Aerial Silks Teacher Training | Contact Paper Doll Militia

Sarah Bebe Holmes
Co-Artistic Director

UK Office
(+44) 07815 616 990
Sarah@paperdollmilitia.com

Rain Anya
Co-Artistic Director

USA Office
510-213-2622
Rainanya@gmail.com

Noeli Acoba
Arts Administrator

noeli@paperdollmilitia.com

retreats@paperdollmilitia.com
teachertraining@paperdollmilitia.com
info@paperdollmilitia.com

Instagram post 2191771996231469585_199435523 $🌙Back Flexibility🌙 What's the deal with the upper back? * I heard for years that all aerialists needed to work on upper back flexibility in order to really get the most out of our backbending. While this is true, we have a VERY interesting anatomical tidbit for you all. Did you know that when we increase mobility in the upper back, what we are really doing is working to counteract the natural flexion (forward curve) to achieve more of a STRAIGHT upper back. This goes for everyone, not just ripped aerialists. • The second picture shows a contortionist in an MRI. You can tell this person in actually sitting on their head, but where is most of the curve coming from? You'll see it's mostly from their lumbar (low back) and cervical (neck) region. • • So how do we work on opening our upper back? As with all flexibility work, it's important to balance both passive and active flexibility. Here are some ways that we like to stretch and strengthen the thoracic spine * 1) Passive: Using a yogawheel. These things are awesome!! But yes, it's another thing to own, you can do a similar stretch using a kitchen chair! (swipe to the next video) • With either prop the secret is to drop your bum, this will pull you deeper into the stretch * 2) Active: Set up your foam roller on the bottom of the rib cage. Think about lifting up and off of the foam roller to engage the extensor muscles around your spine, and lift your gaze. Roll the foam roller forwards and back while keeping the chest lifted * * You can challenge or modify this action bring bringing your arms into different places on the foam roller. * * #flexibility #backflexibility Photo by @pix_fish Photo from Paper Doll Militia's WARPED with performers @samaquatik & @windubitably ------------------------------------------------------ ✨Upcoming Teacher Trainings✨ • Feb 13 - 17 {Level 1 Silks and Rope} Lexington, KY • March 7 - 10 {Level 1 Trapeze} Oxford, England • April 8 - 12 {Level 1 Silks and Rope} Glasgow, Scotland • April 13 - 17 {Level 2 Lyra} Washington D.C. area, Virginia • June 15 - 19 {Level 1 Silks} Marin, CA 🦋Link in the bio🦋$

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@reconfigure_lifedrawing is an opportunity for artists and performers to be transported with art. The evening is a two hour long event with a model, a musician and a room full artists sketching away to beautiful beats. *
Sarah Bebe Holmes modeled along with musician @BadoReti •
The focus was palpable. The sketchpads just audible over the eerie and emotional bass looping. •
It was a beautiful example of cross art-forms. Bringing visual, auditory, and physical practices together in one space. •
It was also the most sore I've been in a while. I learned that a five minute pose takes about 100 breaths. I survived by counting my breathing. •
#crossartform #multi-disciplinary #art #lifedrawing

First picture by @emilyluscombeillustration
Second picture by @mike.t.art
Third picture by @artsyschmolke

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“By replacing the fear of the unknown with curiosity we open ourselves up to an infinite stream of possibility. We can let fear rule our lives or we can become childlike with our curiosity pushing our boundaries, leaping out of our comfort zones and accepting what life puts before us“ -Alan Watts⠀
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Think that your creativity practice starts when you walk in the aerial studio? Or when you start working on that new act? Think again! Creativity is a skill that ANYONE can cultivate in their daily lives. Alan Watts speaks of our "curiosity pushing out boundaries." But what does that mean exactly?⠀
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Consider this: an openness to new experiences that disrupt the familiar. Try noticing this in your daily life. If you come across a person, an environment, an activity, or even an aerial technique that seems unfamiliar, try to notice any hesitation, fear or inclination to shut down the experience. See if instead you can flip that feeling on it's head and approach the situation with intrigue and curiosity. ⠀
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Here's your creativity homework assignment for the week. Find a way to push your own boundaries of familiarity. Take a class you've never tried before (eg. aerialists take a juggling class, contortionists go rock climbing), take a new route home from work, start a conversation with someone you might not normally speak to. Anything to shake things up a bit and disrupt your normal routine. ⠀ *⠀
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We'd love to hear how you do this in your life, or report back on what you did this week to excite your curiosity. Leave your thoughts and experiences in the comments. *
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📸 Photo by @davekenvisionlab
Aerialist Rain Anya - co-artistic director

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Seretide⠀
Sarah Bebe Holmes on Multi-Corde⠀
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An incredible apparatus to use, as it has more weight to it than the silk, but can get quite finicky if the tails get tangled. Tail control becomes pivotal!⠀
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Angel Roll Up⠀
You can see the descent here in this clip. I love working angel roll ups! They require stabilizing your shoulder in the overhead range, notice how I rotate my arm into external rotation as I make the turn. It feel awesomely therapeutic to work on it. ⠀
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Inside Out open drop⠀
Comes normally from an inside out knee hook climb, here I played around the with entrance to make it more interesting, utilizing “slack drag theory” where you drag the slack across a body part to create a loop/hitch rather than doing a knee hook and climbing above. ⠀
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You can see the full act on youtube if you search" Sarah Bebe Holmes Seretide” ⠀
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Video Credit Brian Hutchison⠀
#Summerhallery⠀
#multicorde⠀
#cordelisse

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Technique
Pull Ups!

Work Smarter. Not Hard with Effective Technique (Reposted because the last one was cut off) *
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Pulling up is not just bicep strength. It’s part of it. But not the full picture! To be able to pull up effectively we need to stabilize! If we can stabilize our body around the active pulling (concentric movement of biceps, flexion of shoulder with lat engagement) then we can achieve the skill much easier and safer. •
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Core Stability
Drop your Ribs down.
If your ribs flare out it’s an indication of disengaged abs. Flatten them to stabilise upper abdominals. *
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Find your posterior tilt- curl your pelvis
This allows for lower abdominal engagement.
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Shoulder stability
We want to initiate with external rotation of the shoulder. Spiral your elbows towards one another •
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Remember to gain the strength to go up we can always do the opposite, work your lower downs with good form!! Happy Training
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Photo credit: @circusschoolofaz

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Caught in the moment. In the middle of a drop. Still upside down before turning right side up. ⠀
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What are you thinking the moment before you drop. Are you a natural scaredy cat or are you a dare-devil? Truth be told. I'm not a natural dropper. Once I have it I'm fine. But I like to train my proprioception first. For a LONG TIME! I will walk out a drop slowly, learning the pathway, several as in sometimes up to 25 times before I start to release it and even more times until I drop it at full speed. ⠀
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What is your relationship to drops?⠀
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Do you feel like you know how to walk out any drop? ⠀
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Aerialist Sarah Bebe Holmes, co-artistic director⠀

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