Liability

Tonight at training I was asked to perform at a big event which is on next weekend. My initial reaction was to turn them down as I know I am only at about 20 percent of the required physical condition to be able to perform. I tried to play down my rejection by suggesting that what I could offer in terms of my fitness was only a very short routine. I hoped this would sound unsuitable as they had thought my routine could be one of the main attractions. “Oh anything would be great, it’s just so beautiful to watch” was the unfortunate response. I tried another tactic, “I suppose I could ask a couple of my students to see if they could perform with me but I have a feeling they might not be able to”, “oh no we think a solo performance would be much better” they keenly replied. I didn’t want to sound ungrateful so I thought it was time to pull out the big guns. “Well if the venue is willing to have a loaded rig set up from their ceiling I suppose I can do it”, “hmm, actually we should look into that” they said, smiles turning into frowns of concern.

Having to cover all bases for liability is something that scares even the most interested event organizers and for circus performances aerial acts are one of the more difficult to arrange. Ensuring the safety of the rig is paramount. Some of the ‘professional’ aerial circus artists that I’ve met have told me that they usually also train a ground based skill as they come across this problem quite frequently. I do have a couple of other skills I can offer but I haven’t trained them for a while and I’m not too keen on having people watch me perform when I’m not at my best. It makes me realize how much training is required to do this for a living. It’s times like these that I am glad I have a day job!