Tour Break

We just finished up our tour break for the season. A whopping three full days off with two half days bookending the whole. All of my cast mates opted to get the hell out of Dodge and either go home or visit friends (translation: party). What did I do, you ask? I think this image sums it up nicely...

And Not the Rope Kind

Ladies and gentlemen, there's no tiptoeing around it. I've been slacking. I returned from my trip to South America two weeks ago and I've barely posted a thing! I admit it, I am tired. I'm presently in creation/rehearsal for a new show that will be premiering in a week, and it is kicking my ass.

I realize that may be a terrible excuse, so hopefully the fact that I've been feeling kind of bad about not posting makes up for it a little.

Hopefully I'll get a little more written content up in the near future. In the meantime, enjoy this photo of Mikhail and Ludmila Lalashvili.

 Unlike me, their slacking is acceptable.

Break Time

I hope you've enjoyed this year's coverage of the Festival Montreal Completement Cirque! For the next few weeks, things are going to be pretty quiet around here as I'm heading off to Argentina and Brazil! There are a few fun posts scheduled for the coming weeks, though. I mean, how can you go from two weeks of non-stop circus action to radio silence? It just can't be done!

So here's one last little clip from the festival before we return to our regular programming. Video brought to you by Montrealfestimania.com and les 7 doigts de la main! Enjoy!

Photo Shoot!

Hello all!

Remember how I said I'd be able to start posting again soon? Well, about that...

I'm on a break for the next little while, but as is my custom, breaks are synonymous with adventure! And as of this evening, I'm off! I'll be going to Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Finland. Then back home to Montreal, but only for two weeks as I have a month long adventure in South America (with a wee bit of work) to keep me occupied.

But before any of that happens, I'm going to Nantes for a photo shoot! Its been almost a year since I started doing trapeze and it's high time I get some promotional material together. Especially since I've started applying for work with trapeze but with very little professional material (*coughcoughnonecoughcough*) to show.

The shoot will last two days and the photographer and I have planned on two locations: an old abandoned slaughterhouse, and a big ol' oak tree. Having done a shoot with this photographer before, I'm sure there will some other on a whim locations thrown in as well.

I admit, I'm a little nervous about doing photos outdoors on an apparatus that still feels new to me, but if Rhianna can do it, then so can I!

The key is to wear as little clothing as possible.

Baby Got Back

Prague, Czech Republic

Swedish Spec

It's cool, I'm with the band. - Malmo, Sweden

Zzzzz...

Things have been a bit slow here at Kicking Sawdust. With the festival finished for this year and my company on break for the summer, I don't have all that much to share. But more than anything, I've been training like there's no tomorrow and have had very little time for posting.

Because I don't want to leave hungry circus affectionados in a lurch, I do have some fun odds and ends to post.

July was content heavy. August looks ripe for fun and frivolity...

Stay tuned!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

Summer is here, and while I may not be much of a baseball fan, I can't deny that for many, the start of baseball season means the start of summer. As such, I would like to share this gem of a video. If it doesn't scream both 'summer' and 'circus', then I dare say I don't know what does!

Enjoy!

Go Time

Hello all!

In tradition with all breaks from the tour, I have not written in a long time! But that trend will likely change as in seven hours I will be on a plane back to Europe. To shake things up a bit, I am not heading to France, but to Holland!

So prepare yourself for an exciting new season of Kicking Sawdust!

Willkommen, or, The Post that Became About Something Else Entirely

It should come as no surprise that as someone who does German wheel, I absolutely love Germany. I have no idea when or how it happened. My love of Germany is not at all like the love for my own country, or my love for Iceland, a country that completely ensnared my heart and soul. Nevertheless, my love for Germany is strong and is reaffirmed every time I visit. And you know all those dorky Facebook quizzes with names like "What should your nationality be?" or "From what country will your lover be?" It never fails, my result is always Germany.

