Left to right: Amber Carpenter (foreground) and aerial yoga instructor Kimberley Shoniker (R

New yoga trend causes concern

) hold a pose at Tantra Fitness Vancouver's downtown studio.

Experts divided on the effects of the practice on back health

By VIOLETTA KRYAK

erial yoga is a popular prac- tice that has turned tradi- tional yoga on its head. Although the class is of- fered at a number of Lower Mainland studios, experts disagree about the ben- efits of the Cirque-du-Soleil-style con- tortions for your spine.

Tantra Fitness Vancouver is a local studio that offers aerial yoga. Kimber- ley Shoniker, an instructor at the club, says students of all different levels ben-

efit from the class.

“[ve had a couple of pregnant stu- dents and a couple of students over the age of 60,” she said. “The great thing about the hammock is it supports your body and your spine in a very natural way.”

Jay Robinson, president of BC Chi- ropractic Association says this type of activity might not be a good idea for everyone.

“There is the shoulder and headstand kind of stuff, which is absolutely not a good idea. Those things are not re-

ally recommended for your spine,” said Robinson, “There are people who would be totally okay but there is likely more risk than there is benefit in being upside down.”

Created in New York City by aerial acrobatics performer Michelle Dortig- nac in 2006, aerial yoga uses the sup- port of a soft fabric hammock, which hangs from the ceiling. By using the hammock, participants can stretch parts of the body which they otherwise would not be able to stretch on the ground.

Downward dog for example, takes

the same pose as in a traditional yoga class, but the participant wraps the cloth around theirlegs to get a deeper stretch.

Aerial yoga has become popular be- cause the hammock allows students to become stronger. Students say they en- joy the class and get a good workout.

“T like the strengthening aspect of it a lot. I like to feel like I worked out,” said Amber Carpenter, who attends aerial yoga classes at Tantra Fitness Vancou- ver. “When you just float in the ham- mock it is kind of reminiscent of being a child. It’s just a lot of fun.”

VIOLETTA KRYAK PHOTO

Also known as partner yoga, the practice builds balance and flex- ibility.

The number of men prac- ticing yoga is expected to continue to grow in 2017 SOURCE: seattleyo- ganews.com

Try yogastudio- app.com or dailyyoga.com for a great online, personalized class.

Masks steal the show in Italian theatre art form

Local performer preserves 16th century stage craft

“ * y, ‘ | we

% Stefano Guillianeti (L) and Susan

Bertoia (R), wearing masks made by Bertoia. susMiTTED PHOTO

By CASSANDRA OSBORNE

asks are so much more than M a facade.

Susan Bertoia, an artist and theatre practitioner, specializes in a type of masked theatre called com- media dell’arte, which is known for improvised dialogue and varied stock characters. She teaches a workshop at Lower Mainland high schools. Bertoia believes the addition of masks in per- formances exposes both performers and audience members to a higher level of awareness.

“It’s not that they become better per- formers,” she said. “They become more alert, more awakened to it.”

Performing with a mask has helped Bertoia as a performer to better present her characters to the audience.

“The mask becomes a tool to help you to understand who the character is because it’s a fixed point,” said Bertoia. “You can't really change the facial ex- pression but you can change your body.”

To Bertoia, commedia dell’arte, which began in 16" century Italy, is what inspired modern day clowns and sitcoms. The performers were excep- tional in physical comedy, acrobatics, poetic verse, music and dance.

Wendy Gorling, a Studio 58 instruc- tor who teaches the use of masks in the- atre to Langara students, said comme-

dia dell’arte is not an easy form because it’s all about improvisation.

“You have to be a strong improviser because the masks are slightly gro- tesque, or they should be,” said Gorling. “The qualities of the architecture are heightened. You have to heighten the body, so that the two of them [mask and body] look like they are of the same body.”

Nicola Levell, an ro assistant professor of anthropology at UBC, said masks aren't just relics of the past.

“Halloween has become a sort of a — global commodity- based sort of cel-

Susan Bertoia THEATRE ARTIST AND INSTRUCTOR

ebration. But nev-

ertheless it has a tradition rooted in All-Hallows’ Eve,” Levell said. “Mask- ing is still very vibrant, very alive.”

Gorling said exposure to different forms of theatre, commedia dell’arte and other forms of physical theatre in- cluded, is the difference between a su- perficial actor and an artist.

“They've got to go beyond cops and robbers and stereotypical women and stereotypical ideas," Gorling said. "We as theatre teachers have to demand that they [students] are empathetic to the world and what’s around them."

Art, sclence merge

Entomologist and poet laureate showcase their collaboration at local public cafée-style event

By SAM MOWERS

well-know poet and an ento- mologist are combining verse and science to acclaimed effect.

Mark Winston, a bee expert, and Renée Sarojini Saklikar, Surrey’s poet laureate, are both performers for Curi- osity Collider, a non-profit foundation that brings together local artists and scientists for public café-style presenta-

to compile their collaborations into a new book sometime in the near future.

“He started writing essays to accom- pany the poems,” said Saklikar. “We’re now hoping to turn our collaboration into a book.”

The pair had no firm timeline to share regarding their possible publication.

The book was the start of Winston’s collaboration with Saklikar.

He said that part of the book re-

tions in an effort quired examples vem | Werenow — | bs "winston ana | HOpIngtotumour | eyruatly became tastier On res | Collaboration into a | te tre ee 22 at Café Deux book.” was about bees

Soleil to read excerpts from Winston’s award- winning book, Bee Time: Lessons from the Hive. Saklikar contributed poems to the book.

Curiosity Collider’s co-founder The- resa Liao said the organization is two years old and audiences are growing.

She said they hope to host more events in the future.

“We usually have a_ half-and-half split between people with an arts back- ground and people with a science back- ground,” she said. "In the long run, we hope we can become an organization that can actually fund collaborations.".

Winston and Saklikar said they intend

— RENEE SAROJINI SAKLIKAR, POET

in art,” he said. “I had a big section in there about po- etry, and I needed to interview a poet.”

The non-fiction book is about the history and ecology of honeybees and explains how humans can learn from these creatures to better interact with each other and our environments.

Saklikar recalls helping Win- ston with his book, and how it lead to further cooperation.

“He interviewed me for his book, and during that process we just kind of clicked,” she said. “We had no idea where all of this was going to take us, and through all of that we kept collabo- rating."