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Are Bigfoots really all that?
What comes closest to Bigfoots?
Jaywalkers
Rick De Jesus' modified duras
Dura Stilts
Other dry wall stilt brands
Accidents usually happen when
Metal and wood peg stilts
Slipping or tripping
Out of the ordinary
Books on Stilt Walking
What is the weight limit on your
Grandpa stilts?
Do You Juggle?
Do You Spin Plates?
Scary Clown...
Sky
Dancing Explanation
Now, here is two questions for the
experienced stiltwalkers out there.
First, are Bigfoots really all that?
Bill "Stretch" Coleman writes:
Yes. I have Bigfoots, Duras,
pegs and
Powerskips. Gary makes a top quality
product. And over
20+ years has made over 600 sets for RBBB,
Disney, Universal Studios and performers like
myself. Made
to measure to
fit YOU.
Second, since they're so hard to
find, what stilt comes
the closest to them?
Jaywalkers,
Bigfoot patent violators, and may sell
for as much as $4500. More moving
parts, more to wear out in my opinion.
Will they
stay in business long?
Rick De
Jesus' modified duras,
Rick soups up Dura stilts,
turns them into "hot
rods"! Kind of like taking the family sedan and
reworking
the
suspension, boring the
cylinders, and putting in a roll bar. He installs an inside
leg brace, stronger
bolts, (grade 8) and
otherwise strengthens them for
the rigors of performing. Contact Rick De Jesus at Higher
Level Productions Inc.
Phone - 407-493-8771 - Email stiltevents@gmail.com stiltup@gmail.com
Dura Stilts.
A lot of performers use these.
Put Loctite on all of
the nuts and bolts. Check them out before EVERY
performance. Be prepared to have them "let you
down" in the
middle of a parade. or not. If you
use the adjustable stilts, for maximum strength do NOT put
them
at their highest setting. Also a good idea to hose clamp a
piece
of angle iron on the calf tube for added strength. The
factory
straps are "ahem",
less than ideal.
My Duras have the ground plate reduced
in size and soled
with a more "sticky" gum rubber type soling material. I find them more
deft, less clumsy.
Be careful of the calf plate breaking.
Other
dry wall stilt brands.
Those I've seen and
hear about are
inferior to the Duras, with out of round bolt holes or just
sloppy fit, leading to fatigue. One set that I examined, the
performer clanked and rattled when he
walked. But I
haven't seen them all!
Accidents usually
happen when:
Beginners. Yet to learn the
limits, and discover them the hard way.
I dislocated my elbow when I discovered that I couldn't turn corners at
top speed.
Intermediate/advanced Poor
judgment, and carelessness, inattentiveness, diminished capacity.
I've slipped on hard packed ice and snow
2 miles in to a 3
mile walk. Why? Because I was distracted by the wonderful
conversation we were involved in!
Once, at night I didn't remove my
costume sunglasses when I knew better! And stepped into an
"invisible" 18 inch deep hole! ouch!
There are a lot of broken stilts, arms and
legs and wrists out
there.
Metal
and wood peg stilts.
Mechanical failure.
Peg stilts and drywall stilts
can fail. Some
times catastrophically, or all at once. Lurk, (Martin Ewen)
with
20 years of stilt performing snapped one of his wood peg stilts when he
visited Denver last year. I had a chance to examine the stilt
and
it wasn't pretty. And gave Lurk no warning when it
failed.
Joe Bowen
discovered
metal fatigue the hard way when he set his world record for distance
stilt walking. Broke 5 stilts just by
walking! Broken
welds.
Another reason to examine your stilts before every use. FYI Bigfoots
have no welds. If you are making your own stilts, bicycle
tires and roller blade
brakes make good stilt ends.
A fellow
stilter writes that the crutch tips on his
aluminum tube peg stilts have worn through and asks what to do?
Fill the tubes with a wood
dowel. Find a coin or washer the
right size to cover the end of the tube. Coin
should overlap the edges of the aluminum
tube. Put new crutch tips on the stilts. Glue some
shoe soling to the rubber crutch
tips. Replace shoe soling as it gets worn. Make up
a spare set of
coin, crutch tip, and shoe soling for quick change.
As you have found out, your stilts
will wear quicker than you think!
For square wood peg stilts, many use old
bicycle tires secured with
hose clamps or wire. Cut a section of tire about 6
inches long. Trim to fit the
stilts, fold and secure to the stilt with hose clamps or wire. And I've
even heard of folks
using
old tennis balls.
Know your equipment!