When I finally hightailed it out of France my destination was clear: Berlin, Berlin, Berlin. Not only is it a city I love, but I have some friends from circus school working there at the moment. I cannot begin to tell you how good it felt to be with friends who go further back than my circus, to share stories about common friends, to fill in the blanks since the last time we were together, and to simply reminisce.

But the most important reunion of all was with a friend who had been in a terrible accident ten months earlier. He had been working in a variete in Berlin when he fell from his rope. Although witness accounts aren't clear (the artists weren't watching and the theatre isn't talking) the basic understanding is that he hit his head on a piece of decor while swinging, lost consciousness and fell to the floor. The damage was severe.

His story is personal, and I won't go into too many details about what he has struggled with since the accident. But what I can, and frankly, what I must say is that he is incredible. I don't think that I would be able to maintain the incredibly positive attitude he has consistently demonstrated. I don't believe that I would have the incredible strength to fight to regain what the accident took away from him. To see how luminous he remains, to see the hope, the strength, the determination... the force of will with which he radiates...

He inspires me, he humbles me, and most obviously, he reminds me of the grim reality that lurks in the shadows of this profession.

Yes, Berlin opened my heart and my eyes a little more. But like all good things, it couldn't last forever. And while it saddened me to leave, there were some very exciting opportunities waiting to be tackled on the other side of the country.

So Long, Suckers!

The end of Besançon was the beginning of a very important time for me. And that, my friends, would be time that I would not be spending in France. I had only been in the country for a mere two months, and already, j'avais marre.

There are a number of things about France that I find incredibly frustrating if not down right infuriating ("Spay or neuter my pet? That's cruel! I'll just drown the puppies!"*). After a month in a city that brought nothing but bad news and bad times, there was nothing I was looking forward to more than telling France to emmerde itself and then get the hell out of Dodge.

So off I went to one of my favourite countries to go visit friends, lift my spirits and get in on some serious wheel related goodness.

As soon as I crossed the border, a weight lifted from my shoulders and I to remembered how to smile.

Au revoir, Besançon.

Guten Tag, Berlin!




* I've encountered that same mind set from multiple sources, so don't go telling me I'm exaggerating.

We're Baaaaack!

After a month and a half break, some serious personal clutter removal, and a slew of exciting events, Kicking Sawdust is back in action!

I am currently in a teeny tiny village in the pre-alps with the family of a good friend. Other than cow gazing, there is very little to do here. As such, it is my hope to get all the posts I've been meaning to write written and up for your eyes to see!

Don't let the silence of the past weeks fool you, a lot has been going on.

So kick back sawdust style, the and delve back into the life of this traveling circus artist!

Nearing the Finish/Starting Line

And so, my marathon week of training is coming to a close. I admit, I punked out on a couple of hours because four hours total on public transit was just too painful for an hour of training. But all told, this week has been a success.

After two days, my body remembered to ignore the bruising. The backs of my knees may be burned and a little bloody, but at least now I can head across the pond knowing that the flying line and I are on good terms.

Most reassuring of all is that I'm no longer afraid of that first run through in Blagnac. After the last month+ break, I couldn't even get through half my act. True, I hadn't trained due to the California fiasco, and my back was trying to kill me, but still. This time around, I not only have some serious pre-tour training to lean on, I also have a run through under my belt.

Circus is a funny beast. Learning new tricks is fun. Creating a new act is fun. Performing is fun. Running through an established number, however, can be like pulling teeth.

Fortunately, there were some folks in the studio today, including some German wheel folk and about-to-audition-for-circus-school folk, so I felt an encouraging push to perform. Normally, the presence of people would have the opposite effect on me. Maybe I'm growing a bit as an artist...

Of course, a run through on its own isn't that terribly exciting. A lot can go wrong after not running for a month and a half. And between you and me, I'm pretty shocked that I did all my tricks, finished with the music, and wasn't all that out of breath!

This section of the tour has some pretty big moments waiting for me. We'll be playing the circus' home town and I have some pretty exciting wheel opportunities scheduled. The last town we played was a warm-up. Now it's time for 2010 to truly begin!