More Feats of Upper Body Strength: Aerial Silks in Austin

The E.A.S.T. Austin Studio Tour has not been limited to traditional gallery art; it also incorporates workshops, demonstratoins, and performances.  Last Sunday, a few girls from Blue Lapis Light aerial silks studio hosted an outdoor demonstration of their "in-your-face-Newton" stunts on a large yellow rig with long, ominous, silk scarves flowing to the ground where a single yoga mat stood as cushion between aerial mishaps and the grass.

Rolling in late, per usual, I only caught the last part of the performance, but luckily for me...

Winnie Hsia was gracious enough to climb back up the silks to pose for me in a splits position.  My legs threatened to buckle under me if the thought of attempting that even crossed the frontal lobe of my mind. 

I think I'll hedge my bets on gravity-defying moves by sticking to my beginner pole tricks, since at least a pole is anchored to the ground.  On second thought, maybe I'll just continue to be the girl taking pictures.  I'm ok with that.

At the end, all of the girls came out and took a bow.  There was quite a crowd gathering, and the mosquitos had found us, so it was time to go back to an air conditioned gallery.  Be sure to watch for other events put on by local performers this weekend, since the studio tour extended it's run, and if you find Winnie on facebook, she can tell you of other upcoming aerial silk events. 

Also be sure to check out her boyfriend, Danny Strack, Austin's slam poetry team captain for the National Poetry Slam last year! It's hard not to hold a grudge against talented people who, when combined, have the same affect as the Captain Planet rings joining forces to save the universe, but it's worth avoiding the talent-jealousy-grudge to meet them.