Okay, so week 5 is kind of a cop-out... I really did run out of ideas, and rather than subject you all to another three minutes of me looking aimless, I decided to apply what I learned.
There were a few things which I found/remembered during this little project that fit into the act; I have a feeling that there might be a couple more, if I can wiggle them into the choreography. So here is the latest version of my act, complete with a few newish things. (Mostly the spinning angel and that fancy killer spin at the end.)
(And by "mostly," I mean "entirely." Anyway...)
I actually was planning on posting this with different music: I've been playing with a few other pieces, and I fall in and out of love with them as time goes by. But when I put on the ol' Zoe Keating this weekend, it seemed just right. Apparently I picked this music for a reason.
And that's five weeks! It was fun and mentally exhausting. I am especially proud that I came up with five videos (even if the last one was...kindofacopout) in light of the fact that I am entering the last week of NaNoWriMo. The timing was probably good--if not for this challenge, I might not have seen much of Trappy this month--but I am going to be starting December with 0% creativity juice. Hopefully the new semester at Circus Center will give me a chance to recharge.
Week four! Let's do this thing!
(The applause in the beginning is not for me--it's for someone who just did an amazing and difficult thing over on the static trapeze. But let's pretend...)
I'm not gonna lie: this routine was hard for me. I kept over-cranking the spin in the beginning and then was spinning so fast that the bar kept getting away from me. And I was spending a lot of brain power trying to make it sassy and kicky and matching-the-music. I was working on it on the side for a few weeks and I still would like to keep playing with it, mostly because this song? Amazing. Let me treat you to a lyrical sample:
"Some people like to bake a honey-coiled ham.
Some people like to roast a leg of lamb.
Some people have a complicated coat to mend;
We'll all be milking goats in the end."
At every possible opportunity, I plan to try to pass that last line off
as a proverb. "Well, you know what they say: we'll all be milking
goats in the end, right?"
Anyway, the song is fun (and goes on for another two and a half minutes), and I am proud of myself for not falling off the ropes in that thing where I hook my knees on one rope and wrap my arms on the other, because it's sort of precarious. And if I listen to this song on the bus, it's all I can do not to jump up and start dancing. (Note: not a good idea.) I think I will keep playing with this routine.
But not next week! Next week is the last week of my little project...
And I am out of ideas. No, seriously. If you have any requests (don't get all smart and request things like back hip circles), ideas, musical inspiration, or general encouragement, let me hear your voice in the comments. Otherwise next week might bring a video of me sitting on Trappy and twiddling my thumbs.
Hey friends! It's week three!
This week is a little short, mostly because a) last week was a little long, and b) I am lazy. The experiment was to see if I could put together something that was slow (hard! arrrgh, so hard!) and entirely under the bar. I tend not to do a lot of angel/candlestick/whatever because I always have to get back UP on the bar, and there are a limited number of ways to make that interesting. Also, next week I'm taking the bar low again, and this is my chance to get all the under-the-bar stuff out of my system.
I have a feeling that Andrew Bird--particularly this song--makes everything look twice as amazing as it would without. (I therefore highly recommend him as your soundtrack for grand entrances, proposals of marriage, and those times when you trip on invisible bumps in the sidewalk.) Nevertheless, I kind of like this sequence. I'd like to use some of this stuff in the future, especially (if you couldn't guess) the "slow angel...fast angel!...slow angel" thing.
And oh my, who's that trapeze bar with her fancy black tape?
I really like this tape. My friend Jason brought it with him from Austin when he came to visit and ended up leaving it with me (thanks!). It's just athletic tape, but it has a stupendously good grip. The only down side is, yes, you guessed it:
That was after scrubbing my hands. The tape was incredibly sticky, but at least it won't look dirty and gross after two days. That is: my hands might, but the bar won't.
Finally and apropos of nothing: YouTube's new, "used to be beta" video uploader does not work with my computer (which, to be fair, is ancient) and the not-beta (alpha?) version, which worked, has dropped off the face of the earth. Vox seems to be able to handle this video, but it's given me grief before. So: can any recommend a good YouTube alternative? (Preferably one that might be compatible with wheezy old iBooks.) I am currently leaning toward Dailymotion.
Okay! There was an incident with the music (short, "don't get me started" version: WMG seems to think their music will do better out in the wide world if no one is allowed to hear it, which seems strange to me, but what the hell do I know) so this week's act has no music. Background noise, yes...but no music. Hopefully this is not a recurring problem [laser-beam eyes at YouTube].
I encourage you to put on the song of your choice and pretend. And then you can also say, "oh, Julia! You have such good taste in music!" Everybody wins.
Actually, this week has been full of incidents. And I have learned many important lessons. Such as: "Don't work on two sequences at the same time, because neither of them will be very good come Video Reckoning." And also, "Make sure you know your choreography before you get up on the bar with the camera rolling." And "If you insist on filming everything, bring extra batteries." And maybe most importantly, "Invest in better rechargeable batteries, because, seriously? All I get is TEN MINUTES?"
Important life lessons, friends.
Three unfortunate things:
1)
I really did forget my sequence, so I was "improvising," i.e., a lot of
this looks suspiciously like my act. There are also a lot of "why am I
up here again?" and "oh, my leg is supposed to be over here, actually,"
moments.
2) There was supposed to be a toe hang in the beginning, but guess who
tore up the front of her foot/ankle* doing toe hangs on Friday? [raises
hand]
3) It was much better with music. [more laser eyes]
Three excellent things:
1) It may look like my act, but the
sucker is four minutes long! I'm pretty proud of myself for coming up
with anything four minutes long that's not exactly like my act.
2) Changing the speed of the spin in angel (when I stick my arm and leg out, then pull them in): I could do that all day.
3) That final spin? The one with the one leg back? Highly recommended. You can crank up some speed there. I could also do that
all day, although I wouldn't be able to walk in a straight line
afterward.
More next week! Three to go!
--
*Is there a name for that part of the body where you hang in toe
hang? It's not really your foot OR your ankle. May I propose: the
fonkle?
