Once upon a time, I was a professional stilt dancer. (That's not something I could make up.) Anyway, I had not been on stilts for more than a decade -- until today.
The photos were taking by Eugene, I guy who I was talking to. I asked him to email me copies. I attracted a fair amount of attention, but I was trying to be discreet. That is, when I put on a costume and start dancing and interacting with people, I get huge attention. After ten years, I was focusing on walking. I wasn't ending over to shake the hands of kids for fear of falling on them -- probably over cautious, but until I'm more confident again, I'd prefer not to crush any children.
That's pretty cool! I've always been amazed by stilt-walkers. How do you go about learning how to do that? I mean, do you just have to be a natural and just get on stilts and do it, or is there an actual learning process to it?
Once upon a time, I worked for In the heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theater in Minneapolis. That's where I learned.
I taught stilting for a while. Basically, anybody can learn to walk. I start people on short stilts, and they're usually walking well -- if tentatively -- in about an hour. From there on, it's all about the cool stuff -- spinning, sideways walking, kicking, jumping, navigating rough terrain. That's mainly a matter of practice more than learning. Once your comfortable walking to the point where it's second nature, you just start testing things out slowly.
I kept things pretty simple today. A little spinning. A kick or two. But mainly walking.
That's impressive! I've always been curious about how people do it too! Are the stilts heavy? Are you sore afterwards from working muscles differently? Are you looking to get back into it? What kind of dancing did you do?
Wow. I'm impressed. My fear of heights and falling down do not make me a good candidate for this activity, so its nice to watch someone who is brave enough!
I heard once (and there was an accompanying photo) that there was an area of villages in France where the natives used stilts all the time, or at least a LOT, to get around quickly. Maybe they had used them at harvest time and gradually started using them all the time, or something. It was part of an article about Europe prior to WWI, and all the ancient idiosyncrasies that had gotten obliterated by that conflict.
Very impressive - hey I checked out your website for your company (wecare). Very cool! Am still a bit confused on merchants that say 'see merchant description" or something (like Amazon). What does that mean? Do they contribute to my chosen cause or not?
Amazon doesn't allow us to say we donate the rebate. Other stores offer varying commissions depending on what you do or buy. If you go to the merchant page (e.g., go to merchants and select them or search for them from the main nav), we explain how the donation works.
Comments
I taught stilting for a while. Basically, anybody can learn to walk. I start people on short stilts, and they're usually walking well -- if tentatively -- in about an hour. From there on, it's all about the cool stuff -- spinning, sideways walking, kicking, jumping, navigating rough terrain. That's mainly a matter of practice more than learning. Once your comfortable walking to the point where it's second nature, you just start testing things out slowly.
I kept things pretty simple today. A little spinning. A kick or two. But mainly walking.
Once upon a time, I was a professional stilt dancer. (That's not something I could make up.) - that's up there with the greatest opening sentences.
You'll be in demand come apple picking time!
Very impressive - hey I checked out your website for your company (wecare). Very cool! Am still a bit confused on merchants that say 'see merchant description" or something (like Amazon). What does that mean? Do they contribute to my chosen cause or not?
Thanks in advance for any clarification...
Amazon doesn't allow us to say we donate the rebate. Other stores offer varying commissions depending on what you do or buy. If you go to the merchant page (e.g., go to merchants and select them or search for them from the main nav), we explain how the donation works.