Loosened stilt screws may well have led to George Sommerdorf's death.
http://www.news10.net/storyfull2.aspx?storyid=23968
Slipping
or tripping.
On any surface. With any kind
of stilt. In
my experience the Bigfoot soling material sticks the best and is very
hard wearing. I do jumping jacks and dance with mine, as well
as
miles at a time. But there WAS that one inch long piece of
rotten
banana on my 1999 marathon stilt walk that nearly taught me the
splits! I added an extra foot to by stride
with that banana!
Another since retired circus performer
broke his pelvis
doing the splits the hard way. I'm told it was excruciating.
And
that was just the sound! He was on VERY tall stilts.
Pushing the limits. If you set
out to do flips, cross Niagara Falls on stilts on a high wire,
(yes, it has been done, see my history page), a flight of
stairs,
a grassy bank, an escalator, or ? be prepared to fail a few times
before succeeding.
Diminished capacity. Fatigue,
hunger, alcohol,
medical. be aware, be careful. That ceiling fan
could ruin
your whole evening!
Out of
the ordinary. Slips Happen
One slip and four stilt performers
tumble from on high. Ouch!
3-4-5 kids act together to distract the
wrangler and
deliberately trip the stilt walking clown. Results in a
broken
knee cap.
At a stadium event the crowd gets very
unruly and starts climbing the barriers to rush the stilt performers
and his partner. Partner holds them back with his bull whip.
Transmission oil leak during the spec
left a wonderful clown with a permanently frozen wrist.
Master Clown Frosty Little writes of his
days with the
RBBB circus and their tall stilt performers. Peg stilts five
to
14 feet tall. Needless to say, broken arms, wrists, shoulders and hips
result from seemingly miner incidents. Someone
feeds a horse a carrot. A small piece dribbles unseen, becoming a
launch pad for the unwary stilt performer.
I'm remembering the time I was an
"Ostrich jockey".
The costume was made with real ostrich feathers that had been washed,
but not dyed. As I was walking to my car from an outdoor
festival
I was "mugged"! By four, that's right four, belgium sheep
dogs.
A woman was walking her beautiful and well behaved dogs, two to a
leash, when they, (the dogs, not the woman) got a whiff of the
feathers. They dragged her over to me, and proceeded to sniff
the
"ostrich".
They gave me a real going over, gently jumping up, putting both front
paws on my legs and stilts to get get a better sniff!
ostrich-on-stilts3.jpg
ostrich-on-stilts2.jpg
Eventually they were satisfied, and went
their way. Do they
still sell smelling salts? I could have used some then!
Walking back from the ball drop one New
Year's eve, two
teens some distance in BACK of me start chasing each other. I
happened to be in the way! Nothing malicious, but one second
I
was upright, a split second later I was sitting on the
ground.
Six months later I felt fine again!
Three drunks decide to run
between my legs . . .
from behind! Was on my tall stilts, (43 inches) fighting a
strong gusting wind. Scared me half to death, but no damage
done.
And last year at a Habitat for Humanity
out door screening
of the Wizard of OZ, a dog, off leash casually, with NO warning,
sauntered over and hiked his leg and PEED on me!!!!
Nice thing about suplex nylon, it pretty
much rolled right off. I went ahead and laundered that night
anyway!
Conditioning, mental and physical. The
more experience and
practice the better is all I can say. Even if you have
to get up and start circling the park at 5 am as I have, you'll be the
better for it. How else are you going to learn that
you can bluff a pit bull?
Or
some others I don't know about??
Likely. and if you and I don't
know about them, will
parts or service be available when you need them? You may
want to
stock parts and learn to service your stilts yourself. Or
make
your own. Just beware the learning curve.
Anyone ever
noticed that 90% of the
pics and sculptures of hand
held stilt walkers show an unworkable stance or grip on the
stilts? Like they never actually observed anybody on stilts,
but
just made something up!
Please visit the links page at http://Stiltwalker.com/
The stilt history pages and the other stiltwalking photos pages
also have some photos that are of interest to the student of stilt
design.
The book Circus Techniques:
Juggling,
Equilibristics, Vaulting
by Hovey Burgess (1977) has several pages of instruction and
photos of stilt walking and performing tips. Covers hand held
and
strap on peg stilts. Try Amazon.com, half.com, Ebay
or your local library.
The book titled "MOKO JUMBIES: The Dancing Spirits of Trinidad" is a wonderful book on the subject, with many wonderful photos.
Dear
Sir:
What is the weight limit on your (Grandpa) stilts? I'm 250
lbs.
