Wearing little more than nipple tassels,
crotchless pantyhose and bunny
ears, buskers performed their gravitydefying
stunts while baring it all for
the local crowd. This was naturally after
a friendly warning to get children
“the fuck out of here.”
Magic tricks and PG-rated humour
were thrown out Saturday night to
make way for the adult-only “Naughty
No No Show” presented by the Stag
Shop.
The show featured the Aerial Angels,
a vivacious three-woman acrobatic
ensemble, along with the hulahooping
duo FlameOz, circus arts of
the male duo the Phantastyk and one
member of the Pogo Dudes.
Allison Williams, or “Isabella”, the
lead performer of the Aerial Angels,
described the show as “a big celebratory,
play-time, sexy, fun show.”
“We get naughty, we shed items of
clothing, and we get members of the
audience to shed items of clothing,”
Williams explained about the performance
hosted Uptown as part of the
carnival held Aug. 27-30.
With a background in performance
arts, Williams helped found the Aerial
Angels in 2003.
Performing at festivals around
North America, their act turned from
a part-time job to a full-time career.
“Aerial Angels started because myself
and two of my friends were really
interested in circus and aerials arts,”
said Williams, explaining that the trio
started playing in a backyard with
equipment hanging from a tree.
“Now for the three of us it’s the
only thing we do year-round,” said
Williams.
Williams expressed her support
for anyone pursuing a career in performance
or the arts, using herself as
proof of the possibilities. Williams
earned a bachelor degree in fine arts
and worked as a professional actor before
co-founding the Aerial Angels.
“When people think ‘Oh, I’m going
get a degree in theatre and going to
be a movie star’, that’s not necessarily
a realistic goal, but ‘I’m going to be a
full-time professional performer doing
what I love’ is a very realistic goal,”
she said.
In working for the Angels, Williams
said that she has been given the opportunity
to combine her dreams of
performing with a stable career.
“I’m never going to be famous and
I’m probably never going to be fabulously
wealthy, although I’m very
comfortably off, but I love what I do,”
she said.
When the sun came up, the carnival
returned to its more family-friendly
nature with the Aerial Angels performing
a less scandalous act of their
impressive acrobatics, magic tricks
and music, along with 14 other busker
troops who traveled from as far as
Sweden and Australia to partake in
the weekend event.
Jacob Kettner, or “Majake”, performed
a magical escape show with
help from the audience and his stuffed
monkey Terry.
Kettner explained his initial interest
in magical performance rooting
from his childhood. “I got into magic
from having no friends in elementary
school and thought it would make me
cool,” he said.
The thrill of live performance has
kept him in the business.
“That 45 minutes is the most amazing
thing ever,” he said.
Avik Banerjee, attending the carnival
for the first time, enjoyed the experience
especially with his three-yearold
son Nayan.
“The kids are having a great time,”
he said.
Scott Loxton, age 10, was excited to
see all the performances.
“He’s crazy,” said Loxton pointing
out a juggler.
The weekend-long carnival that
entertains adults and children alike is
run annually by a group of dedicated
volunteers, the city and local corporate
sponsors.
