- In this edition of Arteffects, a large scale movement art studio.

- [Cyrus] We like to think about creative discovery and in ways that we can allow people to explore movement, explore themselves - [Beth] Performing music below ground.

(cello playing) - Amongst all that kind of like chaotic and energy with people, you know, bustling and the crowds moving.

I think the best part of that is just seeing how the music impacts these people.

- [Beth] An impactful martial arts program.

- By the end of the first class, they can come to attention, they're giving courtesy bow, and they're loud like, "Ah!"

And to see the shock on parents faces.

10.

(shouting) - [Beth] And see a group of passionate female performers.

- [Rebecca] We've had several performances and they're always just super, super fun.

We all get really excited and creative and just kind of go with the flow of a topic.

- It's all ahead on this edition of Arteffects.

(bright upbeat music) - [Narrator] Funding for Arteffects is made possible by Sandy Raffealli with Bill Pearce Motors.

(bright upbeat music) Meg and Dillard Myers, (bright upbeat music) The Nevada Arts Council, (bright upbeat music) Heidemarie Rochlin.

(bright upbeat music) In memory of Sue McDowell, (bright upbeat music) and by the annual contributions of PBS Reno members.

- Hello, I'm Beth McMillan and welcome to Arteffects.

For our featured segment, let's dive into the people and the meaningful story behind Acro Enso, a large scale movement art studio in Reno.

Whether you are swinging on silks in the air, finding balance on someone's shoulders, or spinning around in a large wheel, Acro Enso has the space for all movement artists to creatively play.

(bright upbeat music) - [Cyrus] We like to think about creative discovery and in ways that we can allow people to explore movement, explore themselves and create, and also have fun.

(bright upbeat music) Acro Enso is perhaps the only place in Reno and one of the few places in the United States where we have a very particular focus and program based around Cyr wheel and partner acrobatics and where we incorporate a variety of other circus arts.

(bright upbeat music) - The name Acro Enso came to us after a long journey of asking many friends and family about what we should call this place.

- [Cyrus] We Knew that we really wanted to focus on partner acrobatics and Cyr wheel and so we wanted acrobatics to be a part of the name.

We also wanted something referencing a Cyr wheel so in this case, a circle.

- Enso is actually Japanese for a calligraphy practice that they do, it's circle.

And when they draw the circle, it's always incomplete and it's supposed to symbolize that whoever draws the circle, they are perfect and imperfect in that moment and it's wonderful as is.

They're completely present and this moment's never gonna last forever, it's gonna always be changing.

And that's kind of how I feel about acrobatics when I'm flying in the air or when I'm holding somebody up, it's present, it's in the moment, there's nothing else in the world that matters.

It's perfect, it's imperfect, and it's me.

To us, Acro means meaningful play, and Enso means authentic movement in whatever form that is.

So all put together, Acro Enso is meaningful play through authentic movement.

(bright upbeat music) Cyr wheel is a giant metal wheel covered in PVC and what you do with it is you get inside of it, you spin around in it, you play with it.

(bright upbeat music) - [Cyrus] A lot of what we do in the Cyr wheel is learning how to stand and how to root ourselves into our feet.

And so there are actually a lot of similarities between learning Cyr wheel and learning ballet.

In Cyr wheel it's all about rotation and understanding where your center is and being able to create a really nice spinning axis with our body.

And so a lot of what we do in the Cyr wheel is we initiate rotation and then we stand into it and from there, it's this really cool process of, I like to talk about kind of developing a spider sense.

You can't really use your eyes because you're spinning.

You really have to develop this intuitive sense of where your center of gravity is, where it's going, and how to interact with that and it's a really fun process.

(bright upbeat music) - Word Acro is where you have partnerships, either groups of two, groups of three or more, and you come together and you lift each other up, you balance each other, you throw each other in the air, flip around and catch each other.

And it's a whole competitive sport on its own.

We do compete with our sports team but we also have an adults team where we focus on performance for the kids as well.

We like to have that performance opportunity so that we can have them go to places like GSR and perform in CMS and do fun acrobatics.

Our acrobatics teams will train for about two hours per training.

And in that two hours, they go through a variety of conditioning drills, handstand drills, partner skills.

