ABSTRACT
Preparing for an aerial performance is exhilarating. Four months is a short period of time for brand new aerial dance students to make significant progress. A thorough grasp of the biomechanics of performer flying is vital for choreographing and teaching aerial performance. Performer flying has few analogous movement styles, and there is a completely different relationship with gravity when compared to other physical performance disciplines like dance or stage combat. To tell a story, whether it is narrative, interpretive, or conceptual, linear or circular, the flying director must lead the creative team and the performers toward a physical vocabulary that satisfies an audience's need for meaning creation, even when the team has little to no experience with performer flying. The first performance integrated paint rollers, brushes and various colors of paint. The choreographer worked very hard to use aerial technique as a means of creating images on the wall in paint.
