Sporty Peachy: The Big Apple Circus Inspires Peachy Deegan to Fly Off a Trapeze, and she does, with the amazing Trapeze School! Whom You Know Highly Recommends Trapeze School to the Whole World! This Should be on Everyone's To Do List When They Visit Manhattan!!!
Once upon a time, Peachy Deegan and her friends, including panelists on Whom You Know, were students at a wonderful, quaint place called Miss Porter's, where you go as a girl and you leave as a woman with a world-class education. Miss Porter's is many things, but exciting wasn't always one of them, and for one of their 16th birthdays the girls were lucky enough to escape Farmington to come to Manhattan to see The Big Apple Circus, seeking fun and excitement and of course birthday celebration! This birthday girl's dad's school rented the circus for the New York school he was Athletic Director at, so we were doubly lucky to have a private viewing. We had an absolute ball.
Fast forward a few years, and this past January Peachy and this same girl that had her 16th birthday at The Big Apple Circus were critics for Whom You Know, evaluating the show, seeing if it withstood the test of time. It did, with flying colors:
http://www.whomyouknow.com/
What we didn't tell you in our review is that Peachy and the Panelist were chatting during the show. Don't be misled, they didn't think they could be Bello, but they are referring to some of the supporting cast, saying things like:
What we didn't tell you in our review is that Peachy and the Panelist were chatting during the show. Don't be misled, they didn't think they could be Bello, but they are referring to some of the supporting cast, saying things like:
Panelist: Oh I could do that. I was a state champion gymnast. We should be up there, Peachy.
Peachy: That would be so fun. Let's join the Circus!
Panelist: How come we didn't have Trapeze school during Winterim?
(Winterim was the month of January at MPS where you could take fun classes like Rocketbuidling, The Beatles Songwriting, and Painting on Furniture that has been done away with as they did not believe our academic year was long enough-ridiculous as we were the most prepared for college out of any school.)
Peachy: Who cares? That's over now. Let's just go to Trapeze School!
Panelist: Sign me up!
Unfortunately this panelist is pregnant right now, (well unfortunate for her current Trapeze school prospects but of course fortunate otherwise, SOMEONE has to test the baby products!), but the minute she is through we are going back. That is how you know if we really like something: we go back and we keep talking about it. The best things on Whom You Know are the things that have been mentioned umpteen times, and this is not the last time you will hear about Trapeze School. Even Sex and the City shot their 82nd episode at Trapeze School:
"I could never! I have the most terrible fear of heights!" -Charlotte
"Well, I do not... you've seen my shoes." -Carrie
"Well, I do not... you've seen my shoes." -Carrie
Though we liked that show, you know at Whom You Know we are active participants in life, not observers. And Peachy Deegan is a bit of a real life Carrie, even if our favorite singer from Ireland thinks she's Charlotte (we are still waiting for the Alice song!). So, Peachy Deegan recently headed to Trapeze School at Governor's Island to get a leg up on the pregnant panelist, as Peachy was not a state champion gymnast. But she is athletic and was a state champion field hockey player. Peachy associates Governor's Island with looking fabulous, watching Polo, and drinking ample amounts of Veuve Clicquot. Check out our coverage of the amazing Veuve Clicquot Classic this year:
We didn't see Prince Harry yesterday at Trapeze School, but we think he'd get a kick out of it. He's pretty tough and daring; he was fine when he fell off his horse that day and would probably fly through the air with the greatest of ease, we'll have to tell him he should go to Trapeze School...one thing that that day and the day Peachy went to Trapeze School had in common were that they were off the charts hot. When you plan on going to Trapeze School, we would recommend:
1. Go on a day where it is about 75 degrees F because you don't want to feel like you'll pass out when you're flying through the air; you'll feel like that ANYWAY
2. Go with at least one friend or family member that you can make fun of, that will also make fun of you
3. Wear socks you don't care about getting dirty. You don't wear sneakers during this.
We highly recommend this experience for people that are dying to go as well as for those that are apprehensive. It is good for you to have the living daylights scared out of you from time to time, in a safe environment of course. And this is totally safe as far as we can see, and Peachy Deegan is a professional risk management expert, business-wise. The instructors are top-notch and we are amazed at what they can teach you to do in two hours, given a diverse class on top of it.
