And the Crowd Goes Wild – 2017 Expertease Fitness September Student Showcase

Moving into the fall of 2017, I was making more and more progress with Cyr wheel. It had been about four months since I started out, and I had a few tricks under my belt. Mickey Dupont, my teacher at the time, started encouraging me to perform. He introduced me to one of the main entertainment companies in town, and I was excited to take the next step. But I had yet to actually perform a routine. Over the next month or so, the idea was increasingly appealing. After all, the Expertease Fitness Student Showcase was coming up and Minnsky Theatre hadn’t seen a Cyr wheel act in a while.

Leading up to the performance, I was both excited and nervous. Though I’d performed other things before, I was diving into entirely new territory. I didn’t have a realistic benchmark of how good I was, or of how the act would be received. It was my own work; I had total artistic freedom—for the audience, theatre owner, and everyone else to criticize.

And I was ready.

September 23, 3017, was the date I performed my first full Cyr wheel routine. The song I chose featured Justin Bieber—no shame—”2U” by David Guetta. At three minutes, with some choreography, my first routine included the following moves: basic waltz, one-leg handsprings, a hanging full-turn, cartwheels, spindle waltz, half-turns, corners, fuetes, breaking plane, one-arm waltz, flower-pickers, and basic coins.

Minnsky Theatre and Expertease Fitness performers and the audience had no idea what to expect. And, though I was quite an amateur, I blew them away. Both nights’ performances went about as well as they could have, and I was happy the routine turned out well.

After the show, I was introduced to the owner of Minnsky, Jac Fatale! A woman with a lot of personality, a quality work ethic, and a big heart. That was also when I was introduced to many new friends. Some would remain at Minnsky, while others left, but each of them contributing to my journey in one way or another. And those who stayed make up much of the community I so appreciate.

Everything was beyond exciting. And I was ready for my next step!