fantasmata

There’s a nineteenth century dance concept called “fantasmata.” Basically, it’s the ability of stillness to imitate flight or, on the flip side, when abrupt movement is quickly stilled. This Michael Whelan painting sort of illustrates what I mean:

I think that this concept embodies all that my aerial silks have the capacity to do… or I guess, what I have the capacity to do with my aerial silks. But only if I can embody that feeling. I can only emote if I can feel, just like the best gymnasts can actually emote in gymnastics because they have mastered disciplined movements – but virtually none of them ever do because in the act of disciplining the body, they lose the capacity to feel, to express emotion through it in their craft. So my silks can either be another way of saying “hey look how strong I am” or “hey look! I can memorize choreography!” But they can also be a beautiful articulation of feelings, emotions, sentiments, memories…