Aerial dancer, Elise Knudson emerges slowly from a fabric sling 30 feet long, her limbs darting out in strange
shapes. Eventually she shakes free, bursting out of the folds and turning in different directions and then before executing
a series of flips and twists. Watching Knudson's solo "Visitant " is like looking at an insect undergoing metamorphosis. At
other times the experience is like inhabiting a daydream. The difficulty of being suspended in the air was often belied by
her serene comportment; the only visible signs of effort were Knudson's rippling shoulder muscles.
Aerial work has been part of the circus for a long time but aerial dance is a relatively new development.
This form uses traditional apparatuses like trapeze, rope, and fabric but adds the artistry of dance and theater. Terry Sendgraff,
a former gymnast, created this hybrid in the 70's when she incorporated trapeze into her choreography. In contrast to circus
acts, which are sequences of increasingly difficult tricks that highlight a performer's superhuman qualities, aerial dance
employs a circus vocabulary in service of
a movement theme or narrative. In one of her early pieces Sendgraff used trapeze to dramatize the act of overcoming
fear.
Aerial dance has enjoyed a surge in popularity in recent years, helped by the widespread appeal of Cirque
du Soleil and other European-style circus arts
groups. Independent choreographers and aerialists have proliferated in Brooklyn--making use of the larger
spaces in lofts, new studios, and warehouses turned performance venues. Despite its popularity this form is not for the timid.
It is a dance for those who those who "like the extra challenge" says Julie Ludwig, artistic director of a Brooklyn based
aerial Fly-By-Night Dance Theater. "A slight move can send a person careening off." Dancers
report of frequent injuries, everything from ripped muscles to bruises to rope burns in unfortunate locations.
Dancers are drawn to this unconventional art form for many reasons. Elie Venezsky, "lives for physical challenges."
Four years ago, Venezsky saw Sarah East Johnson's all female modern dance-cum-circus company, LAVA Love perform. Venezsky
had the experience of wanting the show "to go on forever and yet at the same time wanting it to stop; it was a kind of enticing
discomfort." This show decided him on a career in the circus arts.
Elise Knudson, aerial choreographer and performer, discovered aerial dance by chance. Attracted by the "idea
of spending the summer on the beach and studying dance", she in auditioned for Trapezius, a Philadelphia based aerial group
in residence at Martha's Vineyard in 1999. She got the audition and
began learning the basics of circus arts. To her delight, the dance form allowed exciting possibilities for
her to further explore her long-time fascination
with altering the body's shape through use of props. Knudson's work is as much about merging with the
apparatus to create new shapes and tableaus as it is about movement.
For Ludwig, it was an outlet for her "tomboy urges." An experienced modern dancer, she found the experience
of working with trapeze surprisingly similar to
contact improv. Much like lifting another dancer in a duet, the prop acts like a counterbalancing weight.
Ludwig professes that the "high" one gets doing aerial
work can become an addiction, but she hasn't completely abandoned the floor. In her piece "Poured Light" she
intentionally uses dancing on the ground to
contrast with the aerial work.
Even with the budding interest in aerial dance, it is still difficult for practitioners to present individual
work and make a living in the field. Many dancers use their skills to get jobs with traditional circuses, and oddly aerial
work has become a popular entertainment for corporate events. However, like all
dance groups in New York City, aerialists face problem of finding space to rehearse and perform independent
works, and the technical requirements like tall ceilings and a rig attachments, present added difficulties. Over the pat two
years, the Physical Arts Center (PAC) in Williamsburg was a hub for aerialists, providing rehearsal and performance space.
PAC hosted a number of aerial festivals as well, but unfortunately owner Gary Lai recently lost his
lease--he is currently looking for new space. In the meantime, other Brooklyn spaces like the Brooklyn Arts
Exchange (BAX) and the American Can Factory in Park Slope, White Wave Studio in DUMBO, the Bric Studio in
Fort Greene, strive to regularly present aerial dance.
Despite such hardships, physical and otherwise, once a person experiences flight, an "involuntary smile will
appear " says Ludwig. To be sure, shooting through the air is an unnatural experience, but humans seem to have an unconscious
familiarity with flying. From the myth of Icarus and Daedalus, to Superman flying has long been a part of our cultural imagination.
"Flying is innate to everyone," says Knudson. "It's like getting to act out a dream."