And at the end of practice, we focus primarily on choreography and linking all of those skills together.

(bright upbeat music) Our son's name is Huckleberry and our daughter's name is Coco.

Family is everything to us.

We wanted to create a place that our children could come to and be able to grow inside of and someday even take over if that's something that they're interested in.

So our kids are here all the time, they are taken care of by the village of this community.

- When Huckleberry is wandering around, he's got all sorts of people interacting with him, playing with him, teaching him, and same thing with Coco.

And just watching how they've blossomed and how they've up in it, obviously as parents and we don't wanna project onto them, but we do wanna provide opportunities and so being, having the ability to provide those opportunities and to watch them take them up enthusiastically has just been amazing.

(bright upbeat music) - [Keisha] When we started this place and we had only one or two people coming in and our acro team only had five kids on it, it felt like a lot.

It felt like we had a long journey ahead of us.

- Especially with what we've had to go through.

We were just about to celebrate our first year anniversary when COVID happened.

The number of times that we thought we would have to to close this place were (chuckles) you know, more than we can count.

And so right now still being able to keep the doors open.

- [Keisha] Now, when I come into this space and I can see the floor filled with people and our team with 18 kids, everybody playing with each other and having fun with each other, it is an overwhelming feeling that just puts a big smile on my face.

- A really big feeling of wonder almost that it could happen.

(laughs) (bright upbeat music) - It creates a kind of life that I don't think I would wanna live without.

- Learn more at acroenso.com.

Ian Forest is an electric cellist, medical student, and participant in the metropolitan transportation authorities Music Under New York program.

With his cello, he performs contemporary music for commuters underground.

Have a listen.

(cello playing) - I started cello in fourth grade when our music teacher came around with a cart of instruments.

So I picked up the cello and I played the first note which was a really low resonant note and I just love the sound of it, that bass note.

(cello playing) But after high school, me and a friend, we actually went out to the streets of Washington DC and we started playing contemporary songs.

And I remember the reaction of people walking past on the streets.

It struck me like, "Hey this could be really something special here."

(cello playing) After college, I moved up here to New York city area for medical school at Mount Sinai.

And one of the things that drew me to New York city was obviously the culture that we have of the arts.

And as soon as I came here, I saw street musician after street musician and I immediately thought this could be my next home.

That's when I looked up MUNY, Music Under New York, and I found that they had a whole audition process, sent them an application, did the audition.

(cello playing) And thankfully everything worked out and now I can call myself a street musician in New York city.

And the reason why I chose Eyeglasses is because of two reasons.

So I wanna be an ophthalmologist.

I wanna help people see better, specifically kids who have lost their vision at a young age.

The second reason, which is a bit more lighthearted, is that Beethoven, he wrote a piece called Eyeglasses Duet.

When musicians sat down and read the sheet music in front of them, there were so many notes on it.

It was such a tricky, difficult piece to play that the only way musicians could read the music is if they wore really, really strong glasses.

So I absolutely loved the story behind that.

I took inspiration from that.

(cello playing) So I play the electric cello and it's made by Yamaha, and it's the exact same four strings as an acoustic cello.

The only difference is they stuck a little pickup inside the electric cello, so it can be amplified so it's louder.

(cello playing) What I love to do is also use a Looper.

So essentially what I do is I'll play a bass part, percussion part, a harmony part on the cello and then I can loop that segment over and over again.

So it essentially comes down to I'm playing nine or 10 different cello parts at the same time.

So it just opens up a lot of doors as to what I can do musically.

(cello playing) I've had people come down, they come off their subway, they come up to me like, "Where's the orchestra?"

And I'm like, "No, it's just me, "one electric cellist."

(cello playing) So unfortunately there's not much sheet music out there for like nine cellos to play like pop songs or rock songs so yeah, often time I'll just hear a song on the radio or on Spotify and then once I've listened to it a couple times, I kind of extrapolate it out and try to create, you know, a cello rendition of it.

(cello playing) Amongst all that kind of like chaotic energy with people, you know, bustling and the crowds moving, I think the best part of that is just seeing how the music impacts these people who, you know, either have their headphones on just watching their phone, trying to get from point a to point B as quickly as possible and then just seeing them being able to stop just enjoy the moment for what it is.

