Visual Storyteller, Photographer and Videographer Sofia Aldinio is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this documentary photography. From her project ‘Confessions of a Circus Artist’ . To see Sofia’s body of work click on any image.
Corey, Blain and Kerry are coaches of the circus school “Circus Conservatory of America” in Portland, Maine. What they can do with their bodies is a result of long days and many years of training. The focus of this piece is the body and how it changes with the efforts of training.
Hours, days and nights, slowly pass.
Broken bones in my body, recovery times,
calendars change and progress arrives.
The canvas of my body is changing,
my hands are made of callouses,
my skin is painted with bruises.
I’m able to climb higher, spin faster, hold longer.
I can suffer in my arms,
smell it in the sweat of my hands,
salty water rains down my back,
The shower at night cleans the dust.
I am my body,
we shape them, we abuse them,
I am my body.
Hours, days and nights, slowly pass.
Broken bones in my body, recovery times,
calendars change and progress arrives.
Like a child I play,
tumbling, stretching, climbing,
like a runner I train,
point my toes, open my hands, straighten my head.
The rain falls and we are inside,
It’s exercise day.
I turn upside down,
It hurts in places where I never thought it would.
Muscles cry at night and scream for exercise during the day.
I escape from my mind.
My heart sweats,
It’s performing day.
Hours, days and nights, slowly pass.
Broken bones in my body, recovery times,
calendars change and progress arrives.
Bare feet, I am as I was born.
My hands, my legs, my toes,
there is no start or end,
they are all connected to my heart.
The labyrinth of my veins swell,
the audience is waiting,
they love the act, the show.
There is no choice, there is no choice
we must fulfill them.
Applause marks the start.
My heart is beating, my hands are ready,
the energy is rolling through my body.
I must stay calm,
I must entertain.
Hours, days and nights, slowly pass.
Broken bones in my body, recovery times,
Calendars change and progress arrives.
The excitement bounces inside me,
jump, invert, spin.
I contemplate, I smile.
The show ends.
It’s a success.
The audience reverberates the earthquake in my body.
Years passed.
Long hours, long days,
and tomorrow training will start all over again.
Produced by Sofia Aldinio Salt Institute for Documentary Studies © 2014
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By Sofia Aldinio
