Archive for Corporate Events
One Night in Texas
Start with a few upside down cocktails!
Every once in a while, we like to give you a little taste of some of the events we do. Recently, we spent an amazing evening in Texas pouring drinks upside down. Then we pulled out all the stops in a great performance! We had an amazing time as I think you can see from the pictures and video. Enjoy!
Check out the VIDEO!
Fashion Forward – The Nekkid Truth About Workin’ the Catwalk
A few weeks ago, ImaginAerial had the extraordinary pleasure of performing during an amazing fashion show. Thought you might enjoy a look at what REALLY goes on behind the runway. Brace yourselves, the beauty business isn’t always pretty.
We arrived at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel to find our brand-spankin’ new fabrics rigged and ready to go. “Virgin” silks are appallingly stretchy (and slick as snot), so our first order of business was to entertain the crew by attempting to climb and spray them with rosin as we went. Hilarity ensued – we successfully coated ourselves in a fine mist of aerial glamour glue, and did our part to widen the hole in the ozone layer. Mission accomplished.
After a solid rehearsal, Angela and I ran to get food, which we opened upon our return to the communal dressing room we were sharing with a herd of gorgeous fashion models. In unison, thirty partially-quaffed heads snapped in our direction, and fixed us with very, very hungry glares – apparently, one does not eat in front of runway models. Our bad. We snarfed our food, and began the increasingly complicated project of getting into costume. One tub of Crisco, a shoe horn, and four pairs of Spanx later, we’re good to go!
It was controlled chaos backstage, as we dodged the lovely ladies and their male cohorts, all with names like Dante and David (pronounced Dah-veeeeeeeeeeed). We managed to warm up by using a clothes rack as a ballet bar, and Dante as – well, as a solid pillar of support (our eternal thanks, Dante!).
The actual performance went off without a hitch, and the crowd had a blast! The confetti canons went off a bit prematurely (no need to be embarrassed, really – it happens to a lot of guys), which resulted in a phony-tail full of confetti, but it was a festive look. We’re hoping to get more photos and video soon, so check back – it’s not every day you get to “shake your little tush on the catwalk”. Big love, Laura from ImaginAerial
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Photos courtesy of Michael Bongar from Bongarbiz who brought us in on this event (Michael is AWESOME!!!!).
A Costume Comes Into The World Part 3 – Congratulations, It’s a…
Double trouble, double joy – TWINSIES! After weeks of designing, sewing, fitting, and drinking, TWO costumes made their debut at our event on May 25th. Resident wheel artist Chris “Thighmaster” Delgado took his first spin in his new duds, and cameras were there to capture the proud moment. He and I (Laura “Fire Goddess” WItwer) then made acrobatic adagio magic as Duo Ellipse at the evening show. Check it out!
(Not sure what the heck we’re talking about? Catch up! Part 1, Part 2)
Ellipse in their fancy new costumes!
Behind The Scenes at Friday’s Event! Shhhhhhhhh…. Magic Is Happening!
Angela & Laura in some VERY sparkly costumes!
Hey peeps! I thought it might be fun to chat about the mayhem and merriment of EVENT DAY by taking you behind the scenes at our latest gig. Join me, won’t you?
12:01 – Angela arrives at the venue to rig.
12:15 – Angela realizes that the ladder provided does not in fact reach the beams she’s supposed to rig off of. LADDER FAIL. She texts me (Laura) to make sure I know to start worrying.
12:45 – Angela performs a miracle and makes it work. I do not want to know how, but I suspect it involved her catapulting herself from the ladder, executing four perfect somersaults, and landing cat-like on the beam above. Cause that’s how she rolls.
1:20 – Angela texts me that the rig is completed and I can stop hyperventilating. Whew, because that was getting tiring.
4:15 – I get on the ferry from lower Manhattan to the venue. It’s ridiculously windy and it’s like “The Perfect Storm” out there on the Hudson. I am a fetching shade of green upon arrival. Place looks amazing (The Liberty House always looks amazing – GORGEOUS venue, check out their site).
Amanda kicks herself in the head. You know, like you do.
5:30 – Company warm up! Amanda the Hula Hoop Artist arrives and does this. She’s a little flexible (and a lot fabulous).
6:30 – Time to start the spackling. We go from zero to drag queen in 30 seconds flat! (hint: glitter is our secret weapon)
7:29 – Exactly one minute before we’re supposed to start, Angela breaks the sink, falls in the toilet, and splits her costume. That’s talent, ya’ll.
7:30 – Duct tape fixes everything. Let the aerial bartending begin!
9:00 – Time for the show! Buckle your seatbelts, folks!
10:00 – All done! Time to raid the dessert table…. Twice…..
And a great time was had by all! Now you know what really happens backstage – glamorous, ain’t it?
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ImaginAerial’s Magnetic Presence
This past Tuesday, we at ImaginAerial had the pleasure of performing at the Metropolitan Pavilion at the 2012 AdAge Digital Conference. Check it out! We had a blast, and hope the attendees did too!
- Angela smiling through a giant wedgie!
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ImaginAerial And The Seven Bar Foundation – A Very Sassy Combination
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The Seven Bar Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to empowering women around the globe.
