OOPS WRONG SITE!

Greetings Aerial aficionados!  

You've found the old Wired Aerial Theatre blog- how very retro of you!

We're posting our nuggets of literary deliciousness over on our wordpress site now, so do come take a look!  You can find it here...wiredaerialtheatre.wordpress.com/ or just visit our website at www.wiredaerialtheatre.com where you'll see the a link on the homepage.   

See you there!

Bye bye Blogger, we love you!

Holy moley, it’s been far too long since my last blog peeps!  You’ll have to forgive me, I’m doing my best, but there’s sooooo much to do round here!  I intended to chat to you last while I was in Milton Keynes with the team while they were performing As the World Tipped down there as part of the IF Festival, and so, lets hand over to the me of the past, as she’s got a whole lot to say!

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Morning all!  I’m writing to you from down in Milton Keynes today, where Wired have been performing As the World Tipped at the IF Festival, there’s still one performance left and you can grab your tickets when you get here, so jump in the car and come and join us for the last night- it’s going to be a good one!  (Um, too late, dang it! – Future Mand) Got loads to cover today so I’ll blast straight into it!  Hoorah!

We returned from Munich a week or so ago now- what a fantastic time we had!  The weather was just unbelievable, who knew Europe could be so tropical?!  Not me for sure!  I love a good thunderstorm, but crikey, for a few nights over there it was the most full on weather I’d ever witnessed!  I’ve included a pic for you so you can appreciate just how wild it was, but suffice to say; as I sat in my hotel room, the lightning outside my window was flashing like some kind of possessed disco ball, and the thunder was just a constant roar!  While the show goes on rain, hail or shine, for that one night the festival insisted we had to bend to the will of Mother Nature in the face of her onslaught, and so, not to be upstaged, we added an extra show later in the week instead- take that elements!!  The festival itself was fantastic- if you’ve never been to Tollwood I highly suggest you try it one year, we all had a great time!  A big thanks to the staff there who were very supportive and friendly, we’d be back in a heartbeat!

Lightning + Metal Wall = Extra Crispy Twirlies

On our return, the company got down to some hard-core training.  Wendy and Jamie, the Wired Directors, really invest in their performers, and the last couple of weeks have been a testament to how they build the skills of the individuals who work with us.  It was time spent returning to the core of the movement, strengthening the skills which underpin the technique and really getting to grips with where the power and momentum should all stem from.  I’m hoping to have a sit down with our gorgeous Artistic Director, Wendy Hesketh-Ogilvie over the next couple of weeks to have a good old chat about her training approach and technique in general actually, so to hear more about this kind of thing, just keep an eye on the blog!

After the hard stuff was out of the way, the Wired team was off for a bit of camping last weekend.  Whereas for normal people like you and me that might mean trips down the pub, sunbathing and playing cards by the BBQ, Wired do things a little differently.  Yes, camping for our staff means climbing mountains and hanging around on cliff faces- namely Stanage Edge in the Peak District.  It looks a whole lot of fun, and it was a good job Sarah Norris was around to take these cracking shots- otherwise we’d have no idea how crazy that lot are! Hehehe.  If you want to take a look at the whole album, and you totally should, you'll find it here!

While we’re in Milton Keynes we’re going to be doing something a bit special.  We’re taking a group of Executives from Nifty Lift up on our bespoke aerial wall for a liddle stroll!  Niftylift is one of the largest manufacturers of cherry picker, boom lift, access platform, lift platform, aerial platform and work platforms in Europe and sells throughout Europe, the USA, the Middle East, Far East, Australia and South Africa. They specialise in compact, low weight articulating booms that offer maximum performance with minimal environmental impact, and anyone trying to go easy on the environment gets a big thumbs up from us!  The lucky participants will be getting a full introduction to harness work, training in wall walking and then a good old run about on our custom built wall – which we use for our show As the World Tipped.  I know they’ll have a blast, and I’ll try and get some pics for you next week of the festivities!

