Discipline of the Week: Aerial Silks

Discipline of the Week: Aerial silks

What is it?

Aerial silks is an acrobatic discipline performed on two long pieces of fabric suspended from a rigging point above. Practitioners climb, wrap, invert, spin, drop, and create shapes while suspended in the air.

But there’s much more to silks than simply getting off the ground.

The Athletic Side 

Aerial silks demands a powerful combination of strength and flexibility. Grip strength, pulling power, core strength, shoulder stability, and body control all come into play, while flexibility can open up everything from beautiful lines to more advanced skills.

The Brain Game

The backbone of any silks aerialist: wrap theory: aerial, spatial awareness and the relationship between the fabric and your body! Where are your wraps? Which one is your safety? What’s your pathway in? What will your pathway be when you drop? Where do you need tension? Where do you need slack? Understanding the fabric is just as important as understanding your own body position in space

In aerial silks , you’re constantly changing orientation — upside down, sideways, spinning, climbing, falling… all while keeping track of where your body, the fabric, and your next movement are in relation to one another.

The Artistry

And then there’s the creative component…

Once the technique is there, silks becomes a canvas for self-expression and story telling. Aerialists can play with musicality, flow, and emotion to turn the skills into a show.

Incredible physical strength hidden inside seemingly effortless movement is what creates performance.

Finding Your Aerials Crew

Are you a silks aerialist, instructor, or studio? Join the AcroEssence Global Directory and close the gap between acrobats and training!

Ignite. Unite. Take Flight.

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