Dispatches from Urban Acrobatics NYC: Day 3 Workshops at Word Up! 9/6/13

Movement and imagination. These are the two key ideas that Polly, Goons, and the six amazing kids that spent the day with us at Word Up! learned, embodied, and taught.

Arriving at Word Up! at noon today, a little bleary-eyed from being up late from the adrenaline of last night's workshops, I was greeted by a girl from the neighborhood who had participated in the tagging workshops last night. "She stayed up all night drawing." Polly informed me. True enough, Sheli showed me the pages of her sketch book filled with pictures, of a little mermaid, a princess, and a page that said "I love you Mami and Papi." She helped us set up.

Our fearless leader and her sketch book. Photo Credit: Caitlin Bruce

 Kids who had participated in E67 and Clark's workshop returned, and Goons started off the second workshop. "So many of you know of graffiti as writing words, but you can also draw characters. Maybe today we can draw characters, would you like to do that?" The kids nodded. "Ok, well the best way to start is to create, so let's just start creating." He shared a foamcore board with Sheli and Isis, on of the other participants from the night before, and his iconic Goons characters, with big red lips and often a single eye, began to be joined by smaller, slightly more kinetic figures, splashes of color, and flowers, leaves, and other objects.

I was joined by the girl who wrote "Zebra" the night before, accompanied by her younger sister. We drew dogs and cats and rabbits, recounting mishaps with pet bunnies. Twenty minutes later we then, led by Polly and Goons, embarked on drawing a creature collectively. After much deliberation it was decided that the creature would be a "Bobble headed butterfly monster." Taking turns, each participant added to the monster, which was eventually christened "Wosterhead." Woster was a little dark: he/she ate both nectar and humans.

"Wosterhead", The Bobble-Head-Butterfly-Monster. Photo Credit: Caitlin Bruce

Then Polly made life more complicated. We had to draw another collective creature, this time a "Puppy jellyfish" but the catch was that not only would each person add part of the drawing, but they had to make up a dance move that the rest of the move would carry out whilst they drew. After which, we played a version of "drawing musical chairs" when, after the key word "banana" was uttered, we would have to move to draw on a different part of the board. The result was a more erratic, mobile, and energetic looking piece, reflecting the movement of the participants. Holding up the piece, looking at the sitting, and the standing results, we could see how physical movement impacted the aesthetic look of the pieces.

Puppy Jellyfish. Photo Credit: Caitlin Bruce

After thanking Goons for teaching us about drawing characters, and bravely participating in all of hte dance, scrambling, and moving about, Polly moved us into the circus workshop. Three more of the participants from the night before arrived, excited and ready to get into the work. I chatted with some of the kids while Polly set up the mats, learning that they ranged from age 6 to 10, most went to PS8, and one wanted to be a lawyer, and three doctors.

Polly went over the rules: "Safety, Fun, and Respect." She elaborated after asking the kids to define each term. "You have to be safe. Be careful of yourself, and of others. Have fun-- I think you all know what that is. And Respect. You have to respect your body, not doing anything that would hurt it, nourishing it, keeping it strong. And you must respect others, be aware of them. Finally, you must respect the space and the equipment that is being lent to us." The three rules were a touch-stone that we could return to when frazzled, hyper, or frustrated.

First we did a warm up, loosening our bodies, getting ready to move. Then Polly had everyone work on partners on balancing exercises, holding onto a partner's wrists while standing toe-to-toe, and then slowly leaning back. "You have to trust your partner," she instructed "and you have to take your tummy with you!" After some squeals of uncertainty the troupe each succeeded in doing an assisted lean. Things got more complex yet again. "Now we are going to do some standing poses, where the smaller partner stands on the bigger one. But you do not just jump on your partner!" Polly cautioned. "You carefully put your foot turning outwards on the middle of their thigh, while holding onto their wrists, then the same with the next foot. Then you both lean back." She demonstrated with Lesley, and Sheli, and we were underway. Suddenly, from basic leans, the kids were making a human pyramid, on hands and knees and even standing.

Human, or, in Carla's terminology "People Pyramid." Photo Credit: Caitlin Bruce

 Possibly the most frustrating but also rewarding activity of the day was spinning plates. Plate spinning is deceptively simple when done by a pro: after a few subtle and expert spins on the lip of the plate, Polly transferred the wooden pole to the middle where it rotated smoothly and rapidly. In reality, keeping the stick at a straight angle while making small, smooth, and rapid circles is much more difficult. Plates clattered to the floor, bouncing on the mats, noses, and knees. Frustrated but not surrendering, the dedicated troupe followed Polly around, asking her to demonstrate, and the re-demonstrate the exercise. Finally, after working silently and intensely, the troupe was able to efficiently transfer a plate to each person and spin them in unison. Eyes locked above, mouths open or set, a message written in the Urban Acrobatics guest book had proved prophetic: "Concentration is key."

Spinning Plates. Photo Credit: Caitlin Bruce

 Of course, after every act, one must also conclude it with a flourish, called "The Present." The present can be thought of the circus equivalent of a graffiti style, the signature flourish one adds at the end of a particularly thrilling act.

"The Present." Successful Plate Spinning. Photo Credit: Caitlin Bruce

After a short late lunch break, where the troupe read on the mats, or colored in their new sketch books, we reconvened to juggle discs with partners. Finally, we sat together and discussed the events of the past two days. I asked each youth to tell me what they thought of the workshops, and what their favorite parts were. Surprisingly, many said that the plate spinning, though frustrating, was their favorite because it was exciting to be able to do it. Others loved the graffiti and that "you can draw bricks behind your name." They then requested dance music and boogied the rest of the afternoon away. Some may join us for the final performance Sunday.

A hearty thanks to Goons, Riley, Polly, Word Up!, Moose Hall, and the kids for their inspiring work today. See you tomorrow at the Practice Session at the Jumel Mansion.