WEEK A: July 28 – August 1, 2025
Everything Peg Stilts (All Levels)
3:00-4:30 PM. Week A. FFP Studio 2.
Ages: 13+ or with instructor permission. $190.
Prerequisites: None. Please bring the following to class: 1. Your own pair of lace up, velcro, or bungee tied, close-toed sneakers/shoes, in your size. Bring these to attach to stilts for use all week-UNLESS: 2. If you have your own peg stilts, bring them. If shoes are already attached, great! 3. A set of THICKLY cushioned knee pads. We have a few that you can borrow. A hard shell is great, but not necessary. A thick pad is NECESSARY! You can also layer knee pads.
We will be contacting you ahead of the festival to see what you are bringing. If we can arrange a fitting for shoe attachment to a pair of stilts ahead of class, we will do so in order to save time during class! This class takes you through the basics of stilts. Danielle and Valerie each have over 20 years experience dancing, performing, and teaching stilts. We are co-teaching the class to ensure that everyone can learn, progress, refine, and uplevel their skill, no matter if they have years of experience, or are trying stilts for the very first time. We will try to get everyone who is borrowing our stilts (mostly wooden) fitted and up as quickly as possible. After being fitted, we will go over the options of how to get up and down, as well as proper falling techniques. We will learn some basic across the floor techniques on and off of stilts, as well as how to activate the appropriate muscles and maintain proper alignment. Valerie is a master of finding the perfect stilts placement and they are both sticklers for proper alignment. We will also be going over basic ground acrobatics both for solo and partnering. Later in the week, we can divide into groups to work on outdoor stilting for those who want to, and indoor acrobatics that take a little more space. Students who want to work on turns, leaps, running, jumps, and hops, will be given tools and techniques to learn and improve those skills. We will learn proper spotting techniques to do backbends, handstands, slide falls, and get-ups for those that are interested. You can even take this class if you just want to learn to spot and partner, and prefer not to be on stilts. Val and Dani will meet you wherever you are at, and help you advance your skill level.
WEEK B: August 4 – August 8, 2025
Bungee Dance & Build (All Levels)
9am-12pm. Week B. FFP Studio 1.
Ages 15+ or with instructor approval. $390. (includes $10 equipment fee)
Prerequisites: This class is open to anyone, but please realize that some bruising around the pelvic area from the harness is almost inevitable. To minimize this, be prepared with layers of clothing to wear around the hips, inner thighs, and waist. Padded cycling shorts or neoprene shorts with sweatpants/shorts over top are excellent choices. The harnesses we use do have some padding, but because you will be in the harness 5 days in a row, extra protection starting day one can make the week far more pleasant!
Bungee Dance: This class will cover the main uses for aerial bungee dancing in harness. We will begin each day with a Pilates Mat inspired warm up, in order to prepare the body for the rigors of being in a bungee harness. On day one, we will practice in the style “high bungee”; dancers will load in from the scaffold and will be unable to touch the ground. With attachments at R/L hip and two points in the ceiling, we can work on maximizing bounce and forward/backward rotations. Each dancer will have a partner and both groups will learn some choreography sequences to perform with each other. As the week progresses, we will lower the dancers so that they are able to touch the ground and use the floor to create additional bounce and control; then we will change to one ceiling attachment with a swivel and explore spinning and more directional changes, while still able to touch the ground. On day five, dancers will get to try the back, front, and single side attachment, hand loop/body loop bungee, and/or revisit styles from earlier in the week.
Bungee Build: The final 44-60 minutes of each morning will cover the full spectrum of bungee building, from the safety and inspection of harnesses, to where and how to purchase bungee and crimps, as well as how to build bungee for your own space and desired outcome. We will do “hands on” training with tools and materials necessary to build bungee sets. By week’s end, students should feel confident in how to select, build, inspect, and maintain safety with bungee and harness equipment.
Bring layers of clothing to wear around the hips, inner thighs, and waist. Padded cycling shorts or neoprene shorts with sweatpants/shorts over top. If you own a bungee harness, bring it, but one will be provided if not.
Everything Peg Stilts (All Levels)
5:30-7:00 PM. Week B. FFP Studio 2.
Ages 13+ or with instructor approval. $190.
Same description as Week A Peg Stilts above.
Danielle Hendricks spent her childhood climbing fences, trees, balance beams and rooftops in Fresno, California. She holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in both Kinesiology and Dance from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Danielle is a nationally certified Pilates Instructor and has been teaching the Pilates method for twenty-five years, primarily in Denver, but also Boston, Chicago, Martha’s Vineyard, San Francisco, and Clovis, CA. She was lucky enough to perform, teach, and choreograph with Frequent Flyers for 20 years, as well as perform with other dance companies in the Boulder/Denver area. Danielle trained in the art of bungee dance with the “the mother of aerial dance/motivity,” Terry Sendgraff, and has taught bungee dance almost every year at the Aerial Dance Festival since 2005. In 2020, she relocated back to Fresno County, where she continues to teach online Pilates to clients around the country, as well as in-person Pilates and Sculpt classes at CORE. Clovis.