Finally, this week we say a fond farewell to Blogger.  We’ve been hosting our blog here for over a year now and it’s a great site, but we’re moving on to pastures new over at Wordpress, and gaining a brand new author to boot!  You might already know Daniela B Larsen from our shows, she’s one of our twirly extraordinaires, and has been running a lot of our social media for As the World Tipped for quite a while now.  Dani will be posting alongside myself on our new blog, and keeping you up to date with everything ATWT; so between the two of us you’ll have about as much aerial as you can shake a very large stick at!  The new blog is already up and running, so feel free to go along and take a look, you’ll find it here.  This will be my last post here on our lovely old blog, so to keep up to date with new goings-on and stuffs don’t forget to update your bookmarks and RSS feeds yada yada.  If you ever get lost and end up here don’t forget there’s a link to our new blog direct from the wiredaerialtheatre.com homepage, so you’ll always find your way in the end!

A big thanks to everyone who contributed, subscribed, and read this blog, and we look forward to seeing you all at our new blogtastic home!

See you next week!

Audition deadline, website jive and happy times, fo shizzle!

Afternoon all!  You join me as I’m pootling around with website jive, as we’re making a few changes here and there right now.  It’s hard to take down old pictures, mainly because they’re still so damn good, but also because they remind me of a simpler time.  Look at me getting all nostalgic!  It’s great though, because these days I’ve got a huge amount that keeps me busy, and some very large external hard drives full to busting with awesome photos and videos of our work, workshops and friends, and it’s giving me the warm and fuzzies all over again.  So, on that note, lets get going!

I’d like to kick off today by saying a big sorry for the lull in conversation- I was moving house last week, and I had my hands full with non-Wired related bunkum, ho hum!  Next week Wired are off to Munich for the first round of As the World Tipped performances, and for the first time in far too long- I’m GOING TOO!!!  Huzzah!  That means more regular updates for you, and some sightseeing for me, happy days! 

Rosa's Bar rehearsals were as productive as usual

Last week we were down at Imagine Watford, performing our power couple Rosa’s Bar and Straw Dog.  The weather was against us, but with the brilliant festival staff all helping out, we fought back the elements and had a run of awesome shows- a big thanks to all of you who came out and braved the wind and rain!  Also, thanks to our littlest helper on the day, setting a fine example for the grown ups...



It makes it all worthwhile when you get great feedback from the audiences and the festival themselves, like Stephanie Hay the Programme and Projects Manager for Imagine Watford who said “I just wanted to mention how great it was to have the company with us. They really were the main attraction over the weekend!”  A big thank you Stephanie, the cast and crew had a fantastic time, even if we did get a bit soggy!  Wendy got a bit brave and ventured out into he audience to get a bit of one-on-one feedback, take a look...



If you didn’t get to see us then don’t fret, we’re in Skegness performing As the World Tipped at the SO Festival tomorrow, then after my holiday..cough..I mean working hard performing ATWT in Munich, we’ll be dashing back for 2 nights of shows at the IF Festival in Milton Keynes at the end of July.  Make sure you come along and see us if you can, the show is going to be wicked as ever, you can feel the energy from the cast already as they’re training hard gearing up for the first show tomorrow!  If you want to read some more about the show, or check tour dates don’t forget to check out www.astheworldtipped.com which has got loads of info and some great pics!

Dani couldn't wait to get back on the road again

 

While we’re on the subject of websites, ours is under-going some work at the moment- I’m working as fast as my little fingers will allow me, but if you pay us a visit and things don’t look quite right yet, please do bear with me, everything will be shiny ding smile perfect within the next couple of weeks!

Change is abound for our blog too!  Over the next couple of weeks we’ll be moving across to wordpress and I’ll be introducing a new blogger who will be keeping you up to date with everything As the World Tipped-esque!  There’s just so much going on damnit!  I’ll be updating the links from the Wired website, but if you’ve got this blog bookmarked you’ll need to make your change manually, so keep an eye out for an e-shot from me to your inbox which will let you know it’s time to make the switch- what’s that you say…you aren’t subscribed to our mailing list?!  For shaaaame, click here and then go sit in the corner…go on now.

Don’t say I never give you the scoop ladies and gents, we’ve got a 3 day Wired master class coming up on the 1st-3^rd August, led by both Robert Guy and our something of a legend Artistic Director Wendy Hesketh-Ogilvie and you heard it here first!   There’s only 8 spaces available so you’re going to have to move fast if you want the spots, and I’m sending an e-shot to the mailing list TODAY, so in a few hours everyone’s going to know!  Gogogo!  Go visit our website to book!

