Feral Fifties - Joining the Circus

I took this to heart when I saw it,
and have been living by it since 2021

In the summer of 2021, a friend of mine from NaNoWriMo posted some pictures of her circus journey with Old Lady Circus Club, and I was instantly intrigued. I mean, who hasn't watched a Cirque show and wondered if they could do some of those cool things? I asked if I could join her sometime, and on August 26, 2021, I ran away and joined the circus. We started with the aerial sling, and it was amazing! Like playing on the playground, but the sling felt secure. 

I dove into circus 100%. Despite being much older than the other gals in OLCC, I was welcomed with open arms. Trying something new is always terrifying, especially something like this, but the warm welcome instantly set me at ease. Circus became my "me time". 

Oh my Lord, y'all, the bruises. The bruises are epic. Painful, yes, but a source of pride in a twisted way. Sling is probably the most painful, and leaves bruises that look like you've been flogged. Lyra bruises look like you've been caned. Trapeze didn't leave a lot of bruises, but I definitely came home with rope burn more than once. Silks, while the hardest to master, don't bruise as badly as sling, and I think that's because you can adjust the tension. When I was beginning my circus journey, I swore I was going to have Jay make me a shirt that said, "my hubby doesn't beat me, I play circus". It got to where I would warn massage therapists and doctors before I ever disrobed.

I failed to take pictures for the first few weeks of OLCC, but then week four came along and we learned to do two very basic drops. I had to break out the phone for those!

Angel drop

(But I think it should be called the Dracula drop)

360 drop

I really enjoyed playing in the sling, even without the drops, and it was a great foundation for me as a fifty year-old beginner.

Airplane

Seahorse

Hip key

There's probably a name for this shape,
I just don't know what it is.

Gazelle

One of the greatest things about OLCC was that we had the opportunity to spend a few weeks trying out different apparatus. Lyra and I became fast friends; it was more intuitive to me. I understood how the solid ring would move under pressure, so I felt as though I picked up skills more readily.

Mermaid. This stupid skill took me weeks. It's not physically hard,
but mentally it kills me.

Span set skills on the top of the lyra are terrifying, and some of my very favorite skills. I didn't get to work top bar stuff until I moved out of OLCC and into actual classes, but immediately fell in love. 

Double knee hang

Straddle back

Gazelle

Gazelle

Iron Cross

After lyra, we moved into silks. I'm not gonna lie, my heart and soul love silks. My body does not. For the past three years, I've been intermittently taking the beginner silks classes hoping that my strength will catch up to my will and it hasn't happened yet.

3 years in, and I still can't climb

Fabric management can be
incredibly frustrating

No idea what this shape is called

Same shape as above, 
different angle

Witch's broom

Iron cross with knot in silks

Iron Cross without knot in silks

After a session on silks, we transitioned to dancer trapeze. Like lyra, it was more intuitive to me, but with the potential of rope burns.

I have no idea what this is called,
but it's cool

I also don't remember the name
of this shape.

I can't seem to find most of my trapeze pictures, which is sad, because I had some really cool ones. 

Of course, life circumstances changed a bit, and I had to step away for several months, then struggled to get back into it. The struggle is mostly mental, because I've gained back a lot of the weight I'd lost (thanks menopause) and I'm not playing with the same ladies that were in OLCC - we've all moved on to other things. As OLCC fizzled out, I moved into regular classes, and I love them, but it's not the same close-knit support system.