From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aerial Silks (also known aerial tissue/tissu, aerial silk, aerial ballet in silk, aerial contortion or aerial curtain) is a circus art where a performer or performers hang and perform acrobatics while suspended by a special fabric.

Contents 1 Rigging 2 Selecting Fabrics 3 Additional Information 4 References 5 External links

While there are many variations, the basic static (non-motorized) order for rigging aerial silks is:

                 Load Bearing point
                           |
                  Attachment Hardware (e.g. shackle, carabiner)
                           |
                  Swivel
                           |
                 Attachment Hardware
                           |                     
                 Knot Managing Hanger Hardware (e.g. Rescue 8, Fabric Bell)
                           |
                 Material

Fabric under the name of 'tricot chiffon' is most commonly used by performers, though fabrics which have this name do vary. When choosing material for this act, there are a number of issues one must take into account.

• Stretch
  • Low stretch fabrics. Low stretch fabrics provide a high degree of control for precision choreography. With the spread of motorized rigging and sophisticated shock absorbing hardware, low stretch fabric is used in most modern professional productions.
  • Medium stretch fabrics. Medium stretch fabrics are becoming less common, as they do not have many of the advantages of lower stretch fabrics. Primarily Russian artists and those who trained in the early-mid nineties use low stretch fabrics.

• Width. Fabric width is mostly a personal choice. The thickness of the fabric when gathered is also influenced by the "denier", or technical thickness of the fabrics weave.
  • 60" - Narrow when open, thin when gathered. Recommended for children only.
  • 72-84” - Average for adults. A good place to start.
  • 96" - Wide when open, thick when gathered. Best for adults with large hands.
  • 108” - Very wide and thick. Recommended for adults with very large hands, or specialty acts.

• Length
  • Length is a function of the height of the space available. Keep in mind that silks must be TWICE the desired height. Silks will be hung from the middle so that there are two separate strands of silks.
  • For beginners, it is beneficial if the fabric to comes down past the ground, allowing them to practice wraps at a lower level where they can be spotted.
  • For intermediate users and above, it is sufficient if the fabrics to come down to the ground.

• Some silks performers prefer to use dried and crumbled rosin on their hands and feet to increase the friction and grip on the fabric.

• Aerial Circus Training and Safety Manual (ISBN 0-88100-136-8) Google link for this book

• General Resource
  • Aerial Silks Resource Page (Simply Circus)
  • Aerial Arts FAQ (Simply Circus)

• Suppliers of Aerial Silks
  • Aircat Aerial Arts (sells variety of fabric materials and colors)
  • Custom Built Equipment (sells fabrics and related rigging)
  • New York Circus Arts Academy (sells a wide range of aerial apparatus including silks)
  • Nimble Arts (sells fabrics and related rigging)
  • Unicycle Voltige (sells a fabric bell and related rigging)

• Silks Performers
  • Aerial Experience
  • Aircat Aerial Arts
  • FireFly Aerial Acrobatics
  • Silk Sisters
  • Gemini Trapeze
  • Veronica Blair

• Silks Movies
  • The Gymnast