Alcaraz started taking aerial hoops and aerial skills seriously two years ago.
Six long silks hung from the ceiling. Alcaraz, however, ignored the silks and approached the silver hoop hanging alongside the silks. As the beginning notes of “Not About Angels” began to play, she grabbed the hoop to start her routine.
With a background in gymnastics and cheerleading, Alcaraz started practicing aerial hoop and aerial silks seriously at the Trapeze School of New York in Los Angeles the fall of her sophomore year, eventually switching to AsaBela Studio in Bloomington the fall of her ?senior year.
Both circus arts, aerial hoop and aerial silks require the performer to execute gravity-defying tricks, in the case of aerial hoop, on one steel hula hoop hanging from the ceiling or, in the case of aerial silks, on two strips of fabric hanging from the ceiling, Alcaraz said.
When her boyfriend, Brian MacLafferty, passed away unexpectedly this September, Alcaraz said she turned to aerial hoop and aerial silks as a form of art therapy, creating an aerial hoop routine in his memory.
“Brian loved me doing aerial and watching me doing aerial,” she said. “I had to send him a picture anytime I had a class. He was really supportive of it. We used to talk about opening a studio, because he liked business and I liked aerial.”
Alcaraz set her aerial hoop routine to the song “Not About Angels” by Birdy from “The Fault in Our Stars.”
“I went through a couple of songs, songs that were meaningful for us,” she said. “But I ultimately ended up sticking with that song, because that song pretty much says, ‘Make the life you live count, make it special, make us special.’”
Alcaraz said she wanted to honor MacLafferty.
“I wanted to make him something special and make myself something special, I guess, for him,” Alcaraz said. “I wanted to say in a routine the words I wasn’t able to say. I feel connected to him when I do (the routine.) I tried to make the routine as beautiful as possible because I wanted to reflect how beautiful I thought our relationship was.”
Alcaraz’s routine was one of many at AsaBela Studio’s winter recital, which showcased the talents of all of AsaBela Studio’s performers in both individual and group performances.
Juliana Burrell, the owner of AsaBela Studio, said she encourages all of those interested in aerial hoops and aerial silks to give it ?a try.
“We are for all ages, and we are for all abilities,” she said. “Most people here were beginners, and we made them be able to do something.”
Burrell said performers start low to the ground, moving higher off the ground as their muscles get stronger and as their skills get sharper.
As the ending notes of “Not About Angels” began to play, Alcaraz grabbed the silver hoop and dismounted. When she walked away, she left the hoop slowly spinning and gave a small wave.
