Tag: Aerials

Flow, Parkour, Functional Movement – Thoughts After London

Aerials aren’t easy, but they can be with the right training, introspection, and dedicated practice. What is the relation between aerials and parkour? They both require timing, precision and breathwork (I get caught holding my breath in both). They both utilize powerful movement and synchronization across several muscle groups. Both require you pay attention to your environment, whether it’s a wall, vault, dancers around you, and your partner. Finally, both should be supplemented with extra training aimed towards perfecting your movements.

Recently, I’ve been teaching many aerial workshops, each time with a different partner. This typically involves 2-4 hours training and 4-8 hours teaching each weekend.  I appreciate the women who step up to teach with me, but I miss my Colorado regulars. Training and learning in the ultra-competitive environment of 23 Skidoo created fierce follows. Talk about timing, technique, and teamwork.

The elements needed to achieve an ideal lindy flip (or other aerials) are similar to DemonDrill‘s climb up progressions 1-4. Depending on the aerial, oftentimes students learn the struggle up version, the Level 1. You know where to place your feet and hands, but not all the elements work together fluidly. You push or jump with isolated parts. Level 2 is a great achievement, it’s smoother yet still choppy, the wasted movement needing further elimination. Level 3 is when the dancers subconsciously work together to achieve a smooth flow, an airstep. Muscle groups are working together, you understand how to drive through your legs, lift your vertical center, link your legs, chest, and arms in a powerful movement. Level 4, well, that’s when you wear a bad ass smile afterward.

I’m happy more and more dancers are learning aerials. They are relatively accessible to the masses under the right circumstances and environment. If you want to get better, here are a few suggestions:

  1. Practice aerials once a week. Do 5-10 repetitions of each aerial
  2. Practice jumping and landing. This can be broadjumps, tuck jumps, hopping up or down stairs, skip jumps, jumping on park benches.
  3. Practice climb ups, deadlifts, squats or any multi-dimensional exercise.
  4. Improve your mobility.

If I had my way, every aerial student would learn basic parkour skills. Since I want you to learn aerials, the parkour training must occur in the dynamic warmup. While you’re training, use power only when you need it. Too many aerialists exert too much effort on the down motion. This prevents a good elastic jump. Other aerialists try using their arm too soon. This means girls get really heavy early or guys aren’t using their legs. Conserve your energy and practice good form. In the meantime, I have another aerial workshop to plan. Porto is next!

Game Management – Aerials in Barcelona

Coaching aerial workshops is much like refereeing fútbol or soccer, for my American friends. You must be constantly aware of the players, the flow, anticipate their movements, and pay attention to your crew, your fellow teacher(s). After the parkour influenced warmup, the class begins with the rules. Think of it as the captain conference in the middle of the field, except everyone is responsible for themself and their classmates. 1. The flier’s safety comes first. 2. Communication is important. Don’t get ahead of the teachers. Make sure you, the flier, and your spotters agree to what you will do next whether prepping or “going over. Fliers can say “no”.

Then the teaching begins. We start with basing technique, trust exercises, jumping and landing technique. Once the aerials begin, we start off small, moving as slow or fast as we need, giving everyone time for repetitive movements, giving the couples lots of personal attention. Gradually, as aerials get more complex, we use spotters for the up preps and going overs. Oftentimes, we used Pol of Spank the Baby. Otherwise, we used volunteer couples to spot us or we spotted them. It’s a hands-on experience.

From there, you need to trust the students to take care of each other. Hopefully, they’ve paid attention to your techniques, instruction, and visual examples. Then it’s a matter of scanning the room, anticipating who needs special attention, and listening for questions. Sometimes I’ll see an error, but I see the students making an analysis of it or self-correcting. Play on. Other times, class must be stopped, advice handed out through generalities or gently pointing out corrections to specific partnerships that apply to others. I want you to learn and be successful, but most importantly, I want the students to achieve these aerials safely.

Aerials are fun and accessible. Aerial workshops are great because they have a way of making the hard seem easier. Aerials are rarely easy, but through the right training, outside support (exercise, fitness training), attention to detail, you can make them more effortless looking. It’s a different level of teamwork and partnership.

 Special thanks to Daniela de Zabaleta and Pol Prats Ferrer of Spank the Baby for having me teach at their studio, Sara Planas for teaching with me, and 23 Skidoo for helping me develop as an aerialist specialist.

Soaring Through London

I arrived in London around 1am Thursday, August 2. It was nice to be back and for the first time, I was staying at the Olympics’ host city. My days leading up to my August 12 Aerials workshop were filled with the Olympics. I watched so many events on television. In between those moments, I filmed 3 promo videos for Alba Mengual’s new Madrid swing school and worked a rain filled Olympic Live Site with a London Swing Patrol team.

Somehow I managed to pull myself away from the television and practice aerials with Tanya Stephan, my teaching partner for this workshop. We practiced Friday and Saturday, doing multiple repetitions of all the aerials we would be teaching. There was a sizable (i.e. intimidating) list, but our goal was to keep the class environment safe and energized. Quality would beat quantity.

The August 12 workshops started at noon. We ran through my parkour based dynamic warmup, QMing like human beasts. Then we got into basing and jumping techniques. The aerials gradually built from beginner into intermediate and intermediate plus. Each aerial featured down preps, a variety of up preps and going overs. Applause definitely goes out to all the participants, but especially the spotters for surviving all 5 hours. Everyone did excellent work that afternoon.

Thanks again to London Swing Patrol for making this happen. More video recaps will appear within the upcoming week. Tanya and I were too tired to film an overall video recap. In the meantime, you can view and subscribe to my youtube channel here.

London Plankers