Straddle-back progressions are used as a tool to not only build strength but to also build confidence. Inverting on the fabric with only your grip strength holding you up is a huge mental challenge for beginners and a lot of the time a barrier between them and where they want to be.   The progressions I use for myself and my students are:

KNOT Progressions

1. Start in a knot. This will give you the confidence to invert safely even if your grip-strength is not-quite-there. Make sure the knot rests low on your back. To start, put your hands on the fabric in front of your face and push against it, using this as leverage to engage your deep abdominals and start lifting your legs. Int he beginning I usually recommend starting with "froggy legs", as I call them, this makes it easier to lift them up. Finally lift that bottom up high and extend your legs out straight making sure your feet are pointed and your knees aren't bent. From here, bend your legs again to the froggy shape, and slowly lower them back to the ground (or hanging for more of a challenge).
2. Make the knot a bit higher. Do exactly as above, only on your way down keep your legs straight and engaged, bringing them to touch towards the bottom.
3. Try inverting and coming down with your legs straight the entire time. Open to your straddle in the inverted position, and touch your feet together at the bottom.

1. Hold the silk on one side of your body, close to your chest, with your arms bent. Grip position is usually a matter of preference. Bend your knees and lift them as high towards your chest as you can. Slowly lower your legs down. This is not a full straddle inversion, but an exercise you can do to help you build the core and upper body strength needed.
2. Start as above. Lift your legs up in the frog position while pushing your bottom up nice and high in the air. Slowly extend your arms to a straight position, keep your shoulders engaged and away from your ears. Once inverted, extend the legs and point the toes. To come down, go back to your frog position and slowly lower your legs, returning your arms to a bent position close to your chest.
3. Invert using your frog position, and come back to start position with straight legs.
4. Invert and come down using straight legs the entire time. Once again opening to your straddle while you invert, and closing your legs to touch near the bottom.

1. Exact same progressions as above, only you are in the air on the fabric and not on the ground. Make sure to have someone spot you while you practice for the first time.
2. Straight arm, straight leg straddle ( I am still working on this myself)

Things to be aware of as you practice:

• DO NOT whip your head back to get momentum to invert. This is terrible for your neck and back, and frankly makes me dizzy.
• DO NOT jump into the straddle inversion every time. It doesn't work the right muscles when you rely on momentum. And when you get to the air, you will have nothing to jump from.
• DO NOT kick your fabric out of the way when you go to invert in the air. This looks terrible and is a bad habit. Sweep your legs to the side gracefully.
• DO NOT sink into your shoulders or let your bottom sag. Keep the shoulders engaged and away from your ears. keep your abs tight and lifting your bottom UP UP UP.
• DO NOT use your feet to grab and push the fabric to get you into position. That is another hard habit to break.
• DO NOT take a back beat before you invert. It is tempting but lazy. Once again momentum in this case prevents us from building the correct muscles and good technique.
• DO NOT try to practice when you are fatigued. You do not want your grip to fail when you are inverted and land on your head!
• DO point your toes and extend and engage your whole legs.
• DO stay hydrated and stop often to rest.
• DO have someone spot you when you are first learning.
• DO check out the list of resources I have posted below. Lot's of articles and videos of getting that elusive straddle back inversion!

Have fun inverting!

Samantha

HEY! I've MOVED! Check out this post and more at my new website, AerFit.ca !!!

I have not done a ton of performance yet. I would love to do more but I have a hard time feeling "ready". I know the only way to get better at performing is to take every opportunity to do so! With that in mind I wanted to look into what exactly I could do to improve my performances. After some research and talking with other aerialists I've come up with 9 elements of performing that I think are great to keep top of mind and that will potentially improve the performance.

1. Engagement of feet (pointed or flexed or combination)

Floppy feet just don't look that great. I prefer a point myself, but have seen the use of flexed feet for aesthetic/choreographic purposes and it worked. A pointed foot lengthens the leg and creates an unbroken line that leads the gaze one way or another and is very pleasing to the eye. Either way, do something with that damn foot!

2. Variation in movement speed (pauses)

An act performed at one speed either feels rushed or boring. Obviously as I said, there are choreographic exceptions, however I have yet to find a good example of one. If you move through your entire routine too fast, the audience never gets a chance to appreciate any one trick or move. Too slow, and you risk losing the interest of the audience. Try varying your speed, moving slow and deliberate when it counts, and employing speed and power to grab the attention of your audience. I personally have a tendency to rush through moves, thinking I am pausing enough but looking at recordings of myself and getting feedback, I am moving too fast. This is something to be aware of!

3. Audience engagement / perceived engagement 

This is a big one for me. Depending on the theme of your act, you might be flirting with the audience, or creeping them out.. maybe you are looking someone dead in the eye.. or maybe you are smiling innocently. Either way look towards them, and engage in some way. If you grimace or have a neutral face the whole time the audience will feel disconnected and probably think you aren't enjoying yourself!

4. Demonstration of Flexibility & strength

People love this. Show them how hard you've trained while making it look easy. Throw a splits or deep backbend in there somewhere, hang upside down, do a drop or two, pull yourself up using only your arms. These demonstrations always wow the audience.

5. Music choice/ musicality of performance 

Music choice is very important. Sometimes we have a say in the music and sometimes we don't, but whatever the music is it is important to pay attention to the qualities of the song and use them in your performance. When the song slows down, reflect that in your movements. When the song speeds up, you speed up. And when the song builds to a crescendo, that is a perfect place to build a drop sequence. 

6. Deliberate movement / transitional awareness

This is one of the number one weaknesses I see in beginner Aerialists, myself included. We go through the motions of each trick and all of the transitions are ugly or rushed. The secret to great performance is making each transition look like a trick in itself. This way the audience never suspects when you are in transition and the whole act becomes smoother and more deliberate. One way of doing this is to practice pausing in each transition and posing as if it is a trick on its own.

7. Variation in acsending/ descending 

If you ascend and descend the apparatus several times in the same fashion, your audience may lose interest. Try making each accent and descent different in your act and see how it changes the quality of your performance.

8. Emotional involvement/ passion

This one is kind of similar to audience engagement but it's more internally focused. Don't be a robot up there. If your act has a theme, try to embody that theme in your movements and facial expressions. If it is a sad act, show the audience with your movements that you are sad. You can tell when a performer is passionate about what they are doing or when they are just going through the motions. A good exercise that I learned at a performance workshop is to pick a short sequence; then, write down a happy or sad or scary moment in your life and meditate on that moment/event/emotion. Next, embodying that emotion, perform your sequence. Try it several times with different emotions.

9. Long lines/ unbroken lines

This kind of also goes with the engagement of feet. The main point here is to be aware of your lines. What kind of aesthetic do you want for your act? Watch your bent elbows and wrists, your bent knees etc and keep in mind that those will break up lines. In general it is probably best practice to engage with long lines and pointed toes. straight legs, straight arms etc. There are many exceptions, but it is important to be deliberate in whatever you choose.

What other elements do you think make up a good performance?