozens of times before, but where nevertheless comforting to hear.
We had some warm-ups with a low-hanging bar, which for most people was easy to hop up and grab. For me, grabbing onto it fully, my feet still lay flat on the ground. I didn’t really feel like I was getting a good practice run for what it would be like 40 feet in the air. So it was with some trepidation that I climbed what seemed to be the world’s ricketiest ladder to make my attempt.
It was quite simply awesome. Not in the surfer terminology (although that applies, too) but in the classic sense - filling one with a sense of awe and fear. To jump from a 40 foot platform isn’t simple, but it is fun. We all got three or four turns before our rubbed-raw red hands couldn’t handle any more. We managed to swing and even do the back-flip dismount, but the hang-from-your-knees trick proved too difficult for all of us.
I’ve since returned home, changed from my pajamas into something more comfortable (pinstripe pants and a button-down shirt, my “lounging about clothes”) and I’m going to spend the rest of the day on my ass on the couch. I feel like sitting still might be nice right about now.
kbryna wrote:
along with going to see PeeWee’s dinosaurs, this might be the AWESOMEST new thing yet (okay, so i haven’t read all of them).
i am seriously, seriously jealous. of the dinosaurs, and of the trapezing.
the more i read, the more i am impressed.
if you lived in pittsburgh, you could totally be my all new boyfriend.
i wonder if they have trapeze school in pittsburgh?
Posted on 20-May-07 at 7:36 pm | Permalink
JennieCC wrote:
Haha, yay! I was actually there and still watched the video multiple times and laughed out loud. Oh man, are we going to be sore tomorrow… Here are some photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/jenniecc1/FlyingTrapezeForAllNewYear
Posted on 20-May-07 at 8:10 pm | Permalink
james wrote:
that looked AWESOME! but i’m sorry to hear about your butt. until it heals, i guess you will have to postpone that other brand new thing i suggested. =/
that thing is motorcycling! jeez! you people have filthy minds! nothing more than normal, everyday motorcycling in a leather jacket and assless chaps in west hollywood on gay pride day with a rhesus monkey riding sidecar! honestly, people, grow up!
Posted on 21-May-07 at 12:19 am | Permalink
Marissa wrote:
Opus that rules. I want to be a trapeze artist too!!!
In other news, where did you get the PANTS shirt?!?!?! It’s AWESOME!!!
Posted on 21-May-07 at 7:36 am | Permalink
skampy wrote:
i can’t move my arms or my abs today, and my feet are still all to’ up from skidding across the net…but i already want to go try again!
here are my photos from the day, should you be interested.
can’t wait for the next adventure!!
Posted on 21-May-07 at 7:57 am | Permalink
Therese wrote:
Watch out Opus- my first kiss was with an honest to goodness trapese artist. There’s something about seeing such a manly man flying through the air… the ladies won’t be able to keep their hands off of you!
Posted on 21-May-07 at 10:07 am | Permalink
ron cooper wrote:
Opus…. your video reveals a quite coordinated performance, back flip, and professional dismount. Methinks tis the circus life for you! Well done —
Excellent camera work by-the-way….. could that be JCC providing the technical assistance and inspiring encourgement? Another huzzah for the band of merry pranksters.
Posted on 21-May-07 at 4:21 pm | Permalink
Mia wrote:
That is (to use an old-skool phrase) SO RAD!!! I am jealous - never mind my petrifying fear of heights - it looks like a blast!! Go you!!
Posted on 22-May-07 at 11:36 pm | Permalink
ron cooper wrote:
Huzzah to the daring young men and women on the flying trapeze…. they fly through the air with the greatest of ease.
Quite graceful Opus — a swing, a butt crunch, a flip and professional dismount. And quite professional camera work as well….. best to all in the new year….. Jennie’s Dad (Ron)
Posted on 23-May-07 at 5:40 pm | Permalink
Jenny wrote:
Wow! That was awesome! Are there any schools in Houston, Tx? Hey, anybody out there interested in base-jumping?
Posted on 10-Jun-07 at 3:15 pm | Permalink
Jenny wrote:
trapeze school looks like a lot of fun. are there any schools in Houston? Hope you took a lot of motrin (or whatever suits your fancy) wishing you many more days of excitement, but please be safe!
Posted on 10-Jun-07 at 3:22 pm | Permalink
All New Year! » Questions Asked More Frequently Than Others wrote:
[...] Trapeze Lessons [...]
Posted on 20-Jun-08 at 2:00 pm | Permalink