(cello playing) In medicine and music, you really have to connect with the human being sitting in front of you.

Helping to uplift them with music, I find it actually makes me a better medical student and hopefully a better doctor down the road too.

(cello playing) (clapping) Thank you guys.

Thank you so much.

- Hear more at eyeglasses-stringmusic.business.

And now let's take a look at this week's art quiz.

The Cyr wheel that you see in acrobatic and circus performances was invented by Daniel Cyr within the last century.

Taking inspiration from large hula hoops, when did Daniel construct the first Cyr wheel?

Is the answer, A 1996, B 1986, C 1976, or D 1966.

(gentle music) And the answer is A 1996.

In this segment, we meet the team behind the martial arts program, Midtown Miracles.

Through this ancient art form, students are able to gain strength and confidence and express themselves.

We head to Florida for the story.

(gentle music) - 50 years ago, my uncle who's my hero, my uncle, Joseph Harrell, he started teaching me Judo and Jujitsu, and then Hapkido when he came back from doing a couple tours in Vietnam.

He was basically the springboard that launched my martial arts journey.

He turned me on to another martial arts, another dynamic martial artist, by the name of Soke Li'l John Davis and Soke Li'l John is the epitome of what martial art is all about.

(shouting) - I started training when I was a teenager.

I loved being physical.

Actually, Tae Bo, you know, got me started, (chuckles) but then I really fell in love with it and I really started about 18 years old.

I took up Tangsudo and the rest just kind of took off from there.

I was like, "I love it."

I love the fact that I don't need a weapon, I can be the weapon.

(hissing) Power, 21.

(hissing) I wanna feel it, 22.

(shouting) Always be?

- [Children] Ready.

- I was attacked and raped in college by an ex-boyfriend and at that point, my training became serious.

So then I went on this search for like, I need some re real life, hard tactical training and I found my Sifu, Sifu Karen, and she's a 10th degree, full contact, no pads, like the real deal kind of training.

Her classes were small because it's intense and not many could take it but that was exactly what I was looking for.

- Safety and security is something that's really dear and near to my wife and I, to our hearts.

She studied martial arts before she met me and then we come together.

We just had a passion for people.

- So, you know, we're at the community center, waiting, hoping people come in, but a lot of time they just weren't.

We went out and we hit the streets and we went to the parks and you know, where they're sitting out in their front yard.

We're like, "Hey."

Then that got the ball rolling.

- Just getting a chance to actually be in the center and seeing the kids come in and just getting inspired by knowing how big it was, the impact that the kids were gonna have on the community.

- By the end of the first class, they can come to attention.

They're giving courtesy bow and they're loud like, "Ah!"

and to see the shock on their parents' faces because for a lot of them, this was the most discipline they've ever seen their kids.

Nine.

(shouting) 10.

(shouting) (gentle music) - We was always involved in some kind of community thing, as far as sports but we got wind of this.

Eriyana started participating in it.

We try to help out as much as we can with the program.

Soke and Shihan does an amazing job with these kids.

- Well, I played sports before I started doing karate.

Basketball, flag football, soccer, and I played T-ball.

- Being able to focus and concentrate and possibly take their mind off of some of the other things that they could be getting into and putting that energy and focus into martial arts.

So I thought it was pretty awesome.

- Most people in my school don't do karate.

I'm very proud of myself for starting and I'm already a purple belt in almost, in about a year.

(exciting music) (shouting) - One thing that Soke is always saying and stressing, "I want you to express yourself, express yourself."

It is a tremendous way to channel everything.

Every emotion can come out when you're practice your Kata.

- I am.

- I am.

- A martial artist.

- A martial artist.

- Sometimes when they go home, they're like, "Eli show me how to do this "and show me how to do this."

So he takes a lot of pride in being able to show them what to do.

A lot of confidence - [Soke] I am.

- I am.

- [Soke] A mighty miracle.

- A mighty miracle.

- There's been a name change.

When we first started the program, almost four years ago, it was the Midtown Miracles, and now we change it due to COVID and also due to trans-, you know, transcending is big.

That word transcend means come out of self, come out of something, be different, be bigger.

You know, I lost my son almost thirty something years ago and he was 15 months old, died of a massive heart attack.

