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Midvale • When you make your living dangling from strips of silk high above the ground, landing on your feet can be the hardest part.
But the aerialists, dancers, divers and magicians who used to perform at the now-defunct Mayan Adventure Restaurant want to continue to bring their unique skills to Utahns.
"The thing that really fuels the fire and keeps us going is the love of what we're doing, and we have a lot of good talent and there's a lot of passion in it," said Chastitie Lujan, the coordinator for the group, which calls itself Cirque de la Soul.
On weekends, troupe members gather at one of a few Midvale gyms, hanging from the rafters, practicing trapeze routines or twisting and twirling in the brightly colored silks.
Much of the rest of the time they are trying to line up gigs — everything from bridal shows to corporate events to birthday parties.
Last week they were scheduled to perform at an LDS ward Christmas party, which fits their emphasis of keeping performances family-friendly.
The performers come from various backgrounds, getting their start as dancers, divers or, in the case of Hope McCurdy, as a competitive martial artist.
McCurdy said her sister was taking a pole-dancing class at the time and — after giving her sister some grief initially — McCurdy began taking classes herself and eventually competing. In 2009, while winning Miss Pole Utah, McCurdy was discovered by a teacher from Oregon who wanted to teach her aerial silks.
She loved it.
Now she will dangle from a suspended pole, chains, a net, a trapeze or a hoop apparatus known as a lyra — whatever happens to be called for — and teaches lessons on a backyard rig during the warmer months.
Hanging by her ankles, McCurdy spins like a tornado with the silk whipping around her. Later, with the silk twisted around her, she folds herself in half backward, bringing her heels over her head and contorting her body into a "C" shape.
There's no sign of fear as she hangs from the ceiling. But McCurdy says she was afraid when the Mayan closed unexpectedly. Workers who performed at the dinner theater showed up one day and found the doors locked.
"I really enjoyed working [there]," McCurdy said. "There's not very many places here you can get a steady job [performing], so it's kind of going back to the old days, getting a gig wherever I can, training hard, staying on top of my game in case something does come along."
When Mary Wolfe Nielsen was the entertainment director at the Mayan, she thought it would be nice to expand beyond the cliff divers and bring in aerial performances.
She and her husband, Tyce Nielsen, who was a diver at the restaurant, where the couple met, brought in aerial performances and began teaching themselves how to do some of the tricks, some of them by watching performances on YouTube.
"We just met such awesome people and good friends and had a lot of talent unique to Utah, so we decided to start our own group and do our own performances," said Tyce Nielsen. "And with her and I, it just brings us closer. We get to work together and play together."
In addition to the performers who had worked together at the Mayan, Circque de la Soul has brought in a magician, fire twirler, choreographer, costume designer and DJ to help bolster the performances. Anthony Lujan, Chastitie's husband, handles the promotion and business arrangements for the group and said that "these guys market themselves."
Meanwhile, the Cirque is polishing its act in hopes of putting together a major production in the spring and plans to line up bigger, higher-profile performances.
"For Salt Lake City, it's pretty unusual to have a troupe that is local and does this kind of art," said Rebecca Rasmussen, who performed in Las Vegas until she moved to Utah about two years ago. "They usually hire out. So to have it locally and have kids see and learn they can perform in the state, I think, is special."
Twitter: @RobertGehrke —
Cirque de la Soul
O Online • hwww.cirquedelasoul.com