4 Tips for Safe and Artistic Harness Dance
The versatility of aerial dance is limited only by what you can attach a rope and harness to. In the case of Nimble Arts in Vermont, that is often tall trees in a forest setting. At Flyaway Productions, in the San Francisco Bay Area, it might be the wall of a law school, an arts center, or, for its politically driven site-specific dances, even outside a prison. BANDALOOP dance company performs dangling off the sides of skyscrapers and cliffs.
When BANDALOOP artistic director Melecio Estrella says that the first thing to keep in mind when dancing in a harness is that your relationship to the ground changes, it might seem obvious. But he doesn’t mean that the ground is now x number of feet below you. Instead he means that the harness now serves as the equivalent to the ground, “as something that your body moves against and with.”
Dance Magazine talked to four expert aerial dancers on how to make that radical perspective shift, and how to hone the skills and knowledge to fly with confidence and artistry in a harness.
Putting Safety First
“Safety is a ritual,” says Estrella. At his company based in Oakland, California, he encourages dancers to learn about the rigging systems and basic knots so that they are familiar with the apparatus that gets them airborne. Every time a dancer straps into a harness, the company requires three safety checks: First, the dancer checks themself; then they check their partner; then the safety professionals, the riggers, are the final check. Estrella emphasizes that it starts with the dancer: “As a performer, I am the guardian of my own safety.”
Nimble Arts works with arborists in order to safely perform suspended from trees. Co-artistic director Serenity Smith recommends that freelancers seek out professionals when starting out: “This is not something you can pick up on YouTube.” When it comes to finding classes, she warns, there is no certification process or governing body determining whether a teacher is using equipment safely. Putting safety first means doing due diligence, using the internet and referrals to find out who is providing a safe space and instruction to learn and rehearse.
Progressing From Ground to Air
“A rope and harness expand your vocabulary,” says Jo Kreiter, artistic director of Flyaway Productions. But just like no ballet dancer dons a pair of pointe shoes without years of technique classes to strengthen their ankles and feet, no aerial hopeful can strap on a harness and expect to launch into gravity-defying feats. It’s important to prepare the body for the equipment.
“There’s a thing called a pick point, which is where a rope or cable connects to the body,” says Estrella. Whether there are two points at the hips or one near the belly button, core strength is vital. Smith incorporates Pilates roll-downs, planks, and other core-strengthening exercises into her warm-up.
Kreiter also recommends brushing up on your contact-improvisation skills. Think of the object (like a building or tree), the rope, and the harness as partners, she says. Then, “know how to improvise. If the wall’s coming at you—because you’ve flown out from it, and you’re flying back in not in the position you thought you might be in—knowing how to pivot your hips at the last minute and drop your head is really useful.”
Emphasizing Artistry
While the body must be strong to accomplish aerial tricks and prevent injury, it also should be supple. “We have to support the spine through muscular activation, but we also are always looking for more expressive possibility in the spine,” says Estrella. Port de bras and softness are as important to dancing in the air as they are to performance on the ground.
Abbie Rooney, a freelancer and choreographer who has performed at Disneyland and choreographed aerial acrobatics and flying effects for Carnival Cruise Line, says dancers’ ability to emote and connect with an audience gives them an advantage in aerial gigs. With a background in gymnastics, she has noticed that she booked more aerial jobs after working on her dance technique and artistry. “It’s more important to shows and productions to get across the intention of a character or the story,” she says, than it is for a casting director to see the craziest aerial tricks.
Overcoming Fear
Whether you’re dangling off of a building, floating midair, or even dancing in forest canopies, height is a common denominator, and fearing it is perfectly normal. Estrella once performed a duet with the pop superstar P!nk at the 2017 American Music Awards, where they performed 120 feet in the air off the side of a Marriott Hotel in Los Angeles. When P!nk got up to the location, she was frightened, says Estrella. “When people get that scared, I encourage them to feel the harness hugging your body,” he says. “Feel the firmness of the harness.” Estrella recommends a visualization: Put fear in the passenger seat. It comes with you—you should not think of yourself as fearless—but the choreography is the driver.
Kreiter agrees that fear is a useful tool for keeping dancers safe and guiding the choices that they make. But at the same time, she says, dancing in a harness offers the possibility of taking unique artistic risks. “You ask yourself, ‘What would happen if I rigged this big thing in the air?’ Then you do it and you realize, ‘Wow, that gives me a lot of movement choices.’ ”
