00:02While the pros make aerial arts look elegant and effortless, it requires an
00:06enormous amount of strength, coordination, and skill. I'm gonna learn to fly with
00:11Aloysia Gavre, a veteran Cirque du Soleil performer. Let's see what it takes to be
00:16a badass in the air.
00:22I am so excited to be here. I'm excited slash nervous. What kind of aerial arts
00:28are gonna be going down here? So we teach a sampling of all the aerial arts, but the
00:33core elements are trapeze and aerial fabric or tissue of silk. So what if
00:37someone has a fear of heights? I love students who have fear because it is
00:41intense that we're doing. Are you kidding? You're gonna hang by your knees or your
00:45ankles or your toes? I want you to have fear. Fear is what keeps us safe. Awesome.
00:49I'm pumped. I'm ready to go. So now we're ready to get you up in the air. Now I'm
00:55gonna help you wrap this nice and high. Yes. Okay. I'm gonna stand and this foot's
01:01gonna stay flexed the whole time. Okay. Hands are gonna go high. Stand up off of
01:07this foot and put your left foot right where I just told you to shoot. On top of the other
01:10foot? Perfect. Squeeze your inner thighs. Good. You're floating by yourself. Excellent.
01:16Okay. Hands slide up nice and high. Do nothing with your arms but pull your knees
01:20into your chest. Step up. Brilliant. And again, repeat. Well, there you go badass. One more.
01:27So would you say that strength is essential, technique is essential, mindset's essential?
01:32They all play equal parts in this? How can they not? Right. If you're not strong enough to
01:37get your feet up to the bar and your hands are losing grip, then what's the point? If
01:41you don't believe in yourself, then what's the point? So now we're gonna start your trapeze
01:49trick training. You're gonna release this hand. Yeah. And roll this hip up to the sky and reach
01:54this hand out towards your public. And rotate. Beautiful. This leg goes up to the sky. Good.
02:01It goes down through the rope. Down to the floor. And arch. Mermaid Angel. So beautiful.
02:08Gorgeous. So the next thing we're gonna do is we're gonna do a little dance together in the air.
02:12Okay? The most important thing for you to think about is shoulders have to be engaged and down.
02:17You are not gonna fall out. You're gonna be okay if you keep this body position.
02:20Got it. Okay. Am I staying just in this position?
02:22No. Okay. Just follow me. Okay.
02:29One. One. Two. Release your legs. Beautiful.
02:49This is not just about strength. This is about mental strength. Your inclination
02:55is to tense up and to stress. But really you need to just relax. You're using every single
03:00bit of your body. And that requires every single bit of your focus. It was awesome. I love this.
