The number one thing I would like to promote in aerial arts is a willingness to ask questions and seek information , not just for the folks new to aerial arts , but also for long-established professionals .
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The number one thing I would like to promote in aerial arts is a willingness to ask questions and seek information , not just for the folks new to aerial arts , but also for long-established professionals .
My hope was that a forum for people of different backgrounds and levels of experience would help improve awareness of the safety issues inherent in aerial arts and provide a means for people to connect and consult with professionals to assist them in learning better practices . Most of the discussions on the page focus on rigging , but many also focus on injury management and prevention as well as practices for safer studios ( e . g . how to manage open practices and the issues of students wanting to learn from Instagram and YouTube ). The other administrators of the group , Delbert Hall and Jonathan Deull , are highly-experienced professional riggers ; I ’ m immensely grateful for their continued assistance and contributions of their knowledge with the group .
Over the past two years , there seems to be a growing number of members coming to the group from pole fitness and aerial yoga , not just aerial circus arts and circus rigging . There has also been a growing number of members interested in rigging for home practice ; their discussions generally focus on the challenges of rigging to home structures ( most home are not built to support point loads for aerial apparatus ), the advantages of using portable free-standing rigs instead , and the issues of training without the supervision of an experienced instructor .
At the other end of the spectrum , there has also been a growing number of professional performers and riggers from the stunt , arena , and theatre industries contributing their experience to the discussions , which has been extremely helpful . Whenever an accident involving aerial performers makes the news , there ’ s a spike in member requests for the group — there was a large spike in 2014 right after the Ringing hair hang accident and another this past year after an aerialist was badly injured in Bali . Accidents like these are horrifying reminders of the dangers of aerial arts and the necessity of awareness of better practices .
Unfortunately , the rigging discussions sometimes descend into mockery of poor practices or snarking at each other ( as lots of riggers ’ groups will sometimes do ). This has the drawback of turning away non-professionals or newer enthusiasts — the very people who need access to better information . To minimize that problem , I set some rules of conduct to help keep the discussions respectful and constructive . From time to time I have to step in to remind people about these rules , but overall , the tone seems to have improved over the past couple of years .
HERE ARE SOME BRIEF RULES OF CONDUCT :
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Posting pictures . No posting pictures of rigging setups that include people ’ s faces ; do not identify a person or studio directly .
If you come across a questionable or potentially dangerous rigging situation , please try to contact the people involved BEFORE posting publicly .
If you post photos of rigging , specify what your concerns or questions are . Post at least two clear photos from two or more angles and a list from top to bottom of all
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