(Courtesy Photo)
Aryn Sanderson
asanderson@mustangdaily.net
Soaring through the air isn’t new for Gigi Penton or Liz Stevenson.
Both were collegiate pole-vaulters — Penton at University of Southern Mississippi and Stevenson at Cal Poly. Now as aerial dancers and the co-founders of Suspended Motional Aerial Arts, their performances take them to new heights.
“We do quite a few big drops,” Stevenson said. “Those are the ones that scare people and get them jumping out of their seats. People aren’t used to seeing somebody falling and then catching themselves, and that’s really all drops are.”
During a typical drop, an aerial dancer will climb up aerial silks, made of a strong, flexible fabric, and dive downward from heights up to 22 feet in the air. Sometimes, dancers will perform on hammocks, trapezes or lyras, which are large suspended hula-hoops.
Silks, hammocks and lyras will all be used in Suspended Motion Aerial Arts’ second annual dance show on Saturday and Sunday at the Clark Center for the Performing Arts in Arroyo Grande.
Fans of Cirque du Soleil will appreciate the high-flying aerial ballet, “Eventyr, Into the Forest.”
“Eventyr, Into the Forest” will feature 23 different acts and approximately 35 performers, including at least five Cal Poly students.
“Our Cal Poly students are the backbone to our studio,” Penton said. “Many are our teachers or teachers-in-training. The Cal Poly students make our studio work and play a huge role in the show.”
Olivia Mejia, a recent Cal Poly alumna and teacher, said the show is a must-see for other Cal Poly students.
“It’s something that Cal Poly itself doesn’t offer,” said Mejia, who first saw Suspended Motion Studio perform at Cal Poly’s Culture Fest two years ago. “There are tons of great performances at the PAC and at Cal Poly, but there’s no group on campus that does anything like what Suspended Motion does, so it’s a unique experience.”
Her friend and fellow teacher at Suspended Motion, graphic communication senior Michelle Ong, said the show is a step up from last year’s.
“This year, we were able to show the different levels of our students, and we made sure that each of our students had a time where their strengths shined,” Ong said. “If you let yourself get into it, it’s not just a circus kind of thing, it’s an amazing story.”
The story, loosely based off “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” follows two lovers, Eva and Javan, as they venture into a magical forest, ruled by a mischievous Pixie. The hour-and-a-half performance is set to folksy tunes, including lots of Mumford & Sons and electronica, primarily electronic-violin based.
“It’s not a regular dance show, and it’s not a circus performance,” Stevenson said. “It’s a mixture of both … and more. You have dance, and you have acrobatics in the air. Nobody else in the area does this — it’s an aerial ballet that you won’t see anywhere else.”
“Eventyr, Into the Forest” will swing into action at 7 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Clark Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are $20 for general admission and $15 for children, seniors and students.