This was from a gig I did way back in 2002. We spent the 10 days of the Next Wave Festival living on the spire as part of a Colony of angels. We do a choreographed performance each evening, and during the day interact with people on the ground by climbing down to the ‘skirts’ and lowering notebooks. There were some incredible responses to the work - thoughtful and moving. I remember the opening night performance though - there was a fly line from the ground up to the spire that one of the performers got hoisted along at the very beginning, a very exciting opening moment. In this performance though, she had a trail of flags attached to the wire behind her and they snagged. She ended up hanging stuck for about 10 minutes while the music played on and the riggers tried to solve the problem. From memory I think she ended up having to cut the flag line loose. But I also remember one of the riggers jugging up the middle of the spire like he was in a race - incredible amount of strength and fitness (sadly only we could see him though).
It was such a privilege to work and play in the space. Not many people get to experience sunset and daybreak from the top of the Arts Centre Spire. I remember how fascinating it was to look across at the nearby skyscrapers and see other people living at such height - yet sheltered and cocooned from the elements. I made some great friends on that gig. I guess that happens when there’s such a high level of trust and unique/new experiences. Strangely that reminds me of medical school too.
Oh, yeah, in case you were wondering, I’m the one wearing yellow.
