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Aerial silks anyone?

post #1 of 27
4/13/10 at 12:37pm
Thread Starter 
Does anyone have any experience with aerial silks? I have always thought it would be an awesome fitness centered hobby. Would it be something impossible to learn on your own at home (assuming you set up the proper equipment)?

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post #2 of 27
4/15/10 at 7:55am
hey for another Aerial Silks lover here. I started getting into it about 4 years ago, right after my last dd was born and I can't stop! We don't have a school around here, but i have made it work and travel to take classes and workshops. I am lucky because I have a space with high ceilings across the street from me that lets me hang my silks and practice there...
I'd love to chat/answer any questions to help you, or anyone else get started!

And YES! It is an amazing exercise. It's hard work at first but it's transformative to most bodies if practiced dutifully. I get comments all the time about my arm muscles. It makes me shy sometimes.
post #3 of 27
4/15/10 at 9:51am
Thread Starter 
DewLady - I am so excited to actually have a response to this! I figured I was fishing pretty deep on this one to find someone on MDC that actually does aerial silks!

How exactly did you get started? Do you think at the beginning I could work with hanging silks from my vaulted ceiling, which is about 12 ft.? I was thinking that I could work on the basics that way, like climbing, etc. What type of mat do I need? I would like to avoid killing my self if at all possible!
post #4 of 27
4/15/10 at 10:08am
My husband does this - I'm so totally scared of heights, but he loves it. Mostly, it's something he does with a group of people who rent a space once a week and just give advice. Some of them are professionals, most of them are just in it for fun. It's not really formal instruction, but there is a lot of available help. It does amazing things to arms and shoulders and abs. It is, however, not the least hazardous activity out there.

I'd worry about the ceiling. Can you sink an attachment point in deeply and strongly enough that it will safely hold the silks and your body weight while you experiment and thrash around? I don't know what your house is like, structurally, but I would warn you that drywall is not very sturdy.

DH has found the community of people doing this to be very helpful, informative and inspiring, and you certainly can do a lot with practice and experimentation on your own, but I'd be really worried about the ceiling.
post #5 of 27
4/15/10 at 11:22am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by MeepyCat View Post
My husband does this - I'm so totally scared of heights, but he loves it. Mostly, it's something he does with a group of people who rent a space once a week and just give advice. Some of them are professionals, most of them are just in it for fun. It's not really formal instruction, but there is a lot of available help. It does amazing things to arms and shoulders and abs. It is, however, not the least hazardous activity out there.

I'd worry about the ceiling. Can you sink an attachment point in deeply and strongly enough that it will safely hold the silks and your body weight while you experiment and thrash around? I don't know what your house is like, structurally, but I would warn you that drywall is not very sturdy.

DH has found the community of people doing this to be very helpful, informative and inspiring, and you certainly can do a lot with practice and experimentation on your own, but I'd be really worried about the ceiling.
I would take extreme measures to be certain that the ceiling support was efficient. We would add a reinforcement structure to the rafters to be absolutely sure it was 100% safe as far as the load bearing capabilities. It seems like it would be easy enough to hurt yourself doing this without the added danger of the roof falling in on you!
post #6 of 27
4/17/10 at 9:45am
that would be my same concern. do you have any exposed rafters or beams? what are you working with. as for a mat with only 12 feet you could always use a mattress or futon. the ceiling would be my bigger concern. are you in Atlanta? I think there is a really amazing school there. I would definitely encourage you to check that out. I would do anything to have a school around here.
post #7 of 27
4/19/10 at 10:03am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dewlady View Post
that would be my same concern. do you have any exposed rafters or beams? what are you working with. as for a mat with only 12 feet you could always use a mattress or futon. the ceiling would be my bigger concern. are you in Atlanta? I think there is a really amazing school there. I would definitely encourage you to check that out. I would do anything to have a school around here.
I don't have exposed rafters, but would not attempt to work on any kind of unsafe apparatus. There is a school in the Atlanta area, but Atlanta is ridiculously large (urban sprawl) and it is quite far from me...and I am not in a position currently to afford classes unfortunately.
post #8 of 27
4/22/10 at 8:52am
What would you hang it from? dry wall would definitely not work. you could cut a hole in your ceiling and have a small circle where there is a beam. then could talk you through rigging from that. yeah, I know, getting to a class can be monumental sometimes.
post #9 of 27
4/23/10 at 11:24am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dewlady View Post
What would you hang it from? dry wall would definitely not work. you could cut a hole in your ceiling and have a small circle where there is a beam. then could talk you through rigging from that. yeah, I know, getting to a class can be monumental sometimes.
It's too bad that an outdoor rig would be so crazy expensive, that would be the way to go for sure!

