I was asked to pitch showstopping ideas for this year's London Bierfest, an Oktoberfest inspired event in the City of London. The event organisers were keen to use the imagery of aerial circus to wow visitors at the popular event in the Old Billingsgate Hall.
With Circus Suburbia, I put together two show options for Bierfest - two circus shows with a variety of aerial and ground based circus acts and a compere, with each act taking on a Bavarian or beer theme. For example, taking a water juggling act by Jon Udry and replacing the water with beer. The other option was a variety of aerial acts performed to a live band, and this is the option we went for.
My aerial partner, Leyla, and I, put together a mix of aerial acts to entertain the guests at the hugely fun and lively event. Together, we made a two woman aerial show which we performed with the energetic band, the Voodoo Love Orchestra.
I opened the show with a rope act, dressed in lederhosen and performing to the live band's version of 'Fever'. Our brilliant costume maker, DesignGuise, created bespoke Bavarian themed costumes for the event.
Next up was the Aerial Sphere, closing the first show with fast spins, extreme flexibility and flowing hair.
Leyla opened the second show with an aerial hoop act.
The grandest aerial image was saved to close the second show, with synchronised silks performed by both Leyla and myself.
Our show rigger was the hugely talented Ben Smith. He installed all of our aerial equipment and managed the paging in and out of props during the shows.