Press
Quotes
“Look up and watch out, as aerial artists dangle from trapeze, hoops, fabric and rope in a showcase that defies gravity!” – Flavorpill New York
“For a truly special night out, take the leap!” Cool In Your Code Metro Paper
“Above the Belt truly brings the audience to a different time, a different world. This is the single greatest physical performance I have ever seen. Forget Stomp or Blue Man Group, or even the great shows PS 122 has to offer. Above the Belt is a stunning, terrifying, magical and sensual experience.” – Uncoolkids
ABOVE THE BELT has been featured in circus trade magazine Spectacle, highlighted in New York Magazine, has been “Highly Recommended” by the The Village Voice, and featured as “Best By Day” in Time Out New York.
Submitted Editorial
Above the Belt: an evening of aerial performance
By Corey on Monday, April 23rd, 2007
Every so often the Zipper Theatre, arguably one of the coolest theatre spaces in the city, hosts an event called “Above the Belt” which is a showcase of NYC based aerial performers– an opportunity for trapeze artists and the like to show off their skills. Somehow the folks at the Zipper have transformed their comfortable, unique space into a underground circus scene. There is a hint of the European, and for two magnificent hours you completely forget you are in Manhattan. “Above the Belt” truly brings the audience to a different time, a different location, a different world.
This is the single greatest physical performance I have ever seen. Forget Stomp or Blue Man Group, or event the great shows PS 122 has to offer. “Above the Belt” is stunning, terrifying, magical and sensual experience. The performers use apparatus I have never even seen– silk ropes hanging from the ceiling, twisted around the body expertly so that the performers hang and twist and twirl in the sky with unbelievable grace and fearlessness. There is a huge silver hoop used as a kind of trapeze, and a set of two looped ropes that a male/female duet hang from and dangle with.
“Above the Belt” is difficult to talk about. It is so unusual, so beautiful that I say for two hours with my mouth, quite literally, was wide open, hand over mouth, eyes wide. There is no safety net in the Zipper Theatre, and the sense of urgency and danger is pervasive. The performers do not stumble for a moment, however, and they execute seemingly impossible movements with strength and agility. They are dancers in the sky… some of the best dancers I have ever seen.
This event is trying to become a monthly performance, and we should only be so lucky to have this kind of experience available every month. “Above the Belt” is modern and old fashioned, in the same moment, unfamiliarity in the middle of Times Square. It is a gift to the city.
Stand out performers include Jordann Baker, Michelle Dortignac, Joshua Dean and Kristin Olness.