I did locate some photos and explanation of one woman's method to install silks at home..
http://www.studioveena.com/forum/vie...&sd=a&start=10

It is on page 2, What do you think?
post #10 of 27
4/23/10 at 6:37pm
I booked classes for may! They also include trapeze and vertical rope.
post #11 of 27
4/27/10 at 4:50pm
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post #12 of 27
4/27/10 at 4:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sellendie View Post
It's too bad that an outdoor rig would be so crazy expensive, that would be the way to go for sure!

I did locate some photos and explanation of one woman's method to install silks at home..
http://www.studioveena.com/forum/vie...&sd=a&start=10

It is on page 2, What do you think?
It's a little hard for me to tell what was nailed on and why it needed to be. I wouldn't work that high or upside down on something nailed together necessarily. It could be fine, I just can;t quite tell. All the other info about rating is accurate, though.

Your space is not nearly that tall, right?
post #13 of 27
4/28/10 at 9:36am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dewlady View Post
It's a little hard for me to tell what was nailed on and why it needed to be. I wouldn't work that high or upside down on something nailed together necessarily. It could be fine, I just can;t quite tell. All the other info about rating is accurate, though.

Your space is not nearly that tall, right?
We evaluated our structure and....it's a no go

It seems like it is becoming more and more popular though- someone just recently told me that a music artist did it at some awards show- so I am going to cross my fingers that someone decides to start a class a little closer to me that I can save up for.
post #14 of 27
4/29/10 at 12:30pm

Aerial Fabric Teachers

sellendie,

There are a few aerial silk teachers in Atlanta, and by a few, I mean 2 companies that teach both kids and adults, and a third that only teaches kids. I am a teacher for the Sky Gym, and we specialize in aerial silks only. We have two locations, Buckhead and Kennesaw. The DAIR project is another company who operates an outreach program that focuses on at risk youths, but also teaches adult silks, lyra, trapeze and modern dance. They are located in Grant Park. I teach an introductory lesson every Sunday in Kennesaw, and every Saturday in Buckhead where students get a fun tour of aerial silk poses in a hammock, so that we can do some pretty advanced moves without having to learn how to climb or do footknots. In the beginner's course we go back and learn climbing, footknots, and poses. It's my passion, and its great to hear that people are starting to be interested in aerial silks. Happy flying!

Amber
post #15 of 27
4/29/10 at 1:14pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by LiquidSky View Post
sellendie,

There are a few aerial silk teachers in Atlanta, and by a few, I mean 2 companies that teach both kids and adults, and a third that only teaches kids. I am a teacher for the Sky Gym, and we specialize in aerial silks only. We have two locations, Buckhead and Kennesaw. The DAIR project is another company who operates an outreach program that focuses on at risk youths, but also teaches adult silks, lyra, trapeze and modern dance. They are located in Grant Park. I teach an introductory lesson every Sunday in Kennesaw, and every Saturday in Buckhead where students get a fun tour of aerial silk poses in a hammock, so that we can do some pretty advanced moves without having to learn how to climb or do footknots. In the beginner's course we go back and learn climbing, footknots, and poses. It's my passion, and its great to hear that people are starting to be interested in aerial silks. Happy flying!

Amber
Thanks Amber! I did not realize there was a buckhead location for an introductory class. I am going to check it our and hopefully be able to sign up for one soon.
post #16 of 27
4/30/10 at 5:06pm
Wow, I grew up doing this and adored aerial work. I performed briefly as well, but I had my main specialty is stilt dancing and fire play. What a trip. Haven't been in the air since I got pregnant 8 years ago. I would SO love to get back into it! Maybe it's almost time!
post #17 of 27
7/20/10 at 6:07pm

dublin aerial

hi girls can u please help me , i m going to be learning aerial silks and have purchased silks and equiptment on the net. do u know of any link that can show me how to mount my aerial rigg to a gym hall ceilling
post #18 of 27
7/22/10 at 9:01am
is there a beam? what would you be rigging to?
post #19 of 27
7/22/10 at 6:18pm

thank you for getting back to me

yeah uts a beamed roof but im not sure how to do it do u know of any links that would show me how
post #20 of 27
7/23/10 at 2:43pm
Here is a link that has good safe info on rigging. If it is an exposed beam that is safe, that is a really east way to rig. you just need to get span sets (a strong climbing type of loop used in lots of theaters and for climbers), a figure 8 (this is a specific type of metal hoop with "wings" to separate fabrics), and two strong highly rated steel carabiners. And the actual fabrics of course. then it is a matter of installing it all correctly, and maintaining checkups, replacing materials, etc. depending on where you are located, you could hire someone or try to figure it out but please be careful. I have seen home rigs fall because people try to install them properly and don't. It is entirely possible however, to do this safely if you take your time and learn how to do it right.

This website has a wealth of info.


http://community.simplycircus.com/tu...aq.htm#Rigging

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