Fly me to the moon.

Last January, I decided to try something completely new: Aerial silks dancing.

Instead of New Year's resolutions, I choose New Year's "words" each year, and this year my word is "openness."  Aerial silks dancing is something I'd wanted to try for a long time, so I figured: what the heck?  I'm open to it.  Let's give it a shot.

Eight months later, I haven't stopped.

This is the studio where I go for classes 2 -3 times a week.  I am completely obsessed.  If I had the money, I might go every day.

Silks dancing requires your absolute, 100% full attention, because if you're distracted you could hurt yourself.  And in this way, it is incredibly therapeutic.  It is the one time of the day when you can't think about several things at once, when you can't multitask or play mental reels of past and present in your head.  You are JUST climbing the silk, or JUST suspended upside-down, or JUST hanging on. 

Which is why I've latched onto it so hard, I think.  Oh, I've been freaked out in silks.  I've taken several weeks (and once, a whole month-and-a-half session) to get a move.  But I keep coming back because I'm addicted to how great it feels to just focus on one thing.  Even if that focus involves temporary fear or frustration.

I also keep coming back because ... well, look how pretty!

These are my teachers (and a couple of fellow students), performing for Julie -- my very first aerial teacher.  She is moving, so we did a special "good-bye" performance for her on Friday.  I performed, too!

(In the video below, I am the one on the far left.  NOTE: The first 27 seconds of this video are not the best in terms of videography, but it evens out after that.) 

Julie is the super-graceful one in white, right next to me in that video. She was my teacher when I learned this dance, during my very first aerial class session.

If you are in Austin and are interested in aerial dance, I take it at Blue Lapis Light.  I really could not recommend it more.