Circus Life

Some of my most fond childhood memories took place at my Grandparents house.  We would go to visit almost every weekend and it was always the highlight of the week.  We didn’t have a television at home so part of the fun was being able to watch Sunday Matinee movies at lunchtime. 

I have many vivid recollections of laying on the carpet on the lounge room floor in front of the TV, my younger sister sprawled out next to me and my brother in the background draped over the sofa. My Grandpa was usually in his shed tinkering away on some woodwork project, my Grandma chopping away in the kitchen, making preparations for our evening meal.

The movies being aired were often old fashioned black and white flicks, like those starring Jerry Lewis, Elvis or Fred Astaire, but the ones that stand out most in my mind are the old Romance films that were set in a travelling Circus. I especially loved the acrobatic scenes, where the beautiful leading female character was dressed in some sparkling, glittering costume performing impressive stunts, gracefully flying through the air, making the most dangerous trapeze tricks look effortless.

        


I remember thinking "I want to be like that girl when I grow up", but life passed me by and I forgot all about that dream...Until last week that is! 

A couple of weeks ago, I was exploring the ‘Little India’ corner of the city, and amongst the restaurants and brightly coloured clothing stores, I stumbled across a cool space called “Centre of Gravity”.  




I poked my head in the entrance and was thrilled to discover that it was a Circus Academy.  It was a surprisingly large space, and looked to be an old theatre that had been transformed into a circus training ground.  

There were mattresses covering the floors and an assortment of hoops, silks, ropes and trapeze swings suspended from the high ceilings. It had such a great atmosphere and beside it was a cute little café called the Side Show Café, where I sat and wrote in my journal, whilst sipping on a cup of green tea. 

     

Before I left I grabbed the Academy’s flyer and was excited to discover that they have drop-in Aerial classes for adults.  I immediately signed up for the Tuesday night class, and before I knew it Tuesday rolled around and I was signing a release form, taking full responsibility for the dangerous activities I was about to participate in.   I was surprised to find myself feeling quite tentative and nervous about the whole thing.    Not only do I have a tendency towards motion sickness, but I also have a fear of heights.  I secretly thought that this weeks adventure might turn into a disaster.  

The class started with each participant introducing themselves.  It’s not often that I cross paths with girls that have my name, but for some reason, it seemed like every Natasha in the city had the same idea that night; there were 3 of us in the class!  This proved to be a little confusing (and potentially dangerous) when the instructor called things out that weren't actually meant for me, like "straighten your legs Natasha!" when I was dangling from the  trapeze swing in a pose that required my legs to be bent for safety reasons!

We commenced the class with some stretches and were then guided through a circuit of warm- up exercises.  One of them was a handstand against the wall, which I haven’t done since primary school.  I was frightened to try at first, but I’m happy to report I can still do it!  

All the other exercises relied heavily on the strength of your core muscles, like dangling from a rope and attempting to raise your legs so they are perpendicular to your body.  I was embarrassed to discover I don’t have any core muscles! My legs felt like dead lead weights and I could barely lift them off the ground, but the instructor assured me that when she started, she was weaker than I was.   So apparently there is hope for me!

For the rest of the class we learnt a couple of basic tricks on the trapeze swing and silks.  It was quite painful and I was pretty shaky for most of them.  One of the instructors had to lift my feet up to the bar every time because I didn’t have the strength to do it myself,   but it was so much fun - Check me out! I know it looks like I'm being crucified, but as you can see I was really enjoying it.

I have to say it was probably one of the most intense workouts I’ve ever done, a week later and my arms are still in pain.  But I really had a great time.  If I was 20 years younger I would definitely consider running away to the Circus. 

Stay tuned for my next adventure!

NN xx