Poised in mid-air, suspended by black silks wrapped around
one leg and one arm, one end disappearing into the darkness at the top of the
tent, the other gathered into a knot between them. From the delicate arc of a
foot to the bend of an elbow, the acrobats hover unflinchingly. Slowly the
silver balls balanced on the underside of their feet begin to glow, gauzy white
light illuminating the acrobats, brightening the dimly lit height and the metal
cages and spheres around them. Each wears swaths of draped black cloth, so thin
they would be considered scandalous in any other company. Shadows are cast
across their faces. One has intricate tattoos disappearing under her black
attire, the string of symbols winding around her like ribbons. The balls of
light become brighter until they are too luminous to see the spheres containing
the light. Then the acrobats begin.
They begin slowly, two at a time, swinging on silks, ropes
and bars and landing gracefully on platforms and sphere-tops. Then they
quicken. Soon each one is flying through the air, spinning and falling and
catching one another. There are so many in the air, catching the light,
unbothered by the absence of a new beneath them, moving so quickly it is almost
impossible to see the moment they hold onto something still to keep from
falling. For a few minutes they are a mass of black and white birds performing
an intricate dance, always being where the others aren’t. They juggle the balls
of light as they move, tossing them up and grabbing them before they drop, in
their hands and feet. The light swells; growing brighter, and the acrobats pull
back.
They hover at the edges of the tent for a brief tick of a
clock.
Then, as one, they swing toward the middle. It appears to
the patrons that they will crash into each other and while several of them
exclaim and gasp, they cannot look away. But the acrobats are spinning,
motionless bodies arched under the knot of their silks. One foot tangled in the
silks, the opposite knee bent, the balls of light held up in one hand and
nestled in their feet. They are a spider web dewed with silver light.
Art by Patti-Jo
Text by Lucie MacAulay
No comments:
Post a Comment