and now for something completely different

Good morning, Glories!

I have a very cool announcement to make- as you might know, for the past couple of years I've been cohosting hoop-specific retreats at Sweet Retreats in Mexico with the wonderful Jenny Tufts (hey Jenny!).

This year, Jenny has landed a dreamy contract and is unavailable, which led me down a path of searching through friends and colleagues to find someone to cohost with me.

There was one in particular I knew would be a spectacular fit- but of course she is near constantly on tour. What the hell, I thought. I'll ask her anyway.

And she said not just yes but HELL YES. So I am over the freakin moon to present:

May I introduce my dear friend who needs no introduction, the fabulous Kristina "Nekyia" Canizares. You may have enjoyed Kristina's superb mobility resources on Fit & Bendy, or her wacky sense of humor and far-reaching esoteric knowledge spanning from Jungian psychology to the activism of disrobing on stage.

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Aerial Serpent: Circus for Life

This is an exceedingly rare opportunity to learn from Kristina in person- and to learn from both of us in the same day is nearly unheard of so I'm pretty friggin stoked.

Kristina and I have created this retreat experience in service of the longevity of performing artists. Our focus is always on sustainability- both physically and creatively, so you can train and make cool weird shit for the rest of your life.

You do not need to be an aerialist to get every last drop from this experience.

Any physical performer, including actors, aerialists, dancers, contortionists, and acrobats will be able to participate in every aspect. There will be time each day to put what we teach you into practice on the apparatus of your choice- including the floor!

This retreat has been lovingly crafted to equip circus artists with world-class tools in serpentine mobility, injury prevention, and robust creative skills to keep you training and creating your most authentic work- for life. This retreat offers exceptional ground-based work in mobility and creativity, with daily opportunities for artists to explore them on an apparatus of their choice.

This is not a retreat for learning aerial tricks or sequences- it is a retreat for physical artists to get to know their bodies and their creative process far more intimately, and go home with a butt load of tools in your toolbelt that you can use for your whole career- which may be quite a bit longer because of those tools.

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Storytime!

Ok imma brag on Kristina for a minute-

As some of you know, I've been injured. After the snake bite I sustained in early July, I was in a wheelchair with my right leg extended for 30 days. This turned a niggling little SI joint issue into a full blown crisis. I was in so much pain I spent two weeks on the couch.

Physical therapy helped me access more ordinary mobility, but nothing made much difference in the original problem, nor could anyone actually tell me wtf was wrong with me. Dry needling, 8 weeks of PT, x-rays, orthopedic surgeons, chiropractic, massage, and myofascial release all bumped off of the problem like a bee bee gun shooting a brick wall.

Then I had a facetime with Kristina, to talk about this retreat. She asked about my SI joint rehab, then casually gave me an exercise that took about 90 seconds to do. When I stood up, I could bend over at the waist without pain for the first time in months. I was so shocked that Kristina took a screenshot of my face:

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Now I'm not saying she's going to magically heal what's been bothering you for years; she's a woman, not a magic pill- but damn this woman knows her shit.

The buffet of her expertise and the feast of my weird and wonderful choreographic exercises are what's on the table for Aerial Serpent. There are 16 spaces left (I announced it to my patrons last week) and we would love to meet you!

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Now go have a kickass day, you marvelous weirdos.

Don't go back to sleep.

xoRachel

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