Kae Henning

My normal life is spent performing on the Las Vegas Strip in “Celestia”. Of course that is not possible right now. For the first month and a half of lockdown I let myself wallow in the absence. I didn’t stretch or workout, and even though I had all the necessary equipment on my back patio, but without an audience or creative partners I just could not make myself practice. I spent that time painting it instead. Eventually I woke up to my physical need to create with my body and started training again, even though I was alone and without an audience. Las Vegas, it is already too hot to do much of anything athletic outside during the day, but the evenings are perfect--and the lighting is inspiring.

This work on aerial straps, designed for video, struggles with this time that is so uncertain and dark for my community of circus artists. The constant pressure to create hopeful or domestic works is draining and leaves many of us feeling more exhausted and trapped. This is not about hope, this is about accepting that the current situation is difficult and being ok with experiencing those emotions for a time. But no matter how dark this feels, there is still light during the night, and the day returns eventually.