Trapeze Classes in South Austin

Since September 1st Trapeze Experience has been running trapeze classes at the Soccer Zone in South Austin. It's a nice facility for trapeze because it's indoors, although I do wish it was closer for us North Austin folks. For people who are interested in trying circus arts, flying trapeze is a fun and safe way to start. Beginners always wear a safety line and start with a very basic position called "knee hang". Once the "knee hang" is mastered, the individual has a chance to be caught by the catcher from the knee hang position.

It appears that the company is changing ownership after January 1st. Before January 1st, the website for information is http://www.trapeze-experience.com/. After January 1st, the website will be http://www.trapezeaustin.com/

I definitely want to stop by and try trapeze again. I had a blast doing flying trapeze in Jamaica many years ago. Here are a couple of photos. Sorry about the poor quality but these were taken quite a few years ago with a film point and shoot and then scanned (before digital was very available). If I remember correctly, I was doing a split catch in both photos.

Austin Shrine Circus

The Ben Hur Shriners are bringing the Shrine Circus to Austin in January. The performances will be at the Cedar Park Event Center (good news for those of us who live North) on January 16-18, 2010. I've never seen the Shrine Circus before but the website description makes it sound very good. They list Flying Trapeze, aerialists, jugglers and animals as some of the acts. I don't yet know what the photography policy is but I'm hoping they allow non-flash photos so I can have fun taking pictures like I did at Ringling Brothers.

For more information, here is the Shrine Circus Website: http://www.austincircus.com/
Tickets are already on sale. For more information see the Cedar Park Center website: http://www.cedarparkcenter.com/

Reminder - Cirque Du Soleil tickets on Sale today!

Tickets for Cirque Du Soleil's Alegria go on sale to the general public today, Dec 4th, at 10:00am. Alegria will be at the Cedar Park Event Center from February 17-20, 2010. Yay! It's great to have Cirque back in the Austin area.

Tickets are available through Ticketmaster or at the Cedar Park Event Center box office.

Blue Lapis Light

Blue Lapis Light is a site specific aerial dance group with a studio in South Austin. I have the bad luck of continually missing their performances but I often check their website to see what's coming up. They teach ongoing classes at their studio (unfortunately, I live too far away to attend a class) and they also teach private lessons. It's always been a dream of mine to try aerial silks so one of these days, I definitely want to go to their studio for a private so I can give it a try and take some photos.

I just noticed on their website that they are offering aerial dance workshops for most Sundays in December. If you are interested here's the link:
http://www.bluelapislight.org/classes.html

My Favorite Photo from Level 6 State

This is my favorite photo from the shots I took at Level 6 State in November. I like how the hair gives a sense of motion. www.flickr.com/photos/flipimages

Level 6 State at Capital Gymnastics

Level 6 State Championships were held at Capital Gymnastics on November 21-22. I enjoyed watching and taking pictures for awhile. The new facility is awesome! Too bad they don't have adult classes - well maybe it's a good thing (I don't really need to know if I can still do a full-in on the trampoline or not). Everyone we talked to was very nice and I'll definitely go to future meets at the gym.

Cirque Shanghai Bai Xi - Review

I saw Cirque Shanghai last Thursday at the Paramount Theatre. The acrobatics were impressive but I feel that the show was somewhat flat and mechanical. The performers didn't have the same charisma that we saw at Cirque Mechanics in October. On the bright side, there were some good acrobatics and a variety of acts. Some of the acts that stood out are: Diablo, Hat Juggling, Slack line, Contortion, Spanish Web, and Hoop Diving. A couple of the acts were almost like copies of Cirque Du Soleil but not quite as engaging. For example the Cube Act (very similar to Misha's act in Alegria and later Mystere but without the aerial part) and the Hand 2 Hand act was similar to Mystere's Hand 2 Hand but not quite as solid or dramatic.

There were a couple of performers that did a good job of connecting with the audience. I don't know their names but the performer in the jug act (he had heavy jugs that he tossed around and juggled) and one of the performers in the hat juggling act. Also, the Slack Line performer was entertaining and had the crowd interested.

Even though I emailed in advance and was told "non flash photography" would be okay, I was still stopped when I walked in the door with my camera. I guess the policy was actually "no photography at all". Oh well, sometimes these things happen and I still enjoyed the show.

I can't wait for Cirque Du Soleil Alegria in Cedar Park!

Lynn

Cirque Du Soleil is coming to Cedar Park!

