Fly Girls Tips on Managing Fear from Aerialists
Are aerialists dare devils? What kind of personalities gravitate towards aerial arts? How do they manage their fears?
Interviews with two aerialists revealed a different picture from what we, as spectators, might think about aerial arts from the safety of our seats. We all dream of flying, yet few of us lift off the earth unless we’re in an airplane. A look behind the scenes uncovered that circus arts and aerial dance are an achievable feat for anyone who wants to fly.
Aerialists Amy Ell of Gyrotonics Houston and Serenity Smith Forchion of Nimble Arts, LLC, are exceptional world-class athletes who push their bodies and minds beyond conceivable limits. Smart and visionary, they don’t consider their passion for aerial arts any more unusual than someone else who lives a fervent life. They just happen to dance in the air and use their bodies in ways that are unimaginable to most people.
Smith Forchion identifies herself as a businesswoman who goes to work like everyone else “but what I sell and how I work is different.” She continues, “Balancing on my partners’ shoulders and flying from one trapeze to another is a routine day for me and my students.”
Ell owns a Houston based studio where she teaches gyrotonics, dance and aerial arts. Self-described as “restless,” she “felt a yearning to take off some years ago. I wanted to use the rest of the stage, the space above the floor,” Ell reveals. “I always think ‘How can I move off the earth.’”
In watching aerialists spin, drop and fly from 25 or more feet above the floor, the word “dare devil” comes to mind. Webster defines a dare devil as “daring and reckless.” While it is definitely daring, there is nothing reckless about aerial performances.
“Circus arts have been promoted as death-defying and dare devilish,” says Smith Forchion who performs with Cirque du Soleil and her company in Brattleboro, VT. “I do adventurous things, but not until I have assessed the perspectives. I think caution.”
Risk management is an integral part of life, even more so for individuals who trail blaze into adventuresome arts. Certain personalities may be attracted to a higher, more frequent adrenaline rush offered by ventures with greater thrills, albeit the risk.
People are complex. Marvin Zuckerman, University of Delaware, has researched the environmental influences, personality traits and biological components of extreme performers. Looking closely at heredity, brain and hormonal chemistry, and personal experiences he found striking similarities among these individuals.
“Sensation Seekers seek the pursuit of novel, intense and complex sensations and the experiences to provide a thrill. There is a willingness to take risks for the sake of this experience,” according to Zuckerman.
He reveals four sub-dimensions under the broader category of Sensation Seeking:
• Thrill Seeking - willingness to take a physical risk • Experience Seeking – desiring the actual feel of the risk • Boredom Susceptibility - intolerance for monotony • Disinhibition - willingness to take social risks (Zuckerman, 1999)
He theorizes that within each sub-dimension are “varying degrees of seeking” which might predict the degree of risk a person is willing to take. What may seem risky to one person may not be risky to another even within the same pursuit.
“Genetics may play a role. Consider identical twins. They will pursue higher risk activities 60 percent of the time, even if they grow up apart,” Zuckerman states. Serenity Smith Forchion has an identical twin sister, Elsie, who is also a professional trapeze artist and acrobat.
The personalities of both interviewed aerialists are similar in some respects. Ell and Smith Forchion described themselves as highly resilient, adaptable and cautious. Where they differ is how they manage anxiety and boredom susceptibility. Smith Forchion disclosed herself as being calm by nature and intensely focused. Ell indicated that she requires the release of intense physical activity to quiet the constant motion in her mind and to stay level headed. “I can’t get enough of it. I can’t stop!”
Fear and anxiety management are necessities when risk is perceivably high. How do these performers handle the stress?
For these two aerialists, there is no conceivable threat as there is no true fear. Often misunderstood, true fear is a survival mechanism directly attributed to the presence of danger, or obvious threat. This flight or fight response frees a burst of chemicals in the blood stream, known as the rush. Whether deliberate or danger based, the response is the same, but the psychology is different.
The challenges of securing an aerial piece begin months before a performance. As choreography is developed, specialized rigging and personnel must be in place to support the action. Both aerialists insist that they minimize risks, eliminate fear and reduce worry by hiring their own riggers to ensure their safety.
The anticipation and freedom to feel the adrenaline rush leaves them free to present an unbridled performance. All is secure and calculated.
Keep in mind that the risk of aerial work is not always about the activity for the performer, but the sensations produced after completion.
Ell spoke with confidence about pre-performance jitters. Her mind is tightly focused on the possibilities and a successful outcome, not tragedy. The energy explosion is not associated with a threat.
“My trust in the work builds as the science reveals that it is possible. If physics does not support it then I change the choreography or don’t do it.” Ell clearly knows when a piece is secure for staging. “It is broken down in my mind.”
She is not fearless and has clear boundaries in what she will and will not do. With over 10 broken bones through her dance career, only one occurred during an aerial performance.
Smith Forchion also asserts, “I see the possibilities, not only in the movement but the capabilities of my body. I don’t see obstacles because everything is in place and my mind is full.”
A powerful visceral sense quietly monitors her movements. “I move within a space of familiarity in the air. My brain is on constant watch. The parameters for balance and position are clearly defined for me.”
Trust in the body’s competence and capability grew out of childhood experiences for both women.
“I read books high in trees as a child. I wasn’t athletic, just active.” recalls Smith Forchion, who grew up on her grandmother’s farm in New York. After one year of medical school, she and her twin sister, Elsie, were compelled to explore an unconventional path; they joined the circus!
In speaking with Ell, visions of Peter Pan come to mind. Ell discovered that she preferred to be upside down and sought ways to enjoy that sensation. “It started young for me. I was being groomed to be a scuba diver by my father. I climbed lots of trees. At the age of 10, I jumped and somersaulted on trampolines.” Described as a bull in a china closet, she was always looking for thrilling ways to move her body.
Nature, nurture and a powerful belief in possibility inspired these women to take flight—but not without safeguards. Reducing personal risk is first and foremost in their creations. Science, meticulous planning and incredible dreams set in motion productions that are very grounded in safety.
Ell and Smith Forchion are as strong in mind as they are in body. Through their extraordinary performances, they provide a lesser, although valid rush for spectator, as well. They hope to assure those interested in a novel flight plan that aerial arts can be a safe, adventuresome pursuit.
Smith Forchion encourages us dreamers: “Flying is possible. People convince themselves that it isn’t possible. The power of perception can make it happen.”