The Joy of Flying

You are dangling 25 feet in the air. Far below you is nothing but the hard warehouse floor. Holding you up is nothing but a sleek, slippery fabric which increasingly threatens to slide right out of grip with each passing moment. Every impulse in your body tells you to cling on for dear life, but as sweat mists your brow and your clamped fingers begin to cramp up, the instructor down on the floor yells, “Let go!” Heart racing from its perch in your throat, you obey and send your body tossing, swirling and spinning through the air before lurching to a halt just ten feet from the ground, cuing shouts of applause from students and teachers.

This is the common experience of a student of aerial silks at local studio Suspended Motion Aerial Arts, a warm and vibrant space where dozens of “silks” (a special fabric blend designed for the activity) of every color stream from anchors in the tall ceilings and where you’re as likely to see a fourteen-year-old as a forty-year-old attempting high-flying feats.

A mix of climbing, ballet, gymnastics, and acrobatics, aerial silks is both sport and art, both graceful and grueling. With no safety nets, aerialists rely on their own strength and skill to climb the slick ribbons of fabric, and crochet themselves into different positions that allow them to remain suspended or to perform gasp-inducing “drops.” The challenging, gravity-defying and spectacular pastime requires incredible strength, flexibility, grace and, perhaps above all, courage. But it’s easy to see why it has drawn soaring numbers of local air-dare-devils: participation pays aerialists back with a sense of accomplishment; the gratification of watching their arms grow stronger and more defined; and, of course, the addictive release of endorphins and adrenaline that comes along with braving towering heights and plummeting through the air. Another pay-off, according to co-owner Gigi Penton, is the camaraderie and community of practicing and performing with a tight-knit crew of aerialists.

In fact, silk was the bond that finally united Penton and co-owner Liz Stevenson after years of friendly competitiveness on the track field.  Originally from Morro and Bay Los Osos, Penton recalls meeting Stevenson the first day of choir in junior high, and going on to do pole vaulting together in high school. During college, the two overcame the distance created by high school rivalry, and after college, seeking a new athletic outlet, they attended a local silks workshop with Rebecca Leach. They were instantly hooked.

“It’s the combination of the athletics and the dance,” says Penton of what initially drew them to silks. “It was a skill that was fairly specialized, and we wanted to be that authority on the Central Coast.” Without a local studio to practice at, Penton and Stevenson took their new passion to local parks, stringing their silks onto the branches of trees, until finally, the park officials kicked them out.

Determined to keep flying, they signed a lease on a studio space in 2009, and started teaching classes in the evenings and doing private performances to cover the investment. “Both of us love coaching, we love teaching—building that rapport with the students and watching them succeed,” Penton explains. Penton had previously coached pole vaulting and Stevenson had coached both soccer and track, but teaching silks brought a new source of joy and pride. “For every single person that walks through the door, the first time they do a pull-over [a move involving holding on to the fabric, lifting up and kicking their legs over their head into the loop created by a knotted silk], I am thrilled because I know how hard it is to do that.”
The athleticism required of the art is an element that audiences rarely appreciate. “It’s way harder than it looks,” Penton says with a laugh, explaining that aerialists work very hard to make it appear effortlessly graceful. But while strength and grace are key elements, Penton stresses the greater importance of passion and dedication—the priceless factors that allow students of any background to experience the joy of flying.

Penton, Stevenson and their students have ample opportunity to show off their hard-won skills at multiple studio showcases throughout the year as well as at their annual summer performance and fundraiser, Eventyr, held June 1st and 2nd this year, at the Clark Center. Penton says that, having started with just two students a few years ago, they currently have 35 cast members for the performance and teach 50 students per week in their studio. Still reaching for higher heights, they’re working toward the day when they can expand the studio space and hours even more and make it a full-time focus. With classes currently booming in attendance, due to word-of-mouth as well as the popular influence of Cirque de Soleil, that day may not be far off.

Catch their show at the Clark Center, get a preview on Instagram (SuspendedMotionAerialArts), or stop by to give the silks a whirl yourself at 207 Suburban Rd in San Luis Obispo, CA; (805) 549-6417; suspendedmotion.net.

Jamie Relth - local writer and photographer