My friend Kevin Spalding is a budding photog of the first order. Last Monday, I took a metric shedload of decongestants and pried myself out of bed in order to go dangle from the ceiling with my friend and trainer, CL, and another classmate of ours, AM2, who works in television media and did some did some consulting for Kevin and some shooting of her own.
I haven’t seen AM2’s shots that, but Kevin’s are stunning — not to mention really stunning illustrations of what almost a year training hard in aerials and ballet has done to my body.
I tend to miss the changes. It isn’t until I see myself in pictures that I really ever go, “Oh, huh, I guess all this physical stuff is doing something.”
For what it’s worth, I definitely needed the pick-me-up right now, because in my mind every day that I spend sitting on the bench with this stupid infection is a day I’m going backwards … never mind that I’d tell literally anyone else that concentrated rest is a good thing once in a while, and that if you don’t let your body have it, your body will find a way to force it in you.
For what it’s and, I’ve put in an request for an appointment with my doc early next week; I’ll find find out when tomorrow morning.
Til then, enjoy the gallery, and I promise I don’t look this amazing in real real life; K-Spald just knows what he’s doing. Oh, and if you want to see the full gallery, you can find it here.
I call this pose “Dead Lion.” Also, I’m so pissed that I’m only pointing *one* foot.
This is easier than it looks, unless your hand is sweaty.
My hand, tho.
Totes resting here, frealz.
The 2nd-most difficult thing I did in terms of skill, prolly — still not very hard; clock split into a back balance kinda thingy.
Straight up puissance, here, I admit. Not difficult technically, but holding this is a beeyotch.
I freaking love this one. Though IIRC I totally was hanging there with my eyes closed because I had given up on sorting out what to do with my face.
“They went *thattaway!*”…Roughly the same thing, but on the other the rope and in a different outfit. and my hand, FFS, FML.
Another clock split thingy.
Single knee hang like-it-ain’t-no-thing thang.
danseur ignoble 
Great Photos!
I’m going to a pilates class this evening, in a queer society (is this the right word?).
They would steal me if I would wear an outfit like this there :).
Pilates in a queer society — wow! I wish we had such a thing here! I think “queer society” is probably a good phrase — something like a queer community group or what have you? I like “queer society” better as a descriptor 😀
Where I live now, queer societies mostly seem to hold potluck dinners and talk, but in the other hand, eating and talking are major parts of the culture of the American Southeast, so that might explain it. When I was growing up in the Northeast, I recall our queer community center had aerobics groups and so forth.
And thanks 🙂 Kevin, who took these, is really so great at what he does. He photographs all our performances for Suspend, too.
The queer aerobic group is the reason I dance now – because it broke down due to not enough members.
And then I got the feeling something is missing – I wanted something with dance. First I looked for a jazz dance group, but all advertising of local dance studios was jazz for women under 25 for show, and ballet + modern for adult beginners.
So here I am…
Beautiful!!
Thanks! I’ve been so so impressed with Kevin’s work — he’s pretty amazing!
Gripping stuff. Also, photography.
Except when your hands get sweaty! Then it’s not so so much “gripping stuff” as “slipping stuff” 😀