This is an update to my previous post about Cirque Du Soleil's Alegria coming to Austin. I received an email this morning and the venue is actually the new Cedar Park Center. I'm thrilled because it's closer to where I live. Yay! Tickets are on presale now for Cirque Club Members (it's free to join - just sign up at http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/). The dates for the show are February 17-21, 2010.

Assuming that the arena show is similar to the tent show I saw in 1995, I think this is a fantastic show - especially for people into gymnastics! Alegria has a tumble trak act (called power track), Russian bars, aerial high bar and other great acts (like trapeze). I already got my seats and I'm considering going twice to just support Cirque coming to Austin.

Here is a small version of the Alegria wallpaper image available from Cirque Du Soleil's website. Check out the Alegria page for more information about the show:
http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/alegria/default.aspx

Update on Cirque Shanghai

Paramount theater has released some seats in the orchestra section. I'm so happy that I get to see this show after all. I'm not sure if they allow photos (I've sent an email asking) but at least I will enjoy the show and I will write a short review after.

Cirque Shanghai at the Paramount Theater

I found out about this show too late to get good tickets. Cirque Shanghai will be at the Paramount Theater in Austin on November 11 & 12, 2009. I'm sorry I'll have to miss this one. If anyone goes to the show, I'd love to hear about it (leave a comment or send me an email).

Austin gymnast at 2009 Visa Championships in Dallas

I am thrilled that I was able to attend the 2009 Visa Championships in Dallas, TX this past August. Even more exciting was that I was able to take my camera and photograph the meet (this is the first time I was able to photograph gymnastics). Local Austin gymnast Mackenzie Brannan qualified for the event and did a great job placing 20th out of many competitors. Here is a photo I took over her overshoot on the uneven bars. To view more photos from the competition visit my flickr account: www.flickr.com/photos/flipimages

Cirque Du Soleil may return to Austin!

For the first time since 2005 we may have a Cirque Du Soleil show coming to Austin. According to http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/ the show "Alegria" has Austin listed as one of their stops in early 2010. Alegria is now an arena show which means the show is performed in an arena instead of the famous Cirque Du Soleil tent. The purpose of the arena shows is for Cirque to visit smaller cities or locations where setting up the tents is unfeasible. Alegria is a very acrobatic show including power track (similar to tumble trak), trapeze, Russian Bar and aerial high bar. Aerial high bar is like a combination of men's high bar and trapeze. The performers do release skills similar to gymnastics but they perform them to a catcher or to another bar (like women's uneven bars). It's all performed very high in the air to add excitement. Power track always has great tumbling along with fantastic music and choreography. Alegria has been one of my favorite Cirque du Soleil shows since I first saw it in 1995.

I'll post more information on Alegria as it becomes available.

Why I am starting this blog

This blog is still in its infancy (just started today). What is the purpose of this blog? Well, I did gymnastics most of my life until I moved to Austin and discovered that adult gymnastics classes are next to impossible to find here. That's fine, I can do handstands and conditioning at home but eventually I started to miss just being around the gym. I can't coach (I have another job) so I tried to fill the void with another old hobby - photography.

Then I ended up in Dallas taking photos at the 2009 Visa Championships. I had a fantastic time and now I miss gymnastics even more. I've found myself scouring the newspapers and websites looking for any kind of gymnastics related activity that I could watch and photograph (if photography is allowed). So I decided to start this blog that will list some of the events that I find and hopefully some photos (if the event allows it). I would like to see gymnastics and Circus Arts get more publicity in Austin and the surrounding areas.

Cirque Mechanics Birdhouse Factory

Thank you to The Long Center and Cirque Mechanics for bringing Birdhouse Factory to Austin! It was a fabulous perfomance with plenty of acrobatics, entertainment and good music. The story is based in a factory with acrobats as workers. The workers perform a variety of amazing acts including contortion, German wheel, hand balancing (with a female base), aerial hoop and trampoline .Most of the artists have performed at Cirque du Soleil at some point during their career and all of them are very talented and engaging. The clown brings a great sense of humor to show and really connected with the audience.

The show was inspired by the industry murals of Mexican-born artist Diego Rivera as well as images of Rube Goldberg (cartoonist) and the humor style of Charlie Chaplin. Originally the show was performed in San Francisco in 2004 but it's now touring around the United States and internationally.

For more information on Birdhouse Factory visit their website: http://www.birdhousefactoryshow.com/