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How it began By Beth Newell
The idea for The Flying Project came to me at church while singing a hymn. It came through the lines “Help Me lift up the lame and the weak”. It was one of those times when words leap out at you and they strike at your heart with a force that says “THIS IS MEANT FOR YOU- YES I MEAN YOU AND I LITERALLY MEAN ‘LIFT UP!”
Twenty five years ago I performed on bungees in a show with the Caravan Stage Company. We did our own rigging and the harnesses were fairly primitive but we had so much fun and I said to myself, “One day I will have an aerial dance studio”. But you need a lot of space to move around in bungees and so the dream lay dormant all those twenty-five years. Meanwhile other dancers were experiencing aerial dance and loving it and soon it was being incorporated into shows everywhere, most notably in the Cirque D’ Soleil.
Twenty five years ago I performed on bungees in a show with the Caravan Stage Company. We did our own rigging and the harnesses were fairly primitive but we had so much fun and I said to myself, “One day I will have an aerial dance studio”. But you need a lot of space to move around in bungees and so the dream lay dormant all those twenty-five years. Meanwhile other dancers were experiencing aerial dance and loving it and soon it was being incorporated into shows everywhere, most notably in the Cirque D’ Soleil.
Until the hymn I had only thought of doing aerial movement for myself and maybe a few other baby boomers but it had never occurred to me that it could have a greater impact on people’s lives.
So started The Flying Project. I spoke to the church leaders at Good Shepherd Church in Law-rencetown and they agreed to become the home of the project under conditions that it be safe, be insured and be free to all.
I then contacted Karen Fuhrman of Grounded Aerial Dance in New York as she was teaching aerial movement workshops and I had a lot to learn. When Karen heard about The Flying Pro-ject’s mandate to put people with mobility difficulties into the air, she was very excited and wanted to be more involved in this new endeavour. She came and trained myself and seven volunteers focussing on safety, rigging and movement in the air. Karen is a beautiful artist and gifted teacher and inspired us tremendously. She continues to be our consultant and we greatly benefit from her knowledge and advice.
So started The Flying Project. I spoke to the church leaders at Good Shepherd Church in Law-rencetown and they agreed to become the home of the project under conditions that it be safe, be insured and be free to all.
I then contacted Karen Fuhrman of Grounded Aerial Dance in New York as she was teaching aerial movement workshops and I had a lot to learn. When Karen heard about The Flying Pro-ject’s mandate to put people with mobility difficulties into the air, she was very excited and wanted to be more involved in this new endeavour. She came and trained myself and seven volunteers focussing on safety, rigging and movement in the air. Karen is a beautiful artist and gifted teacher and inspired us tremendously. She continues to be our consultant and we greatly benefit from her knowledge and advice.
Since everything has had to be learned ‘from the ground up’, the journey to get The Flying Pro-ject ‘off the ground’ has been transpiring over a few years. I work full-time as a Counselling Therapist and therefore I am content to let the project develop without a time table. This year the South Eastern Community Health Board gave The Flying Project a Wellness Fund Grant to purchase a 20 ft. aerial rig which will allow one person at a time to experience moving in the air. Eventually I hope to put three or more aerial supports (a design donated by the BMR Structural Engineering firm in Halifax) into the roof trusses of the church so that more than one person can participate at a time. In the future we will be able to choreograph an aerial show with dancers on the ground and in the air with lights and multi-media effects.
We have our first participant ready to fly…
Presently we are raising funds to pay for the sport insurance and a pulley system to raise peo-ple into the air to attach them to the bungees. We have a GoFundMe site if you would like to give to the project and if you need a tax receipt please contact me.
Beth Newell can be contacted at seadance@eastlink.ca
We have our first participant ready to fly…
Presently we are raising funds to pay for the sport insurance and a pulley system to raise peo-ple into the air to attach them to the bungees. We have a GoFundMe site if you would like to give to the project and if you need a tax receipt please contact me.
Beth Newell can be contacted at seadance@eastlink.ca
We dedicated The Flying Project to the memory of Sara Drohan, daughter of volunteer Eileen, who loved to dance though in a wheelchair. We know there are many like Sara who will be so delighted to feel the freedom of movement in the air.
My GOALS (by Beth Newell)
After telling you about how the Flying Project came into being after hearing the lines in the hymn, “Help Me lift up the lame and the weak”, I would be remiss to not say that one of the goals of The Flying Project has to do with knowing the heart of God. I feel it is only right that if it is His idea then He should get some credit after all.
I don’t mind being ‘the one on the ground’ so to speak but it is ‘the Most High’ who has generated this project from the beginning and continues to be involved in so many little and big ways.
I don’t mind being ‘the one on the ground’ so to speak but it is ‘the Most High’ who has generated this project from the beginning and continues to be involved in so many little and big ways.
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Goal number one is to recognize God is in this project and that it is His good pleasure to give His children some fun while keeping them safe. This is why before each flying session I will pray and ask for His presence to surround us in safety and joy. (Please note that this prayer moment is voluntary participation and in no way mandatory).
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Goal number two is to increase the joy of the participant in building confidence, sense of empowerment, increased movement capacity and creativity while experiencing social interaction and pure fun. The combination of the physical and creative components in aerial movement offers a spectrum of health benefits such as expanded range of movement, social engagement, a sense of personal empowerment and artistic expression.
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Goal number three is to increase awareness of the abilities of people with disabilities in the community and beyond. The future plans are to produce art events involving aerial dance with music, lighting and visual effects for the community to attend.
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Other future goals are to expand the The Flying Project to people with mental health struggles particularly teens and those who have experienced trauma. We also see this as a benefit to seniors. Several of my volunteers have backgrounds in counselling, nursing, teaching and art making. I am a Registered Counselling Therapist and Expressive Art Therapist (19 years) and have colleagues who are interested in developing aerial work to assist in healing and growth. The sky is the limit!
