Aeroclube Festival de Rua, Salvador, Bahia Brazil 2003.

This performance was right on the beach where it was insanely windy. Aerial Silks
and the wind are a crazy combination. I'm sure space has consciousness - in that as
an aerialist you have conversations with the wind... its a 'call and response'. The
wind in Brazil is a trickster! It was fun to play with... where as in Wellington, New
Zealand the wind proved to be a wrestling partner. The same force was felt in both
places but the dynamic and character so different.

Aeroclube Festival de Rua is a progressive festival that imports acts from around
the world then programs them with very fine local and national acts. All the acts
were presented as equal... The organizers aspire to raise the status of street
performance as a viable and dignified way to make a living and to keep the street
vibrant with positive energy.

I consider a 'real' festival to be from the ground up... in that it should be a
celebration of the place and the people in that place at that time. Less progressive
festivals alienate the locals by only importing outside acts, superimposing and
suppressing the locale and the community. I believe there should be no audience in
a festival... its not all about ticket sales and directors shopping for shows... the
crew at Aeroclude seem to have a positive balance. Street theater and busking is
inherently about the now. Good street performers bond the community in their
audience by recognizing and celebrating 'real people' rather than passive consumers.