Soft Acrobatics
My Soft Acrobatics practice is the pinnacle of the training that I've done over my lifetime, and the methods I use to teach Soft Acrobatics are the culmination of my 5+ years of teaching movement related disciplines. So, what exactly do I mean by "soft acrobatics"?
The short answer, for me, is that it is a method of approaching acrobatics that pays attention to continuity and flow, while also paying mind to the efficiency and softness of the body. The practice is designed to be portable, in the sense that the idea is that once you are comfortable with the practice you can take the practice to any surface. For me it is somewhere between dance and athleticism, expressivity and physics in motion. The primary tenets of the practice, beyond this, involve moving your spine, shifting weight into your hands, and going upside down. For a much more in depth discussion, you can check out this essay that I wrote a while ago! This video also offers a brief introduction to how the basic workshop functioned in the past.
After spending the last 18 months or so teaching a 4-week long, progressively constructed workshop, I've recently expanded the way I teach this material. I now offer it in multiple modes, both at Athletic Playground in Emeryville, CA and Pacific Pipe in Oakland, CA.
Beginner Soft Acrobatics is offered as a drop-in class, every Wednesday from 6p at Athletic Playground, and All Levels Soft Acrobatics is offered every Sunday at 4:15p at Pacific Pipe. Each class is designed to be more or less self-contained, but the content will vary week to week so rewards repeats visits. We will spend 75 minutes doing a thorough warm up, some basic acrobatic conditioning drills, and then learning a sampling of what I consider to be Soft Acrobatic "essentials" before building a small sequence. If you have little or no experience with ground acrobatics or acrobatic sequencing, I recommend starting here!
Soft Acrobatics Deep Dive is offered monthly as a 4-week, progressively constructed workshop. It is designed to let you move deeper into the practice by both learning more "difficult" movement pathways, and also exploring concepts surrounding sequencing and improvisation. From November, 2022 on, this workshop will be taught with the assumption that you have either attended a former 4-week workshops series, or at least 1 of my drop-in Beginner Soft Acrobatics classes (i.e., we will be using basic movements and transitions that I will not be teaching from scratch in the workshop series).
For more information, or for any Private or Small Group training inquiries, email me. I am more than happy to answer any questions you might have! If you're interested in seeing more examples of Soft Acrobatic work, check out my Instagram or search the hashtag "#softacrobatics" on IG!
The short answer, for me, is that it is a method of approaching acrobatics that pays attention to continuity and flow, while also paying mind to the efficiency and softness of the body. The practice is designed to be portable, in the sense that the idea is that once you are comfortable with the practice you can take the practice to any surface. For me it is somewhere between dance and athleticism, expressivity and physics in motion. The primary tenets of the practice, beyond this, involve moving your spine, shifting weight into your hands, and going upside down. For a much more in depth discussion, you can check out this essay that I wrote a while ago! This video also offers a brief introduction to how the basic workshop functioned in the past.
After spending the last 18 months or so teaching a 4-week long, progressively constructed workshop, I've recently expanded the way I teach this material. I now offer it in multiple modes, both at Athletic Playground in Emeryville, CA and Pacific Pipe in Oakland, CA.
Beginner Soft Acrobatics is offered as a drop-in class, every Wednesday from 6p at Athletic Playground, and All Levels Soft Acrobatics is offered every Sunday at 4:15p at Pacific Pipe. Each class is designed to be more or less self-contained, but the content will vary week to week so rewards repeats visits. We will spend 75 minutes doing a thorough warm up, some basic acrobatic conditioning drills, and then learning a sampling of what I consider to be Soft Acrobatic "essentials" before building a small sequence. If you have little or no experience with ground acrobatics or acrobatic sequencing, I recommend starting here!
Soft Acrobatics Deep Dive is offered monthly as a 4-week, progressively constructed workshop. It is designed to let you move deeper into the practice by both learning more "difficult" movement pathways, and also exploring concepts surrounding sequencing and improvisation. From November, 2022 on, this workshop will be taught with the assumption that you have either attended a former 4-week workshops series, or at least 1 of my drop-in Beginner Soft Acrobatics classes (i.e., we will be using basic movements and transitions that I will not be teaching from scratch in the workshop series).
For more information, or for any Private or Small Group training inquiries, email me. I am more than happy to answer any questions you might have! If you're interested in seeing more examples of Soft Acrobatic work, check out my Instagram or search the hashtag "#softacrobatics" on IG!
Mike Kitchell, 2020-2023