LIFE [AERIAL SILKS]



Last winter I signed up for an intro to trapeze and aerial silks class here in Montreal. (you know, that act in the circus and that thing Pink does during her shows)

* A little back story: A bit over a year ago I bought a groupon deal for pole fitness classes. I had taken a basic pole class about 6-7 years ago before the craze broke out. It was mostly how to spin around a pole and wear high heels and show off for your man (meh). I did it for fun and never continued. So back to 2012, I started level 1 in a new studio, underestimating how hard it would be and how bruised and hurt (physically and ego-wise) I would come out. Though at first I wanted to quit (everyone was better than me, I have no coordination, I feel like a piñata, etc) but I stuck, made friends and quickly looked forward to my weekly class. But I still wanted to be stronger, feel challenged and I love trying NEW things. I often lose interest when something becomes popular. Which brings us to last winter.

When a friend from pole class mentioned  La Caserne 18-30 and their very affordable (yet very tough to get into) circus classes, I knew I wanted to try. After a failed attempt in the fall (everything filled up before I could register) I got into the winter semester. The class was half silks and half trapeze. I quickly learned that standing on a trapeze – 10 feet in the air with nothing but a 2 inch thick blue mat below me – was not my cup of tea. I was still more interested in silks (I figured trying both wouldnt hurt) but it was HARD. Your arms are doing all the work and you are gripping on a stretchy piece of material (which is much harder than you can imagine).

When the new 10 week semester was around the corner, I signed up for a full silks class. I was reluctant to sign myself up to a full hour and a half of climbing a stretchy piece of material, the half hour per class in the previous semester was enough to leave my arms feeling like jelly.

After 10 weeks of dragging my butt to class – on Sunday mornings when I would much rather be going out to brunch or heck, staying in bed all day –  I was really sad to attend my last class. I pushed myself as much as I could and every week my endurance improved and I often didn’t want to stop at the end of the hour and a half.

The girls in my class (we started as 7 but by the end we were just 3-4 who really made the effort to show up every week) were so motivating, nonjudgemental and helpful. Watching their grace and pointed toes pushed me to be more conscious of my own form and to constantly push myself to understand a new move. And my teacher pushed us and bossed us around just the right amount to get our mouths shut and our butts in gear while still thinking of her as a friend.

There are no classes this summer and my teacher is off performing in New York come fall but I’m really considering signing up again in September, I just hope the teacher and students will be as amazing as they were this year.

La Caserne 18-30
www.caserne1830.ca (only in french)

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  • GEEZ woman. You’re a lady of many talents. I totally hear you about the “I wanna quit because I suck” thing – I just went to my very first yoga class, ever, and felt foolish as all get out. But then everyone was so nice, and I felt that much less like a giant blob who never moves, I went back. Hooray!

    • Yeah, everyone assumes that people are staring at them because they are new/not very good. But everyone started somewhere… We all have to crawl before we walk!

  • i’m so impressed with all of your hobbies, but this one takes the cake! it looks like a lot of fun. (thanks for the visual!)