Finally, for all you dancers/performers/climbers out there, this is your time…du du DUNNNNN!  Wired are holding auditions for an understudy performer/climber to join them on their 2012/2013 tour of As the World Tipped!  The deadline is tomorrow, so this is really just a little shove to remind you- if you want to be a part of the most amazing show then you’re gonna have to get a wiggle on!  If you follow this link HERE it’ll take you to our home page where you can download the audition notice which houses all the information about the role and how to apply.

Well, that’s about it from me!  When next I blog I shall be hob nobbing in Munich- goddamn this job, the trials, the tribulations, the horrorrrrrrr!  Muwahahaha!

Have a great weekend all!

Hot off the press...which is also hot...and so am I!

Hi everybody!  Is it just me or is it freaking hot?!!  I’m not just talking about our news this week either!

It’s been jam packed down at The Higher Space- we’ve had workshops running and I’ve got some little clips for you.  It’s harder than it looks but twice as fun!!  Please excuse some of the video quality, my vid software isn’t a fan of camera phones, hahaha!  

 We also had Kerri Jackson, co Director of Promnesia training in the studio on Monday, trying out all things bungee and having a cracking old time!  Hopefully I’ll be able to wangle our Venue Manager Rob into uploading some footage from that onto our Facebook page- who’s workin’ for you baby?!

We’ve also has Stephen Musa and 18 of his students from Cronton Sixth Form College in the space getting some air time with Wendy, who incase you didn’t know is one of their patrons.  Never one to take her titles lightly, Wend got them working hard on bungee-assisted dance and vertical wall!

To round off the busy busy, we’re looking forward to Full Tilt Aerial joining us at THS next week as part of our EAS scheme.  They’ve got some fantastic ideas, and I’ll do my best to squeeze them for info!  Stay tuned!

We also had the interns at The Higher Space last week, keeping them busy and giving them the full Wired experience!  Tamsin and Claire are currently studying at Laban, and came along for a week with Wired to see what goes on behind the scenes and of course have a good old bounce around in our workshops.  We loved having you guys, and wish you both the very best with your onward journey through the industry!  Thanks again for the thank you cards, we thought they were so lovely that I wanted to share them with you all, so take a gander below!  You can read more about our super-duper interns and what they got up to in our summer newsletter which will be dropping into your inbox sometime next month, so if you haven’t joined our mailing list yet now’s the time!!

Jo Forrest, You ROCK!

If you follow us on Facebook, you’ll have heard about our latest performance opening the new West Cheshire College building in Ellesmere Port with an aerial piece with an Olympic twist!  The fantastic Jo Forrest has been at it again, taking some fantastic shots of the show, do click on them and take a look at her whole gallery, she’s fantastic!  We also had Urban Conceptz Media along, who took some really great footage behind the scenes as we were preparing for lift-off!  A big thanks to Ryan for all your help and artistic eyes on the day!  Take a look at the vid below, it’s pretty cool!

Any of your feeling the London 2012 fever yet?  MDI have asked us to put together a gestural dance for alongside the road outside of MDI for when the Olympic torch goes past!  Wired will already be there running our professional class on Friday from 10-11.30am, with the festivities starting later on in time for when the relay sails down the streets!  It’s basically a big street party, open to everyone from Dentists to Ballet dancers to join in with the funky moves and be a part of the electric atmosphere!  Make sure you don’t miss it!

Finally, I’m trying to organize a mass finger-crossing for Wired at the Observer Ethical Awards tonight- I can count on you to join in right?  Wendy and Maggie have already zoomed down to London for the swanky event happening tonight, and rest assured they scrub up well our girls!  Names you might know who are also up for awards will be Jamie Oliver, Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall and Dartford Football Club!  The mantra for the awards is to celebrate the projects, businesses, ideas, campaigns and activists making sustainable change a reality.  The awards include a mix of reader-voted categories and judged categories and all were judged earlier this month by a panel of ethically-minded celebrities and experts including Colin Firth and Livia Firth; poet, Ben Okri; model, Lily Cole; and TV presenter, Ben Fogle.  It’s the second award nomination Wired has received for As the World Tipped, and while it’s an honour in itself to even be shortlisted, I’ll certainly be knocking on wood, rubbing rabbits feet and chucking a black cat in front of me every time I leave the house until we hear the result tonight, and I’ll let you know the minute I do!!

