Many people choose to keep their unique talents hidden. However, freshman Ella Mitchell wanted to showcase hers. Some students may pick sports like soccer, basketball, gymnastics or even figure skating, but Mitchell wanted to try something less common: trapeze. It’s a sport that involves doing tricks on a horizontal bar that hangs from the ceiling with ropes.
Two years ago, Mitchell decided to try trapeze after recommendations from friends. and started her journey with Charlotte Cirque and Dance Center (also known as CC and DC).
Aerial acrobatics have many aspects of artistry and grace due to the countless hours out in by athletes. Mitchell attends class weekly, with each class only being an hour long. Class starts with warming up the wrists, ankles, shoulders and abs, followed by stretching. Students review what they learned in the class before, along with developing new skills. In February, however, focus begins to shift to the spring performance.
“It’s really exciting and one of my favorite weekends all year,”
Mitchell said. There’s a big reveal in February that informs the dancers on what roles they’ll e playing for their upcoming performance. This year’s performance is Wizard of Oz, and Mitchell will be taking on the role of a Winnie. Winkies are the green people who live in the western quadrant of Oz.
At Mitchell’s studio, role announcements are followed by listening to the soundtrack. At CC and DC, everyone in the studio participates in the performance, and students who are in the company are able to audition for lead roles. This year, aside from being a Winkie, Mitchell is the understudy for Dorothy, and contributes to choreographing Dorothy’s tap dance.
Before performing at showcases, Mitchell watches over the younger kids and then her studio does a warm up on stage. The show is performed three times at the Blumenthal Theatre.
Aside from doing trapeze, Mitchell also does tap and contemporary dance. She’s tried other aerial arts such as the Lyra, (which is the aerial hoop), silks and stilts. Mitchell has done silks for two years, but decided to try tap dancing a few months ago. Her favorite tap skills are shirley temples, drawbacks and full backs.
As Mitchell gained more experience in her aerial arts, she sustained injuries. Most of her injuries are from falling off the silks or getting rope burns from the trapeze ropes.
“One time in silks I was doing a 360 drop, I fell on my head, and I bruised my sternum so badly it hurt when I laughed and breathed,” Mitchell said.
Apart from a couple bad falls Mitchell’s never broken or twisted anything. Most of her injuries have resulted in bruises. Mitchell perseveres through the minor injuries and corrects her mistakes the following class so she doesn’t repeat the errors that caused her to get hurt.
Mitchell noticed a difference in the quality of her skills each time she went to class. She’s Benn able to grow as a trapeze artist and dancer through her unwavering dedication. “I noticed improvements in my second class– it happened pretty quickly. I can tell when a skill isn’t perfect, so the next class I come back, and I’m closer to [perfecting] the skill.”
