Story by Stephanie Lambirth Photos by Julianne Parker
Adrienne makes it look effortless as she climbs to the top of a piece of fabric, skillfully looping it around one foot as she goes. Suspended about fifteen feet in the air, she methodically wraps the silk around different parts of her body. She hangs momentarily before letting go into a spinning free fall. Suddenly, the fabric catches and she seamlessly stretches into another move. What looks like a free-fall is actually a carefully planned and executed trick—a double star drop. This is what Adrienne Wise does every day as an aerial silks instructor at Bounce Gymnastics. The aerial silks—a long, silky fabric suspended from the ceiling to form two pieces—are one of several disciplines taught in the youth and adult circus arts classes that Bounce has offered for over five years now. Currently, Bounce gymnastics is the only gymnastics studio in Eugene that offers training on aerial apparatus, which includes the silks, trapeze, cloud swing (a thick rope that hangs like a hammock), and lyra (a ring-shaped apparatus that hangs on end from the ceiling). Growing up, Wise had been involved in gymnastics, dance, tumbling, and acrobatics and had wanted to learn aerial apparatus since the first time she saw someone doing it.
“I had a really good family friend who I saw do aerial before and I was totally amazed, it looked like so much fun,” Wise says. “I grew up here in Eugene and there wasn’t anybody teaching aerial at the time.” It wasn’t until Wise was away for her freshman year at college that Naja Rossoff started up Bounce’s aerial program with the help of Francia—who goes by just her first name and is currently Bounce’s circus arts director.  “When I came back for the summer I started taking class with Francia and just absolutely loved it,” Wise says. “By that time I felt comfortable going off campus and was able to continue training in Portland during college.” After college, Wise decided to take a break before graduate school to hone her aerial skills. Becoming an instructor at Bounce was a natural fit for Wise, who had previously worked there teaching gymnastics during high school. She now teaches adult and youth circus arts classes and is finding satisfaction in sharing her skills with others. “It goes beyond just learning skills,” Wise says. “When people take it to the next level—creating a routine and stage presence and then performing— just watching that progression in other people is really neat, because I’ve gone through it too.” During one of Wise’s recent advanced adult aerial silks classes, her students were busy polishing routines for an upcoming performance at Eugene’s Fashion Week. Each one was running through a unique routine that reflected their personality as a performer. “In aerial there are a lot of set moves—the tricks that you learn—but a lot of it is also your own exploration,” explains Wise. “Once you understand the basic mechanics of it [aerial arts] you have some freedom to play around with it yourself and you create tricks of your own and figure how they can transition into one another in a way that you have never done before.” The performance at Eugene Fashion Week will be the first aerial performance for two of Wise’s advanced students, Richelle Rudeen and Josh Francis.  “I have a gym, dance and theatre background,” Rudeen explains. “This combines so many things. When you’re up there it’s just amazing.” Rudeen’s graceful, flowing number is quite a contrast to the routine Francis is working on, which is filled with sudden drops and strong, powerful poses. “It’s painful and really hard, but really rewarding,” Francis says as he turns to reveal red patches of irritated skin where his bare legs gripped the fabric.
Wise will also be performing at Fashion Week and loves to perform any chance she gets. “When I’m up there it’s a balance between remembering what I’m doing next and what the idea is behind my piece and how I can express that better,” Wise says. “My head kind of goes to a different space when I’m performing—that’s one of the things I love about it. You have to be so focused that everything else kind of tunes out.” Every year, Bounce puts on a big annual show, called Kaleidoscope, and several smaller shows and performances throughout the year. “Kaleidoscope is usually an adult casted show, but we have had some of our advanced kids in it, because they were just so darn good,” says Bounce Gymnastics owner Naja Rossoff. “Coming up in June we are having our first children’s production of The Jungle Book.” Aerial circus arts aren’t the only uncommon thing about Bounce Gymnastics, which has added yet another unique class to the roster. Recently, Rossoff got certified as an aerial yoga instructor, and has been offering classes for a few months. “As soon as I heard about it I knew immediately it was going to be for me,” Rossoff says. “I was the first one in Oregon. Now there are two other instructors in Portland, and me.” Aerial Yoga combines some of the acrobatic and strengthening qualities of aerial silks with the stretching and movement of a yoga class. Participants are guided through a series of silk hammock-assisted stretches and poses that build aerobic intensity before cooling back down to a calm meditative state. The fabric is used to help extend stretches and do some unique suspended poses that are not possible in regular yoga. “There has been a strong interest in the new classes from the community and the recreational gymnastics and open gym remain popular,” Rossoff says. “Without the gymnastics none of this other stuff would be here.”

Gallery • 3 Photos

Defying Gravity: Bounce Gymnastics Offers a Variety of Aerial Arts Classes