This is a good size class, about ten students and three instructors, so you get a lot of direct training and the instructors are sharp as a stick. When Peachy Deegan arrived, Erica Suskin met her with a smile and a release form. When you are signing your life away, be aware that if you pay attention and do what the instructors say, you have nothing to worry about we'd say. The worst you can do is a bruise or two, and unless you own your own trapeze (and we wouldn't put that past some of our readers!), chances are you will be sore the next day, but you can brag to the world that you're sore from Trapeze School and everyone will think you are uber-cool.
The minute you arrive you start with putting on a safety belt, which stays on for the duration of the two-hour class. The next person Peachy Deegan met was Jesse Carretta, who carefully explained everything to her. He's the catcher as you'll see later, but this doesn't surprise us one bit as he played professional baseball at one stage. As you listen to all the instructions, you'll agree it all makes sense and does not seem hard at all. You hook yourself in, blue on the left, orange on the right, and up you go up ascending the ladder. Be sure to chalk your hands. You are not alone up there thankfully, and the Boards Person Laura Valpey Rodriguez, who exudes positivity and fun, helps you on the liftoff, changing you from the safety hooks that you mount the ladder with to the safety hooks you use for flying. These are connected to the ropes that the Linesman uses to help you fly. Breton Alberti was linesman extraordinaire yesterday, helping everyone along and pushing them to excel. Laura gets you the Trapeze Bar and tells you how to hold it, and tells you how to stand.
The minute you climb the ladder and get the instructions "Ready" (you bend your knees) and "Hep" you jump off, you will realize there is a disconnect between the perception of difficulty and the actual jumping off the platform. In a word, this will scare the living daylights out of most people. If you have any sense of wanting to see your next birthday, this will shake you up. But that is even more reason to do it. You have to jump OUT, not just up. Peachy did have trouble with that initially but got over it. The instructors must deal with people's fear every day and are really nice about it. After her first run Peachy was looking for that Veuve Clicquot to calm her nerves but there was none to be found...of course you cannot drink and do this at the same time. Seriously.
So there you are, swinging in mid-air, of course with the safety belt and three fabulous instructors concentrating on you only. They'll tell you to put your legs up so you wind up hanging by your knees, let go with your hands, arch your back and eventually you will flip off this way or go to the Catcher. An hour and a half into the class, the flying stops so the whole class can learn how to fly to the Catcher. You must listen to the Catcher's Ready and Hep and learn how to catch with your arms out straight, grabbing onto the forearms of the catcher as the catcher grips yours in return. We found this far less terrifying than the backflip as no one catches you in the backflip, only the net of course! You absolutely must hang straight when the catcher catches you. When the catcher lets you go you will be sitting in mid-air, which to most people is a new experience! Whom You Know Highly Recommends Trapeze School. It is absolutely an activity everyone fit enough should do at least once in their life.
Other students in Peachy's class included a nice Asian family (thanks again to one of them for her great photography) and a pair of sisters who were enthused about their recent hip hop experience that they translated into hip hopping off the platform into flying off the trapeze. They were all very pleasant but Peachy really can't wait for next time to bring her aforementioned panelist. This goes until the first weekend of October for outside classes which we would imagine to be ideal, but there is another location on 30th between 10th and 11th avenues that operates year-round. Schedule your class now! Stephen Attoe-we know you have a bucket list so be sure this is on it! You will love it but just don't eat at Swifty's right before class-go after. Be sure to video yourself and post it on Facebook, your friends from all over the world will enjoy the footage, and one of Peachy's friends from Ireland said she was even better than Carrie. Best of all, Peachy did skin one of her knees which is a rare look for her, and as she often wears above the knee cocktail dresses to the many soirees we cover, this will make for great cocktail party conversation!
