I’ve previously written about how much I enjoy teaching aerial circus but something happened the other night at training that made me realize this had moved to another level. As I sat back watching my students rehearse their show for an upcoming performance one of them began exiting out of her favourite move, four metres high on the tissu. But instead of controlling herself she slid down to the floor, practically falling. My reaction was to gasp aloud and bolt out of my chair, heart beating so fast I thought I was going to faint. But she looked coyly at me and giggled as she went about attempting the move again. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her mother in the audience practically let out a yawn and shift position slightly. Seeing that she was okay I slid back into my chair and reflected on my reaction. It wasn’t that I thought if she hurts herself that I’d be in trouble, it was genuine concern that she would be hurt and I wasn’t nearby to protect her. I chuckled quietly to myself realizing what I’d done and looked around to check that no one else had seen my over-the-top reaction.
Now that I think about it, this isn’t really a new thing for me. I guess I’ve always had the motherly instinct and it just comes out in the right environment. I had an early intro to ‘mothering’ as a 17 year old when I often looked after my 16 year old friend’s baby while she went out and partied with an unsavoury crowd. I cared for him so often people used to think he was my son and I loved it. When I’ve worked on Paediatric wards I found it very easy to make a connection with the children to help them feel at ease with their scary surroundings.
But my relationship with my circus students is quite reciprocal. I notice that when they are training if they’ve done something that they’re proud of they look to me first for acknowledgement before looking to their parents. Again it does come down to being a good role model; I don’t think any of my students think of me as a ‘mother’. At the same time I know it’s going to be difficult when the time comes for me to move on and ‘let them go’.
Now that I think about it, this isn’t really a new thing for me. I guess I’ve always had the motherly instinct and it just comes out in the right environment. I had an early intro to ‘mothering’ as a 17 year old when I often looked after my 16 year old friend’s baby while she went out and partied with an unsavoury crowd. I cared for him so often people used to think he was my son and I loved it. When I’ve worked on Paediatric wards I found it very easy to make a connection with the children to help them feel at ease with their scary surroundings.
But my relationship with my circus students is quite reciprocal. I notice that when they are training if they’ve done something that they’re proud of they look to me first for acknowledgement before looking to their parents. Again it does come down to being a good role model; I don’t think any of my students think of me as a ‘mother’. At the same time I know it’s going to be difficult when the time comes for me to move on and ‘let them go’.
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