Dear "Sir" ??? How about dear Clown
instead? ;>)
I wouldn't recommend that much weight on
wood
stilts. I think the aluminum Dura stilts (dry wall
or
painters
stilts) are good for about 225. But check with them and see.
Or if you really want hand held wood
stilts, try making
your own with oak hand rail stock. Router a finger groove the
length of the handles to make them easier to grip. Try
fastening the foot blocks with several big hose clamps ( or
plumbers strap) and glue, instead of drilling big bolt holes through
the peg.
For workshops and festival use, I use
the original wire strap that the manufacturer supplies, and then use
glue and
3 and 4 inch deck screws to further secure the blocks. I pre drill 1/8
inch holes for the deck screws, with good results.
I've had the poles snap under heavy abuse, but the blocks have never
slipped. Kind of a belt AND suspenders approach.
Oak stilts will be heavier than the
Grandpa stilts, but
more likely to take the heavy duty use you will subject them to.
And you'll have the pleasure of making them yourself.
Let me know how you do, and good luck!
Scary clown . . .
So
yes, I have - unintentionally, well usually, unintentionally- scared
the occasional toddler, and the rare teenager, usually a girl
practicing out her emotions.
Today, I scared the
cows. THE COWS
for god's sake! I was on my stilts, with my umbrella, traffic flagging
for a bank grand opening. The cows were across the street, five lanes
wide, at least. And a third of a mile to the south, and 50
yards
from the fence.
In the third hour of a four hour
shift, the head
cow, oh hell, it might have been a steer, I wasn't looking that close,
you know. I was waving to the cars, pumping my umbrella, dancing,
prancing, trying to hitch a ride, crouching low, doing squats, flailing
my thumb, cheering them on when they - the cars, not the cows,
successfully completed their left
hand turn into or out of the
parking lot, jumping up and down, arms over head yelling
YEA!!
YOU DID IT! . Ditto for when the bike club made their circuit
past the bank, I would cheer them on too.
I was
getting tired, I
had forgotten my lunch, but had found a banana and some cough
drops, and even a tootsie roll amounst the debris of the cab of my
truck. I was tired, but the DJ was doing a good job. Now he was playing
some energetic country western.
I looked up, over
the road to
see the cows "coming home". Lead by a single cow/steer they trailed
slowly, taking their time, but moving purposefully to the north. I
don't know why, the pasture, if you could call it that, brown and
dotted with the hills and burrows of dozens of prairie dog colonies,
was baron. So what was the attraction to the north? I have no
idea.
But willing to get excited at anything that
would get me
through this last hour with my sore feet and back, and finally to some
food, I excitedly ran back to the DJ, shouting, "The cows are coming
home"! And he was shouting "THE COWS . . . I couldn't hear what else he
said, but he too had noticed the cows moving.
So I
ran back up a
slight incline to my spot at the sidewalk near the street . . . and not
exactly stumbled, but I did catch myself, and of course waved the
umbrella a bit to catch my balance. Bad timing. Apparently the head
cow/steer had finally seen me, at what must have been 100 yards away.
And instantly reversed direction, causing a mini stampede as the head
of the herd now reversing direction piled into the back part of the
herd, who had yet to get the message of the sudden change of direction!
So
when you get to bragging about how you scared that kid, or that drunk,
remember . . . I SCARED THE COWS!
"Great
story... It was not only a very funny anecdote, but you also
explained very clearly what a 4 hour stilt shift is like.
Thanks!
"Ron Jarvis
"You'll become a legend, a
scary story told
around the campfires of cow tribes.. or herds.. or whatever
for
generations. Well, probably not campfires because they're
scared
of fire, but around the water tank maybe. Cow mother's will
use
stories about you to get their children in the barn before
dark." David Pitts
"Do
you juggle?"
Not in the traditional sense.
I do manipulate
objects, but not balls and clubs. I spin a little poi, or
rather
I spin
MEGA poi, a little. Best when performed to music, and also
very effective for traffic flagging at car lots and the like.
The most dramatic example of object
manipulation that I practice is what I call Sky Painting or Sky Dancing.
I manipulate - what an inadequate term -
while on stilts, equipped with a 20 foot long "fishing pole" to which is
attached a stroboscopic ribbon up to 60 feet long.
Beset, nay, near drunk with music, I
dance with my pole
and ribbon. This is an interactive performance, mind
you.
The ribbon caresses the sky, and my audience: a cheek here, a shoulder
there, a small hand. With little or no
encouragement, children - and adults- reach - to reach, grasp and
release the flowing colors.