Sheesh, that was a lot of news!  I’m going to go for a lie down and contemplate the wonder that is the unpredictability of British weather, whilst listening to the thunderstorm outside my window.   It was hot and sunny out when I started writing this.  Maybe I just type really slooow.

Loadsa newsa!

Afternoon all, hope you’re having a lovely weekend!

I don’t know what you’ve been up to this week but it’s been a packed week for us.  We kicked off the week with a bit of staff training- aside from the extensive knowledge of our twirleys on the subject of the body and how to train effectively while avoiding injury, it’s always best to err on the side of caution, so we were all packed off to renew our first aider training.  When working in the field we do, it’s inevitable there will be occasional bumps, bruises and the odd dizzy spell, and its important everyone who trains with us can rest easy knowing that in the event of an emergency, or just a sprained wrist, as you’ll see our Artistic Director Wendy modeling below, that our team know just what to do.  Just don’t get blood on our nice white canvas wall, hah!

Volunteer Wendy concealed her disappointment well after realising the instructor hadn't in fact said "Singapore Sling".

For those of you who frequented the festival circuit a few years back, you might remember one of my favourite pieces we choreographed specifically for the East Winter Gardens in Canary Wharf, London.  Glimpse is a truly magical show, spectacular and touching, which might seem an unusual combination but it’s absolutely spot on.  If you never got the chance to see it you’re in luck because we’ve just confirmed a show as part of Liverpool’s City Steps on the 15^th of July.  We’re a regular sight at City Steps, and its always a lovely event, with a variety of performers showcasing some great work- if you’re free, I’d highly recommend popping it in your diary and taking the whole family along to join in the fun!

Before we hit the festival season, we’re making the most of the time we’re not off and about around the country to support two dance students from Laban through our intern program.  Due to the huge influx of applications we received, we had to close the intern program temporarily while we caught up!  These two students are the last of those selected from the submissions we had from last year, and will be coming along to The Higher Space in May.  Over the course of the week they’ll be spending with us they’ll be taking part in our workshops, shadowing the twirleys, and helping out in the office to get a sense of what a company needs to function away from the spotlights and audience applause.  I’ll do my best to grab a quick chat with them once they’ve completed the week and see how they got on- and for those of you who are interested in a future internship with Wired, keep an eye on our website and facebook page to hear when we’re accepting submissions for later on this year.

If you’re one of the lucky ones who subscribe to our mailing list, you’ll know by now that we’ve got new dates for workshops coming up.  So far, there’s an open level week long bungee-assisted dance and vertical wall workshop scheduled for May, and a beginners bungee-assisted dance and vertical wall weekend workshop down for June.  Our early bird discount is a tasty 10% off, which you can claim up to 2 weeks before the start date of the workshop, so if you want to cash in you’ll have to move fast.  As always, places are limited, so not only time but your fellow workshop participants are against you, so gogogo!  You can check dates and times on our website diary here, and once you’re ready to book, click here!  We’ve got a new system which means the whole process is a lot more straight forward than in the past.  Simply click the book now button on our website workshops page, fill in your details and submit!

Finally, we’re really happy to have finally dotted all the I’s and crossed the t’s on our new EAS support recipient Full Tilt Aerial.  If you haven’t heard, our EAS support scheme assists budding new talent find a place to work on their craft in the well-equipped and supportive environment of The Higher Space, at a significantly reduced rate.  The scheme is open to any type of performers, from dancers, to acrobats, to mimes!  Not only does it mean they can work on bringing their dreams to fruition while utilizing our considerable facilities, for a fraction of the cost they were expecting, but they also get an outside eye on their work from the Wired Aerial Theatre directors.  It’s a great way to get new work off the ground and network with us, and other active performance company in the area.  Full Tilt Aerial have got some fabulous ideas, and we’re really excited to see how they develop over their time in the space.

Before I close I’d like to say a big shout-out to Rachel Freeman from Blue Eyed Soul, who we’ve been working in consultation with lately- we had a great time experimenting with all things aerial together- do come back soon!

That’s about it from me, have a lovely restful Sunday everyone, and I’ll see you next week!