WHITE ALMOST-CHRISTMAS

After a tough week of rehearsing our group acro number and getting to know a new coach (Mark) who busted our butts, we spent an awesomely reclusive 3-day weekend at Bradford and Chase's "CHALET" located 17 miles north of Brattleboro (see September archive for a fall photo of the Chalet). It snowed on top of snow- and piled up quickly! With a fire place, cable TV and an awesome internet connection all wrapped up in a snowy Vermont package, we left feeling refreshed, inspired and productive!

Meal preparation was quite rustic. Due to changes at the Chalet, there wasn't any silverware....so we got creative:

I made progress on some Vermont-inspired past times- beer drinking, fire tending AND embroidery...

While "Monkey- the Meteorologist" kept track of snow accumulation...16 inches and counting!

CIRCUS SCHOOL WEEK 13

We busted our butts this week learning skills for our show in a few weeks- most of which have been kinda tough to photograph because they involve dynamic things. Despite that, here are some of the things we spent HOURS on this week.

Standing on Monkey's head- truly killer on the legs to hold onto his head "like suction cups" as Serenity instructed. Monkey looks like he's having a GREAT time, doesn't he?

Below is a Hand-To-Foot Roll-Over. I start standing in Monkey's hands with his arms straight, then he starts to bend his arms as he rolls over to elbows/belly and then rolls all the way back to his back. It's crazy weird and involves all kind of nuanced balance and adjustments for us both, but this is some of the harder stuff we came here to learn.

FIRST SNOW

It's Vermont in Winter! The snow was six beautiful inches.
Below is the view down Elliot Street from our living room.

CIRCUS SCHOOL WEEK 12

Holy cow- taking time off for Thanksgiving didn't do me any favors! Tricks that were easy before the break now seem like a distant memory. I had to try hard to smile and enjoy the wild world of sensation that awaited me this week- apparently you pay threefold for each day with out a split, handstand or backbend! To make up for it- I spent quality time stretching with my roommate Chris the contortionist:

In class this week, we separated into our groups for our "RECITAL" (that's what I'm calling it anyway!) on December 21st. There are 3 groups: Trapeze, Fabrics and Acrobatics (that's the one Monkey and I are in). We alternate each day between working on our act and continuing to learn skills on Trapeze and Fabric: