PROFESSIONAL WORKSHOPS AND MASTER CLASSES IN HULA HOOPS, CHINESE POLE AND ACROBATICS

The 7 Fingers invites you to participate at a series of workshops and master classes in hula hoops, chinese pole and acrobatics with Freyja and Conor Wild, two artists from our touring show Passagers. These workshops are open to professional artists looking to perfect their technique or who are looking to learn a new circus discipline. All levels are accepted, from beginner to advanced.

Below, you will find the description and schedule of all workshops. Please read the descriptions carefully before subscribing. To subscribe, please send all your information at louis.bourgaut@les7doigts.com , along with the name and date of the workshop you want to join.

PRE-REQUISITES (THREE-WEEK SERIES):

For this series, we are offering beginner classes and intermediate-advanced classes. Please read the descriptions before signing up or applying so you are aware of which workshop suits you best.

Price : 30$/class or 75$ for the three-week series.

HOOPS

*Sign-up only, no application required.*

Beginner: If you have no experience at all with a hula hoop, come to the beginner class. We will cover the basic technique and give you solid building blocks for good technique. If you have done some hula-hooping but are interested in the basic technique broken down then the beginner class is for you. Bring your hoops if you have them, we have a limited amount of spare hoops for those without their own.

Schedule : Monday march 18th, Monday March 25th and Tuesday April 2nd, from 6pm to 8pm.

Intermediate/Advanced: If you have experience hula hooping, and would like to learn more, book in for intermediate and advanced. We will still be covering a lot of basics to ensure a solid grounding but this class will move a bit faster than the beginner class.

Schedule : Tuesday March 19th, Wednesday March 27th and Wednesday April 3rd, from 6pm to 8pm.

BROAD BASICS IN ENSEMBLE ACROBATICS

*Application required. Please include your experience, a basic description of your understanding of ensemble acrobatics. Please let us know if you are happiest basing/porting, middling or flying.*

This series is about developing strong basic skills, to fill your tool-kit with simple things to build on and to work on good technique from the ground up. We’ll be looking at safe acrobatic play and lots of tools and ideas to get you playing with new things. We will encourage people to try all positions but we need an idea of what the skill sets in the room will be. This is not a hand-to-hand workshop.

Beginner: If you have never stood on someone else’s shoulders, nor had your shoulders stood on, this is the class for you. If you have a little experience in shoulder-standing but are interested in technique corrections and building blocks to a good solid technique for duo and ensemble acrobatics the beginner class is probably for you. We will be working mainly on two-high technique and counter-balances but there will plenty of other things to play with as well.

Schedule : Wednesday March 20th, Tuesday March 26th and Monday April 1st, from 6pm to 8pm.

Intermediate/Advanced: If you are comfortable standing on someone else’s shoulders or having your shoulders stood upon, this class is for you. We will be checking alignment and correcting technique to ensure safe shoulder standing, as well as working beyond the two high. We will be working mainly on two-high technique with an aim towards three highs and tower variations.

Schedule : Thursday March 21st, Thursday March 28th and Thursday April 4th, from 6pm to 8pm.

CHINESE POLE

*BEGINNER: Sign up only, no application needed.*

*INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED: Application required, please include your age, experience and any specific tricks you are working on or are interested in learning.*

For this series we are offering beginner classes and intermediate-advanced classes. Participants will need to wear thick clothes that they can move in, rubber soled shoes and layers! Ideal attire would be leggings, jeans, a long sleeved t-shirt, another t-shirt, a thick jumper and rubber soled shoes, Feiyue or Asics are ideal. You can also bring additional arm protection, knee support tubing works well for this.

Beginner: If you’ve never touched a pole before or if you’re new to Chinese pole then this class is for you. Pole is a physically demanding discipline, so a physical background and a reasonable level of upper-body strength are required. That said we will be working on building the necessary strength for pole through this series. The course will be focusing on learning various positions on the pole, how to sequence and move between them, looking at efficient climbing technique and climb variations as well as learning drops and laying the foundations for dynamic and release tricks.

Schedule : Monday March 18th, Monday March 25th and Tuesday April 2nd, from 6pm to 8pm.

Intermediate/advanced: If you’ve already trained some pole or you already do pole but are looking to learn some new skills or refine your technique then these classes are for you. We’ll be looking at dynamic tricks and more complicated drops as well as learning tools to create and develop sequences. Applicants should include a summary of their prior pole experience and any specific tricks they’re working on or are interested in learning.

Schedule : Tuesday March 19th, Wednesday March 27th, Wednesday April 3rd, from 6pm to 8pm.

PRE-REQUISITES (INTENSIVES):

For this series, we offer intensive classes to develop your skills and technic in hoops, floor acrobatics and Chinese pole.

Price : varies depending on the class.

HOOPS – MANIPULATION AND CREATIVE SEQUENCING

*Application required, see below*

This is a manipulation-based intensive, for people who want to broaden their vocabulary of one and two hoop manipulation tricks. The morning will be focussed on learning new tricks. The afternoon will be focussed around creative sequencing, giving you tools to create your own material and put the tricks you already know into sequence as interestingly as possible! There will be a short warm-up included and a one-hour break for lunch from 1-2.

All levels are welcome but please give me an idea of your experience, what you are currently working on and anything you are specifically looking to take away from this workshop.

Please bring your own hoops.

Schedule : Friday March 22nd, from 10ham to 5pm.

Price : 80$ for the day.

HOOPS – TECHNIQUE

*Application required, see below*

This is an intensive focussed around multi-hooping. The first half will be drills, explaining how to build the right foundations for solid on-body hoop splitting. The second half will be multi-hoop variations of ‘the box’ and other classic circus tricks.

All levels are welcome but please give me an idea of your experience, what you are currently working on and anything you are specifically looking to take away from this workshop.

Please bring your own hoops.

Schedule : Friday March 29th, from 10am to 1pm.

Price : 45$

CREATIVE TUMBLING

*Application required, please include prior tumbling and/or movement experience and skills you are currently working on, you can do this with a video if you like*

Participants need to be comfortable moving low to the floor and have, at least, a basic level of acrobatics: they must be able to do a forward roll, a backward roll and cartwheel on both sides. We will be looking at how to develop sequences beyond normal straight-line tumbling, working with vocabulary from contemporary dance and learning sequencing tools to spice up your acrobatic research. Participants should wear loose comfortable clothes that are easy to move in.

Schedule : Friday March 22nd, from 10am to 1pm.

Price : 45$

PIROUETTE MASTERCLASS

*Application required, please include prior pole experience and skills you are currently working on, you can do this with a video if you like*

This workshop is for any level. If you already feel comfortable climbing a pole and holding basic static positions you’ll be fine. We’ll be looking at laying the foundations for solid, consistent pirouette technique or giving you that last little nudge to get your pirouette consistent. We will cover a series of progressions and pirouette variations that will give you a deep understanding of how to train and master pirouettes no matter what your level.

Schedule : Friday March 29th, from 2pm to 5pm.

Price : 45$