Extra! Extra!

Our resident news doll has done it again, and there's a great article over on the student blog SLC Speaks about our little preview event this Thursday!  Check out the article here, and find us
  tonight from 9.30-12.30 in Curtis B.  Our doorman will be holding the stairs.

c Ellen Von Unwerth

It's gonna be the elephant's eyebrows!

We're hard at work here in circus land preparing for our first event this Thursday, in order to help introduce the Sarah Lawrence community to the world of the Wild Westlands show.  The Van Duzer Sisters and their team have certainly got their work cut out for them-it's finals season and everyone's a wreck.

How can we lighten the mood? How about some 20s fun and a charleston?  Here's an clip from a vintage documentary about the life of the flapper.  Do you know what "Cash or check" meant at a speakeasy? How about the "black bottom"?  Take a peak at the fringe and the fast feet!

But it wasn't all black and white...we're mixing tumbling with our charleston, and flights of fancy with our front man's work.  Check out this lovely recording of a circus in the same period!

Lovely Things 2: Karen Abbot's 'One night at a speakeasy...'

Karen Abbot is a biographer and historical novelist who has most recently written a book on Gypsy Rose Lee. Probably one of the most well-known burlesque dancers, Gypsy was known for her educated and eloquent demeanor as well as her striptease.  I've posted about Gypsy before, and mentioned American Rose (Abbot's biography), but I haven't yet read it.  If it's anything like the writing Abbot posts on her website, though, I'm sure it's really interesting.
In preparation of our upcoming event (hint hint nudge nudge), I've been revisiting a piece Abbot wrote about Gypsy's relationship with gangster Waxey Gordon.  I've always found speakeasies to be fascinating and completely compelling, so I was especially drawn to this story.

I tried watching Boardwalk Empire, HBO's show that takes place during prohibition in Atlantic City, but unfortunately wasn't a fan of Scorsese's directing and only made it through the first few episodes.

a screen-shot from the casino on HBO's set

It's beautifully done though, so I may need to give it another shot. In the meantime I suppose I'll just stick to the history...

...or I could just have a speakeasy of my own.

I highly recommend reading Abbot's article.  It's short, exciting, and a great temptation.  You can find it on her website here.

Elephants are Expensive...

...so we're having our first fundraiser of the year!

c Laura Lefkowitz Photography

Acrobats in Training

Update! Julia and I met for the first time on Sunday to start honing our acrobatic skills...

After an hour and a half of unintentional flops and back-bending triumphs we felt quite accomplished! I can now sit on her shoulders and she can stand on my out-stretched legs. While balancing, we plan to add additional layers like her poi ball work and my baton twirling.

Our finest moment was coordinating a back to back balanced frog pose: headstand, arms out in right angles, knees balanced on elbows. We were quite proud to get the spacing between us perfectly and we plan to line up our feet and begin a bicycle motion. It should be quite impressive!

After all this we practiced our flexibility with variations on back bends. I can almost get my leg straight like this!

And I was almost as flat as this lovely lady!

Not sure yet how we'll incorporate the poses, but we had a blast playing around!

Julia plans to get poi ball lessons from a friend, and I've been stretching every day. We're on our way to the big top...

Meet the Production Team!

The blog may be a bit quiet, but that's because we've been so frightfully busy making magic!  We've been aided by our fabulous show photographer, and it's time for some introductions...

"Step right up Ladies and Gentlemen to meet the most marvelous pictures of insanity this side of the Atlantic!  It's time for our production team to say Hello! And as always, they'll do it IN RHYME! Never has there been this much scandal so early on a Sunday!

Mimi, our Producer, makes sure everything runs right

from big top rings to costume things and fantasies of flight.

Vivian knows what she wants and how to get things done,

as our A.D. Ms. Slim makes sure we do it all in fun!

And finally there's Lilli Vyne, by whom we're all directed,

It's up to her to point the toes and check the lions are perfected.

So here they are in person, our little train's production team

here to say Hello! to you and sparkle like a dream.

If you're interested in helping out and at SLC you dwell

track these lovely ladies down and your interest tell!

We're so excited to begin, the sequins are unfurling,

so keep on check back for more exciting news is twirling!"

Upcoming this week: announcements about our title and our theatre!  Plus you never know who else might pop up...

Acrobatics in 21 videos or less!

Hello circus goers!

So excited to get to work on a tumbling and acrobatic act... Here's a link to one of the series of videos we are using to get started on some simple balancing moves.

Wish us luck with not falling and dying and such :)

-Ari