When Bushwick resident Erinina Ness visited Peru, she dreamed one night of swinging on a burning trapeze. Now, this Sunday, she’ll enact this nocturnal chimera, in what possibly could be the world’s first public burning trapeze act.
While in Peru, Erinina learned fire spinning, the art of gracefully handling objects aflame. In her slumbers, Erinina, or her subconscious, naturally extended the possibilities of these newfound skillz into fresh realms of danger and entertainment.
Worry not, Erinina (pronounced “Erin” and then “Nina”) has been at practice gyrating around the fire-y parts of her trapeze, upon which she’s already clocked years of experience.
And how do the actual fiery ropes compare to those in her Peruvian dream? “It is a lot like I imagined, though much hotter,” Erinina admits, via text message. And the more she practices, the closer it gets to its Platonic Ideal.
Erinina’s performance will be part of a night-long Circus Playground, starting at 8 PM Sunday at the Gowanus Ballroom.
In addition to seeing the Daredevil Gal on the Flaming Trapeze, this postmodern-circus-of-sorts will entertain, delight and thrill the audience with trapeze duets, aerial silks and contortion, fire dances, some burlesque and accordion music. “It’ll be a party,” Erinina assures us. Photos by Carlos Henriquez.
