Aerial Improv!

When:	Friday January 30, 2009
Time:	7:30pm-11:00pm
Cost:	$10, at the door
Where:	The Cathedral in SPACE, 7601 Greenwood Ave
Come to - or better yet, perform in - Seattle's first all-improv aerial show!

The Versatile Arts team (i.e., yours truly) is compiling a long playlist of songs, all of which will be approximately 4 minutes long. There will be a wide range of styles and tempos represented, but I promise there won't be anything absolutely impossible to do aerials to. We want this to be fun, not torture! For each contestant (order to be selected randomly), we will simply shuffle the ol' playlist and announce the song that comes up. If you don't know the song, we'll play some samples from it. You then have the option to use that song, or use your one free do-over to have us spin the dial one more time. After that, each song rejection will cost 10 points from the overall score. So you can be picky...but it'll cost you. :-)

Once the song has been selected, you can pick your apparatus. We have rope, tissu, double-point trapeze, single-point sling, and hoop available.

You will then perform on your chosen apparatus to the song selected. This can be a completely improvised routine, or can simply be some existing choreography applied to random music - we won't know the difference! The point is to work with the music and come up with a performance that fits the style, works with the cues, and most importantly is entertaining! Our panel of judges will assign you up to 25 points apiece, for a possible total of 100 (minus any do-over points from the song selection process). Be advised that the judges will likely be somewhat inebriated and will be encouraged to develop their own arcane scoring processes. Think "American Aerial Idol" but, you know, kinder and gentler. And more entertaining.

And what's the best part? CASH PRIZES! We will offer a first and second prize based on the judges' scores, plus an audience favorite award...so you have THREE chances to win. The amount of each prize will depend entirely on the door, so encourage your friends to come! It's free if you're performing, $10 otherwise. Given the turnout from past events, I expect that the prizes will be at least $100 each.

Who's judging, you ask? I am delighted to say that we have just finalized the judges panel, which consists of: Terry Crane, who wowed everyone at the holiday party; Ben Wendel of Duo Madrona, soon to be featured at Teatro Zinzanni; Lara Paxton, co-founder of Circus Contraption, the Aerialistas, and the Aerial Army of Love; and Esther Edelman, co-founder of Umo Ensemble.

To summarize:

Date: Friday, Jan 30
Time: doors at 7:30, show at 8
Cost: $10 unless you are performing