ImaginAerial: As aerialists, we know what we do is dangerous. That’s partly what people pay for. Driving, however, is also fairly dangerous. I remember whiteknuckling my first time out on the open road, harrowing for both my mother and I. However, after doing it regularly for a while, one gets comfortable (often too comfortable). The same thing happens with performing. Once you are strong enough to hang by one arm for a while and get yourself out of silk knots and the like, you start to feel pretty damn confident. While intellectually we know that the danger still exists, it just doesn’t feel super present after a while.
8 comments:
As a tech person, this article is not exactly relevant on face value, but the ideas in it can be extrapolated to almost anything we do. It can be so easy to rush and make mistakes in the shop, rigging, hanging lights, almost anything. And these mistakes can be extremely life threatening. One time, at my high school, our tech crew had over twenty students in it and only one faculty member. There had never been a problem with this before, so the school saw no reason to change it, but one day our tech director was onstage working on something and left some upperclassmen in the shop working, and one of the accidentally ran his hand through the table saw along with a piece of wood. Even though he was a senior who had been doing this for a while and was confident in his ability, he still made a mistake that cost him a great deal. It can be so easy to lull ourselves into a false sense of security when we are doing things that we do every day, but it is immensely important to remember that what we do is inherently dangerous and should never be taken lightly or for granted.
Aerialists are such incredible humans. They are extremely athletic performers doing amazing things in front of live audiences. However, I think this article was extremely important through its emphasis for safety. I related to the author when she spoke about how a person can forget danger in a situation after becoming more comfortable. Aerialists have to consider many factors - rigging, partner, and often other factors that can pull their focus. I felt like this article was very thoughtful. The author spoke with authority and from personal experience. I think when safety is written/spoken about in context people are more often going to listen. I think the four points the author touched on, frenetic energy, distraction, pressure, and lack of communication can all be applied to multiple performance settings. It’s extremely important for any performance setting, with or without stunts, to be able to assess the atmosphere and be prepared for anything to go awry.
With performance art like this, it is so important to be as safe as possible. But, a big part of the art is that their is danger involved and you can fall at any moment. The performers are trained professionals and know all the risks involved in what they do. I think being a manager or stage hand for a performance like this would be a lot of pressure because the rigging and timing needs to be exact or else serious injuries can and do occur. I like the list that the author gave of signs that should raise alarm before a stunt happens. Distraction I would always assume is the overarching problem. If the performer cannot be 100% focused then thats when the slips can happen. Whether it is a distraction from things happening earlier in the day, to something right in the moment, anything that breaks the concentration they need is scary. I personally really enjoy seeing circus shows and aerial artists, but I don't think I could ever work on one because of how much stress and pressure is involved in the way that people's lives are at stake.
I think the author if this article brings up some great points and provides touching personal experience to back it up. The fact that stood out to me the most is to take the time before each performance to focus. For your performance quality and for your safety. I liked what the author said about how you as the performer is fallible too, and that taking this time to focus can help catch some of that. I thought is was interesting to think about the many ways in which a trick could fail. I had never thought of the different affects that each of the different failures could have on the performer. whether it be not trusting the equipment, or not being able to trust your partner again i think each failure needs to be addressed differently. When it comes to a managerial perspective things like rushing the performers or the installation of rigging can be things that we can try to prevent.
I could not imagine the pressure that comes with doing aerial work on top of the physical demands. The amount of trust you need to have for the other person is immeasurable and if something happens it the trust will never be the same no matter how much you work at it. If you are holding someone you literally have their life in your hands, which is a huge responsibility. For the most part no one is ever going to drop someone on purpose. Accidents happen all the time and as it stated in the article, there are so many factors that could affect what happens. If anything is off at all or your focus is not 100% on what you are doing then it is possible something could go wrong. Sometimes it is not even your fault, but a rigging failure or mistake, which hopefully is easier to catch before something happens but once you are up in the air there is not a lot that can be done.
This article was an incredibly interesting look into the psychology behind aerial work. From my perception, I felt as though aerialists must always be incredibly fearful of falling at all times working, and from what I read in the article it seems as though that fear is not always present. I also hadn't really thought about the differences in the rates of injuries from other sports such as baseball or football and aerial work in that more "regular" sports have much higher injury rates. It seems a bit counterintuitive: as the injury an aerialist could face in terms of falling seems to be much more integrated into the performance. As the article mentions, people pay to see aerial work somewhat because of the fact that there is a very visible risk for danger. It makes a ton of sense that the article mentions that confidence is key to this kind of work, because it allows you to do the work properly without being distracted and thus potentially injuring yourself.
This is a really interesting article. At Cirque, I would often watch aerial duets and ask, "But is that safe? Aren't his hands the only thing keeping her from falling? What if he let go!" and the response I always got was, "Well, he won't. They won't let go of each other because they need and rely on each other. It's just one of those circus things." But I have always wondered what must go on in their heads while it is actually happening; if there were a slip up, what would they do? How would they handle that? I remember I used to watch two aerialists before they went up for the Duet act in KA get ready together below the stage. They would look into each other's eyes, hold onto each other, do a little dance (the same one every night), and then be hoisted into the air. I imagine this is where they are letting go of the outside distractions, as the author says, and reminding themselves that the other's life is in their hands. This is often why you see a lot of married couples paired together in Cirque shows: there is no safer situation than being held in the air by the person who loves you most in the world, who doesn't want to see the mother of his children fall to the ground. The trust is the most important thing.
Handling aerial work is a massively difficult task to take on for everyone involved in the production. The pressure that accompanies the performer is ridiculously high because, not only are they responsible for themselves and their own safety, but also the safety of the people performing alongside them. Performer distraction can result in tragic mistakes, and, when you add in something as complex as aerial skills, the outcome can be even more devastating. I am always in awe of the focus skills of aerial performers, and I am amazed that they are able to maintain that level of stamina to ensure their safety and accurately execute an act. It takes a constant reality check to assume responsibility for the safety of their partners. Trust is a massively important piece of this equation because the performer must be able to trust in themselves, their partners, technical support, and their training to be able to execute an act every night.
Post a Comment