technical

Group Aerial Silks

1. Min. rig height in venue from structural point to floor is 4.5m and ideally 7-9m.

2. Structural points are required, one per performer, a minimum of 2.5m apart. Access to points to be provided via ladder, cherry picker with operator or similar. Total loading for each structural point tested at min. 300kg. (We work to a safety factor of x 5 min. and each performer weighs less than 60kg.) See Diag A below for method of silk attachment to points.

3. Silks must have min. 2m clearance from any aerial or floor obstacle, reducing to 1m min. clearance at the rigging point (i.e. away from lights/speakers).

4. We prefer to work with a rigger, providing the advantage of stage management support and paging (i.e. the bringing in and taking out of silks when not in use.) This frees up event staff and we can be more self-contained. Our riggers are also qualified to operate cherry pickers. During the event lead in, our riggers liaise with technical staff at the venue dealing with rigging/staging of silks, risk assessments, method statements and insurance issues. A rigging company is necessary for rig heights above 10m, complicated or roped access rigs and when a kabuki drop is required (here the silks are dropped/kabuki’d into the space from above by a quick release mechanism).

5. For rigging from cranes our riggers would liaise with the crane company, to ensure a back up clutch/reserve braking system is provided as well as a sheltered outdoor site, i.e. out of the wind.

6. A free standing rig can be brought in if silks cannot be rigged from the fabric of the building and if space and access permit.

7. If it is not possible to work with a rigger due to budget constraints, and there is easy access to the rigging points located below 10m, it may be possible for the performers to rig their own equipment. In this case, we will need: access to points provided/operator for cherry picker, protection of area under performers from public during both rig/de-rig and performance, either by staff and/or roped off area. For paging, a min. of two people from stage management will be needed at the start and end of the act. We will go through the paging process (usually taking 15 mins) with the assigned staff at the technical rehearsal, after rigging is completed.

8. Additional rigging req. for Swinging Silks Act only; MIN. rig height is 6.5m. Two points to be EXACTLY 1.4m apart, rigged side by side from audience POV. Swing direction is from stage left to stage right so there must be MIN. 6m clearance from any aerial/floor obstacle in this swing path L to R. Structural points to be fixed/rigid i.e. structural beams or fixed/guyed truss. The silks must be 2m clear of any floor or aerial obstacle up/downstage.

9. Height restrictions: the performers cannot perform higher than 10m without a safety line. In this case, each performer will wear a safety belt (Diag. B) and will be belayed by a rigger during performance (Diag. C).

The safety belt limits the movement and hence the ability of the performer to perform certain drops and trick, so the options for silk performance becomes either a loop choreography or freestyle silks in a loop as seen in Diag. B.

Diag. A: Silks attached to a beam via karabiners and slings.

Diag. B: Performer with safety belt

Diag. C: System showing lines attaching performers to belay point on the balcony. (Click to enlarge)