What is Acro?

Last week, 2 Move HQ members went to try some acro at Cloud Aerial Arts in Manchester. They had a private masterclass with owner Maria and one of her instructors Kit - a gymnast since he was 10!

What is Acro?

If you try to search for acro, you don’t get much of an instant hit in your search engine. A search for acrobalance, acro yoga, or acro dance, however will display some very interesting looking poses... like this photo that was taken @Cloud Aerial.

The aforementioned are all very similar in principle, because they all take inspiration from acrobatic moves, which require some amount of strength and flexibility. If you decide to include some acro moves into your dance routine, like a contemporary performance, you’d then be performing an acro dance routine. There aren’t really that many places that you can learn acro dance - local to us anyway. Maria - Cloud Aerial’s owner - told us that if you’re looking to include acro in your routine, you’d first come to her workshops to learn the core balance moves before going to a dance school and learning how to incorporate those moves. Acro dance then is an amalgamation of acrobatic moves and dance because it’s an acro performance synchronised to music. In acrobalance, there’s usually a base and a flyer for partner poses, but this isn’t always restricted to weight and height. Acrobalance is all about learning how to use your bodyweight in harmony with your partner or even just yourself. There’s actually an international company called Acrobatic Arts that teach an acro dance syllabus if you’re looking for somewhere that you can join. Check out their website for the list of studios.

What Do You Wear for Acro Dance?

When you’re researching what to wear for your acro class, especially if it’s your beginners’ class, make sure that you’re aware of what kind of moves you’ll be doing. For example, in acro dance, you might wear leotards, shorts, leggings, catsuits or any range of clothes for your rehearsals. Depending on the style of dance you’re doing, when it comes to your acro dance performance you may find you’ll need something like a contemporary or lyrical dress with shorts underneath. We discovered some top tips for what to wear to acro balance class when at Cloud Aerial. One of our HQ testers ended up with a nasty bruise when her partner slipped down her quad because of the shiny coating on the fitness pants she was wearing - rookie error! For acrobalance then, it’s best that you wear matte, tight-fitting clothing for the most grip. Tight-fitting is essential because you don’t want to be putting your trust in a pair of baggy shorts when you’re standing on your partner’s thigh in case they move around and make you lose your balance. Have a look at our selection of leggings to find some dance fitness clothes that you can use to train in acro.

What is Cloud Aerial Arts?

Cloud Aerial was founded by Maria 5 years ago. Maria started out teaching pole and hoop in ½ of this room that you see in the below picture.

She then expanded to having the whole top floor of the quirky warehouse in Manchester, and now in other locations around the North West. Maria had scaffolding and beams installed to be able to host silks, straps and ropes classes (popular with the guys), aerial hoop, and trapeze. They have occasional shows and actually having their first circus performance at the Lowry this June if you want to see them in action. The team at Cloud Aerial and the people who attend give off such a fun and supportive vibe that it’s difficult not to push your boundaries and try new things with confidence!

What’s a Beginners’ Acro Class like?

The Move duo started out with a 10 minute warm up to make our muscles fluid and prevent injury. It was freezing in the studio, so we regretted leaving our Bloch booties behind! The acrobalance training then began and involved a little bit of trial and error and a lot of falling on top of each other…

What are some Beginner Acro Poses?

Here are just a few moves that were tried out:

Front Angel

Getting into this pose certainly feels like a variation of a trust fall. It takes flying superman as a child to new heights by engaging your core to remain in a beautiful plank position.

Straddle Pose

To get into this pose, the flyer had to do a maneuver like a cartwheel over the base and lift up the standing leg when balanced on the base’s foot. It’s quite a relaxing position once you’re in it… as long as you remember to pike!

Loving Liv’s look? She’s wearing a hoodie by Capezio that you can buy here.

Thigh Counter Balance into Flag Pose

This is the pose that you’re not going to want slippy pants on for. It consists of the flyer standing on the base’s legs when they’re in a slight squat with feet together, then the flyer tucking a foot behind the base’s neck for support and letting go of one hand. The letting go part feels terrifying at first, but it’s actually so comfortable once you’re in it!

Sitting on Shoulders

The name of this pose doesn’t really do the fear factor justice. The base stood in a wide squat, then the flyer stepped up onto each thigh. The flyer then slides a leg over each shoulder until in seated position. When the base stands up, you really are quite high! The pro version of this pose is to be standing on shoulders. The dismount was the scariest part, because it involved leaning back until your hands reach the floor, and then doing a handstand off the base. How is this a beginner’s move?!

Want to learn the names of some more moves? We had fun exploring http://thecircusdictionary.com/.

Aerial Hoop

Cloud Aerial let Liv from Move HQ have a quick aerial hoop masterclass. It required a little more upper body and core strength than acrobalance, but was just as rewarding. Megan is the resident aerial hoop teacher at Cloud Aerial and gave a little taster of the pro moves that she’s capable of, which included hanging from the hoop from just her heels…

If you’re curious about what you’d wear for aerial hoop, Megan recommends that you choose something full length like a catsuit which gives you the most comfort, coverage, and flexibility.

Come back soon for the latest insider dance info!