Save the world on a g-string, rather than a shoestring. Why not?
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Repeat performances- How to give ‘em the beef without making it into meatloaf.
I had Cirque style entertainment at my party last year. Everyone absolutely loved it, but how do I top that this year? There can be too much of a good thing, and nobody wants to repeat themselves. Think Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. Need I say more? Nothing is ever as good as the first time. The last thing you want is to chase after a good idea with a cheap carbon copy formula (or greedy aliens). That said, people love cirque style entertainment and what are you going to do to follow that up, hire a mariachi band? You’ve set the bar pretty high, now you have to at least meet expectations. How do you do that without seeming like you are doing the same thing?
Well, there are ways. You just have to be creative.
1. Talk to us about figuring out something totally different- We’ve hired breakdancers, strolling tables, and girls who dance inside balloons. We are very connected in the entertainment world and could find something really unique for you.
2. Recontextualize the entertainment- Rather than having girls just hanging upside down, put them to work! Have them also pour people’s champagne. Aerial bartending is a fun way to really turn your party upside down. It’s interactive and fun. Most people don’t get to chat with someone hanging by their ankles on a regular basis.
3. Choose really different apparatuses- Silks are beautiful and exciting but also very popular. There are some amazing apparatuses that most people haven’t seen like a quadruple trapeze. It really draws people’s attention.
4. Use technology -There are all sorts of new technologies from interactive lighting, to lights that project video. A lot of it is cheaper than it seems it would be. It’s always good to seem high tech even if you still haven’t entirely figured out your iphone.
Don’t be afraid to be out there. People love telling their friends about that hip cool party where they saw something none of them have seen before. Many people have hired us year after year, but need to make sure their audience is not getting tired of Cirque. It doesn’t have to be always how we think of it, there are many possibilities, All you have to do is to let us think of them!
Aerial Bartending
Gimme a Beat! It’s all about the music.
We love gettin’ our groove on. Putting choreography to music is a truly enjoyable part of our job. When the music is good, it makes us perform better, just like when runners sprint on the treadmill to Rihanna (admit it, you have her on your ipod too).
It seems like at the end of an act, people are clapping in appreciation of our physical prowess, but music can make or break a performance. We have seen some great acts done to either cheesy or weird music and it makes them fall flat. On our end, we have learned our lesson in hiring acts. We no longer want to mouth to each other backstage, “What are they thinking?” and now make sure we listen to music ahead of time.
Luminosity performing to Mambo Italiano
When we are hired for a gig, sometimes we pick the music according to the theme, and sometimes the client gives us what they’d like. We have performed to some real stinkers: from pieces that sounded like they were created on a 1984 midi to Livin’ in America sung live by a girl with Cyndi Lauper’s voice.
Whenever a client gives us music, we hold our breath a little. We are not afraid of disliking the music, but we are afraid of it not working. Our personal preferences vary, but we know what works onstage. And performance music has some specific needs. In choosing music, here are some things to keep in mind.
Top 5 music mistakes
The ending trails off without a button
We can’t trail off; we’re in the air or juggling corkscrews or sitting on our own heads. We have to know when to hit the final pose. If the audience doesn’t know the act ended, it gets as awkward as saying goodbye to someone only to discover you are walking the same direction.
Too repetitive, no highs or lows
Keep in mind we’re acrobats. Like dancers, we can only count to eight and we can only keep track of about five 8’s at a time. We need places in the music that are distinct so we know were we are. Then we can begin counting again.
We also need accents like a beat that drops out or a symbol crash or a high note. Otherwise, the piece appears like a run-on sentence.
Too Big
As stated above, we love us some drama, but as Ms. Parton and the Jersey shore have taught us, we CAN have too much of a good thing. If you have hired one little aerialist, she can’t compete with an 18 piece orchestra. And Movie music works best for movies.
Too Many Strong Associations
You might love “Mamas don’t let your Babies grow up to be Cowboys” but it’s very hard to perform in a cowboy hat, which is what we’d have to do to make this work.
Impossible to count
Again, we’re acrobats. We can only count to 8. If the tempo starts with four 5’s and is followed by a 6 and then goes into three 3 counts, we will arrive at your gig in a strait jacket and never be in sync. If you aren’t sure about what the musical tempo is, feel free to send it to us and we can let you know.
We’ve enjoyed performing to Classical music, Lady Gaga, Ella Fitzgerald, live Taiko drums, you name it. We also thrive on the unexpected. The most important thing of all to remember about music is: we need it as far in advance as you can possibly give it to us. The better we know the music, the better the performance. Period. The more performers there are, the more time we need to get them hearing the same thing.
We are happy to help our clients select music or offer options for a client to choose from. We also have the ability to change music a little as well. If you love a song but it needs an ending or it’s only 3 minutes and it needs to be five, we can make those kinds of adjustments. At the end of the day, we can make almost anything work and enjoy the challenge.*
*one caveat…We will not perform to an aerial act to “Wind beneath my Wings” Sorry, no exceptions. Thank you.
ImaginAerial – The Movie
We just got our photos from the Rhone Wine event at Capitale in NYC, and WOWZAHS! Enjoy!