While trapeze artists appear to lead glamorous, airborne lives, it's a well-known fact most circuses consider elephant cleanup and rickety rolly coaster testing part of acrobatic duties. Defy gravity and treacherous circus tasks with today's Groupon: for $12, you get an Aerial Sampler Workshop at Aerial Arts of Rochester (a $25 value). Starting April 23, the workshop will be held Saturdays from 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Aerial Arts of Rochester teaches how to twirl, twist, and soar above the ground, elegantly suspended from silk fabrics (tissu), aerial hoops (lyra), airborne hammocks, and the static trapeze. Students learn in a controlled environment, with at least one instructor present at all times and no apparatus hanging higher than 10 feet off the ground. In the air, participants push themselves to master unfamiliar movements and find a new medium of physical expression, which often results in students smiling more than a sloth camping in Jeff Bridges’ beard.
By the end of the course, students possess a thorough introduction to the aerial arts, and can further their training in other classes (not included with this Groupon), or simply use their skills to roll themselves up the drapes to clean hard-to-reach ceiling carpets.
Aerial Arts of Rochester
As if composed of liquid, William D'Ovidio, the co-owner of Aerial Arts of Rochester, cascades down from the ceiling of his studio, unraveling the bright fabric that keeps him from touching the ground as he performs one of his graceful aerial-silks routines. Along with a troupe of certified instructors, he leads circus arts classes for all experience levels inside his bright, yellow-walled space. He watches as students of all ages soar through the air, swinging on hoops and trapeze, as instructors correct form and a field of marshmallowy mats cushions occasional falls and provides a mid-class sugar boost. D'Ovidio and his instructors aim to create a community of soarers and circus-lovers, also offering circus-themed birthday parties for children and aerial yoga classes for students aged 13 and older.