#fwt2015

Work on the wall

As FWT is ending and New Orleans is going Mardi Gras crazy, my adrenalin is pumping and I'm excited to head back to Bennington. With still a good bit of books left in my trunk, we've had an increase of pop-up sites. Having people look around and ask about the books has been a much less stressful and more social interaction. I've read through enough of them to form opinions and give a little background info to anyone interested. Many of the publishers and creators of the books and zines are connected to the Iron Rail either for literary, anarchist or social justice contributions to the local, regional and national communities. During the last meeting, the entire hour was dedicated to a discussion of what the Iron Rail will be when the new building is up. From the essentials of defining a collective, to the very knit picky details of the decision making process, all the members gave their input to make the most accurate and informative document possible. Who knew anarchism was so complex?! Actually, I enjoyed being there for that very important discussion. For some odd reason, I really dwell in administrative work, especially the meticulous paperwork. Librarians do more that just read books all day. To truly take full advantage of my "librarian" role, I've been working on building a database of past, current and hopefully future interested members complete with all their updated contacts so we can best utilize them for the renovations.

A little floor ditty in class at Bandaloop

The other highlight for the week was this weekend’s Winter Workshop at the Bandaloop Studio in west Oakland. I am so grateful that I was allowed to participate, and despite a few more gnarly harness bruises, I am completely hooked on the form. I’ve stated to explore pulling flips and jumps while running in a pendulum (it is exactly what it sounds like). you have to relax into the tidal pulse running back and forth along the wall and jump at just the right moment to lift off and fly. It feels fantastic. I’ve learned quickly that you have to loose yourself in the enjoyment of working on the wall. If you start getting into your head, or over analyzing the movement, it immediately becomes a struggle and you put yourself in a position to crash. you have to give into the flow of gravity in a new way. Regardless of whether I continue to do this kind of aerial work, I have learned invaluable lessons about my alignment, about degrees of physical effort, and especially about letting go. One of my teachers at the workshop summed it up for me when she explained, “it is all about relaxing what you can.” Ultimately, I think this applies to all aspects of life.

California Dreaming open rehearsal and film shoot

Rocket Hub mailing complete

In other news, Bandaloop’s winter weekly series has started.  While I’m sporting the latest in tender harness bruises, I’m also high on the thrill of thwarting gravity. We’ve worked on the climbing wall, harnessless. This has sparked several ideas for bouldering routes as choreography (look out rec barn!)  We’ve danced on the trampoline wall, and the hard wall, in the studio. All I can say is that I desperately want more. And finally we’ve done some work with “low flying” which is possibly the most exciting thing so far. I am soaking up the freedom of having all the agency and articulation of having my feet on the floor, but the support of a harness to challenge the normal limitations of momentum.  I can’t wait to continue to explore this new relationship to inertia, especially when it comes to turning upside down. Floor work now has a whole new meaning!