New! Aerial Silks and Hoop Skills at Summer Camp

While it may seem like this is the latest trend in aerial acrobatics, it’s interesting to know that people have been demonstrating skills on silks and hoops for quite a few years.

How Aerial Silks Entered the Performance Arena

Aerial silks are one of the newer categories of acrobatics, but one of the first aerial silk acrobats can be traced as far back as 1959 when a student in a French circus school used a strip of fabric in an act.

While this event is documented by a small write up in the local paper, it wasn’t until two women named Isabelle Vaudeville and Isabelle Chasse used silks in a Cirque du Soleil performance that the style of performance became widely recognized.

Now, aerial silks have become a worldwide sensation, and you can learn how to use them as a form of self-expression as you perform complicated aerial silks and hoops skills that dazzle an audience.

The Origins of Aerial Hoops

Aerial hoops go even further back, and people in the 1700s used to include them in their yards as a form of recreation for children. However, you can bet that these interesting pieces of playground equipment were never hung as high as the ones that you get to learn on at summer camp.

As with so many other groundbreaking forms of acrobatics, you can credit Cirque du Soleil with bringing aerial hoops to mainstream attention. They were first used in the Varekai performance of the early 2000s, and you can still see hoops in the modern shows today.

What You'll Learn in Our Summer Camp Aerials Program

Watching a highly-trained acrobat perform on silk and hoops is breathtaking, but don’t let yourself feel intimidated. Each performer started as a beginner just like you, and our summer camp program is designed to let you learn each trick under the guidance of experienced coaches and with special equipment such as foam pits and harnesses that protect your safety.

At Canadian Adventure Camp's aerial skills program, you start out learning beginner moves such as wraps, drops, foot locks and climbs. Then, you advance to more complicated slides and rolls as you demonstrate confidence and competence in each maneuver.

As you work though the specialty program, you develop physical strength, grace and confidence that carries in to all of your other activities. The ability to perform aerial silks and hoops skills on delicate equipment high above the ground is not something that you just pick up overnight.

Instead, it takes many hours of training with professional coaches in a safe environment to get to the point that you can do an impressive roll or slide. As you start to plan your summer, be sure to carve out enough time in the day to practice your new skills so that you will be making advanced level maneuvers by the time your session is over.

Canadian Adventure Camp is a North Ontario coed sleepover summer camp for kids located on a beautiful private island in the wilderness lakes region of Temagami. Founded in 1975, it provides acclaimed programs to children from around the world!