And I was overseas at the time.

And so what I tell the kids, it was my katas, my routines, my techniques that got me through that.

So I use that and I dedicate what I do to him.

(gentle music) - You're not just a mighty miracle, you're a martial artist and a mighty miracle.

When we say our mantra at the end, "I am a mighty miracle."

We want you to recognize that, we want you to represent that, not just for us, but for you.

You know, take pride in that and let people know, not just by what you say, not just by walking around with your gi, let them feel it.

(gentle music) - Visit Midtown Miracles on Facebook to learn more.

The Siren Society is a group of women in Reno who have mastered air artistry, circus arts, fire arts and contortion.

They combine these skills with high fashion and charisma to create breathtaking and unique performances.

(gentle music) - Makes me happy to be upside down.

It's hard work but at the same time when I'm up here, I don't really have to think that much.

If it's something I've been doing for a while like a move that I really know, I just, it's calming.

- I am the owner of an aerial arts group, performance group called, The Siren Society.

We do aerial arts.

We do fire dancing.

We have dancers, we have a ballerina.

We do like character dancing, Gogo dancing, and we have choreography dancers.

We also do flow arts.

Our friends at Tahoma said, "Hey, we have space at our big, huge warehouse "and if you guys would like "to do cool stuff while other artists watch you guys, "then that'd be cool."

So we thought it was a great match and it's nice to be among other artists making art as well.

(gentle music) - So this is the Ariel hoop, and I've been doing it for about three years or so.

I started when Siren Society started.

With the hoop, it's all about finding the right balance and just being in the middle and where your body should be.

(gentle music) - My specialty is aerial silks.

It's really hard to describe.

Whenever someone asks me what I do, I usually describe it kind of like gymnastics on fabric.

And then they're like, "Oh, like (indistinct)."

And I'm like, "Yeah (chuckles), basically."

(bright upbeat music) - [Lina] I'm actually a ballet dancer.

So that's where I kind of got in the groove of things.

We also really work with flow art which is what you see right here through these flag poise.

Actually very recent, you don't see them a lot.

They're weighted so that's why it kind of like leads with the fabric.

And they're also black light reflective so they look really, really cool in the black light.

(bright upbeat music) - We get a lot of work during the holidays because people are having Christmas parties and holiday parties, company parties, and we're busy and in the spring and summer.

We've been doing a lot of special events in San Francisco and as festival season hits we will be in the festival circuit.

(bright upbeat music) - [Rebecca] We've had several performances and they're always just super, super fun.

We all get really excited and creative and just kind of go with the flow of a topic.

- [Lina] What we all as artists are working to is how to tell a story or portray our passion to the audience.

(gentle music) - [Heather] There's so many ways that you can express yourself through like songs or different movements.

Being able to be really expressive conveying anger, passion, or like different emotions.

(gentle music) - [Lina] When I started to do aerial arts, I was going through a lot in my life and my dad had just died and I had just got a divorce and I was really holding on to a lot of anguish and this really helped me to have a positive way to exert some energy.

(gentle music) - [Rebecca] It's more motivating when I have a group of girls doing what I'm doing to motivate me, to be creative.

(gentle music) - [Lina] I believe that most of my girls live and breathe this.

We are artists and we all have a common goal to perform our art and bring awareness to how everyone else can make art.

(gentle music) - I love these girls so much.

They're, it's just a sisterhood of empowering women that motivate one another, just to do better, push their limits.

I've seen for the last three years, all of us grow so much.

I would recommend anybody to try these things cause you can find a passion for it and it's just amazing.

(gentle music) - For more information, visit facebook.com/sirensocietyproduc.

And that wraps it up for this edition of Arteffects.

For more arts and culture or to watch past episodes, visit pbsreno.org/artifacts.

Until next week, I'm Beth McMillan.

Thanks for watching.

- [Narrator] Funding for Arteffects is made possible by, Sandy Raffealli with Bill Pearce Motors, (bright upbeat music) Meg and Dillard Myers, (bright upbeat music) The Nevada Arts Council, Heidemarie Rochlin, (bright upbeat music) in memory of Sue McDowell, and by the annual contributions of PBS Reno members.

(bright upbeat music)