Aerial Silks
Aerial silks is an apparatus in which circus artists perform aerial acrobatics such as climbs, wraps, and drops, while hanging from a fabric.
Lyra
The Lyra or Aerial Hoop is a circular steel apparatus suspended from the ceiling, on which circus artists may spin and perform aerial acrobatics.
Cloud Swing
The cloud swing is an aerial apparatus consisting or a soft rope or fabric hung from two points, and combines static and swinging trapeze skills, drops, holds and rebound lifts.
Aerial Sling
Aerial sling is similar to aerial silks but without all the climbing! Circus artists wrap, spin, and drop on the folded piece of fabric resembling a hammock.
Duo Aerial
In Duo Aerial, circus artists work together as "base" and "fly" to perform on a single aerial apparatus; many times this involves trapeze, but can also involve lyra, silks, rope, cube, and other aerial apparatuses.
Aerial Net
Similar to aerial sling in many ways, aerial net is a hammock-like net attached to a single point in the ceiling, upon which the circus artist performs moves and spins.
Trapeze
A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes from a ceiling support upon which circus artists perform static or swinging moves.
Aerial Rope
Aerial Rope (aka Corde Lisse) moves are normally a combination of held positions, climbs, and drops using a soft rope that hangs from the ceiling.
Cyr Wheel
The Cyr wheel (aka the roue Cyr) is a ground acrobatic apparatus that consists of a single large ring made of metal. The circus artist grasps the wheel and rolls and spins inside and around it.
Akrosphere: Aerial Acrobatics
A note from Jen, “Head Monkey Wrangler” of Akrosphere Aerial & Circus Arts:
Everyone asks for “gift ideas” around the holidays and birthdays. So…here ya go!
PRIVATE LESSONS
Private lessons at Akrosphere are a great way for little Suzie to get a completely personalized approach with one of our knowledgeable coaches in a relaxed atmosphere, where she/he is guaranteed to progress at her/his own personal pace!
CIRQUE DU SOLEIL on DVD/BLU-RAY
Cirque du Soleil doesn’t always pass through Atlanta, but that’s ok because these DVDs feature different Cirque du Soleil shows, some of which include “O”, “Mystere”, and The Beatles’ “Love”, among others. A beautiful on-screen introduction to the whimsical world of Cirque du Soleil, available through Amazon, among other places.
CIRCUS BOOKS
Is your child a reader like me? If so, I have two life changing books for them (I’m sure there are countless others, but these are my personal favorites)! The first is “The Ordinary Acrobat: A Journey Into the Wondrous World of Circus, Past and Present” by Duncan Wall, who is now creative director of Circus Now. (Not only for acrobatics students!) It’s the personal account of a non-circus person who delves to learn more about the history and culture of circus, and he decided to immerse himself in it for his research purposes. He soars through the air doing flying trapeze, he stands below a cascade of juggling balls, he tumbles through his studies while doing acrobatics, and he learns vulnerability through clowning. A must read for any circus enthusiast!
The other book is called “The Spark: Igniting the Creative Fire That Lives Within Us All” and is a Cirque du Soleil book. The story of a sports agent who has lost the passion behind his career, he has a chance meeting with a Cirque du Soleil director, who invites him to meet and get to know the artists, directors, and crew behind the CDS organization. Through them, he learns that every person has a creative spark residing within themselves, but it is up to each of us to tap into that and foster it. Both books are available through Barnes & Noble and Amazon.
AERIAL JEWELRY
Not to be worn at class, this jewelry is perfect for the aspiring aerialist and acrobatics students! Starting at $17.99 through our friends at www.aerialessentials.com, this jewelry comes on a rope chain in metallic tones. Features aerial silks, trapeze, lyra, and hammock/sling!
CIRCUS THEMED COLORING BOOKS
For the graphic artists! This book features 40 original illustrations of aerial silks positions! Not only fun to color, but this book gives your little aerialists and acrobatics kids motivation to get to Levels 2, 3, and 4!!! Aerial Silks Coloring Book. This next book features not only aerial artists but also contortionists, hand balancers, and other circus acrobatics artists! Also through Amazon: Cirque Coloring Book
doTERRA ATHLETE’S KIT
The perfect companion to a healthy lifestyle, the doTERRA Athlete’s Kit can help support healthy athletic activity, while counteracting the taxing effects of exercise on the body. Features various aromatic oils, Deep Blue Rub (therapeutic grade topical cream that both cools and warms problematic areas), and a reusable zippered pouch. Order through doTERRA Athlete’s Kit
JUGGLING BALLS
Perfect for either the beginner or advanced circus artist, juggling is a useful and entrancing skill! Higgins Brothers provides bean bag style juggling balls starting at $6.50 per ball with a vast assortment of colors! http://higginsbrothers.com/en/
CIRCUS / ACROBATICS PRINTS
Sooooo many beautiful options on Etsy, but here are a few of my favorites. Typography Poster: Starting at $11+, this Etsy artist customizes each piece with your aerialist’s name and favorite colors! Typography Poster My next fave is the watercolor prints done by LaureBPaintings on Etsy! She has tons of designs that range from aerial to acrobatic, but she also does custom designs! Search all of her artwork here: LaureBPaintings
AERIAL SILK SCARVES
Our friends from Aerial Essentials are geniuses – rather than discard scraps of perfectly good (unused) aerial silk material, they convert these scraps into colorful, beautiful, and functional scarves! For the aerial silks enthusiast – these scarves are crazy colorful and super affordable (starting at $30.00): Aerial Silk Scarves
CYR WHEEL INK ART
For the Cyr wheel enthusiast, they have their very own artwork! This Etsy artist can do custom orders!!! Her prints start at $10, and custom orders start at $40. Cyr Wheel Watercolor
BIO GLITTER
This is heartbreaking for any circus artist, but more research has come out that glitter is terrible for the environment since it’s considered a mircoplastic that will clog landfills and oceans. But there’s an alternative out there, at last! Bio Glitter is an eco friendly, plant derived, mostly non-plastic glitter. This site offers a network of different Bio Glitter retailers: Where to Buy Bio Glitter
THE AERIALIST’S NOTEBOOK
A brilliant notebook for much more than just taking notes about skills learned in class! This handy, easy to carry book asks that aerialists write down and track their goals and also keep track of creative work. So genius! $12.95 off of Amazon.