The breeze is my friend, enabling
spirals, figure eights,
circles and more. The wind teases me as I dance over the
yielding ground. Near and far, left to right, forward to
caress my , yes my audience. For they are mine. The fourth
wall? What wall? Backwards, dancing to prepare for my next
attack, my dance, dare I say, love, covers the stage. One
performer covering a circus tent of volume, air and space, emotion and
imagination. The colors flow, blend, separate,
rejoin as the speed and patters change. My audience, seated,
leans in to experience all the better. Faces up
turned, some in joy, others in dumbfounded amazement. I am
exhausted. The band continues, I continue, the kids are
eternal in their quest for the ribbon. I am determined to conduct the
music to its finish.
Finally, the music is
concluded. Drenched with
sweat, my hair, hat, shirt, waist, soaked,
saturated, I
turn to face
the crowd. Silence, more silence - I bow, the applause
begins. The band leader takes the mic, and I hear: "well,
we can't compete with that".
I am shocked. Competition
? No, not
that. But I understand. You take a risk when you do
something that is
outside of your audience's vocabulary. "he was a good
juggler" is how you compliment a juggler. But how do you
compliment the nearly indescribable?
Later I hear "hypnotic", "mesmerizing".
Soon, soon please, I hope to hear "spiritual".
"Do you spin
plates?"
No, I prefer to stalk them.
Like a giant jungle cat, or your tabby,
I am always wary,
alert to opportunities. Searching, seeking, observing. On
the look out. The ebb, the flow of the jungle's - er,
festival's- occupants. The trails to and from the watering
hole, the buffet line, where my prey congregates. Places of
concealment, possible distractions, dangers, impediments to
my quest.
For I am hungry. Deeply,
urgently, hungry - for the
chase! For the best tasting hot dog, desert, ice cream cone, funnel
cake, pop corn or brisket, any where, any time, is the one you track
down and stalk yourself!
Ah, look! Over
there: FOOD! a funnel cake on a plate! An ice cream
cone, and a burrito!
Observe: Quick, which opportunity is the best: the
prey
borne by the darting child, the athletic looking youth, or the
lumbering, distracted adult?
Choices matter. If I pick the
wrong one, the chase
will be too soon over. Ah, the child spots my
cleverly here
to
fore concealed out sized telescopic fork. I put my finger to
my lips, make eye contact, and gesture, ever so slightly
to her brother's funnel cake. She understands. She
consents to play along. The drama begins!
Crouching like an invisible nine foot
tall house cat, silently- surely, only I can hear the bells tinkling on
my
feet- I begin the stalk. Deftly keeping in his shadow, out of
his peripheral vision, I pursue, hovering, dodging,
twisting, even skipping as needed, I remain concealed. My
near two foot long feet do me no favors, but I am adept.
Occasionally bringing my fore finger to my lips, I signal my audience
for cooperation. For we are all part of this drama
of life and death!
I close in. My stomach is
hungry. I rub, my
hand circling. My mouth involuntarily is opening and closing, as if
taking
bites of the funnel cake. My senses real: the sweet, greasy,
aromatic funnel cake calls to me. My self
discipline crumbles, I moan.
I am discovered!
Graciously he offers me some
cake. A piece, perhaps
is all he has in mind. Perhaps even a generous piece.
Instead I deftly take the entire plate
from him. I smile.
I thank him profusely, over and over again for his generosity,
his understanding. Breaking off a small bite of cake, I offer
it to him. He takes it, swallows, perhaps in
confusion and realization: The trickster clown has taken advantage of
his generosity and trusting nature!
I explain the culinary facts of life to
him: The
best tasting treat is the one you stalk yourself! He smiles.
Laughs even. I return his funnel cake to him, after perhaps
reserving a bit for myself. For even the clown deserves a
reward for a job well done!
I look about. Ah, over there . . .
Sky
Dancing Explanation
The Sky Dancing
essay describes two 2002
performances at
the Lone Tree, Colorado concert in the park program. Marilyn
told
me that folks talked for weeks about my "conducting" the CSO in their
performance of the Blue Danube.
It took about two years of on again, off
again practice to
develop enough muscle memory to make me happy with it. Not every
performance is a peak performance of course, but those two that I write
of, they were out standing. It was the jazz band, not the CSO leader,
that made the "compete" comment.
Sufficient space, and condition and
direction of the wind
is critical. I also prefer a seated audience, gives me more
volume to move the ribbon in. Firm, level, ground is preferred to the
rain soaked sod that was omni present at
the CSO performance.
And of course a degree of physical
conditioning is
helpful! The 2002 Cherry Creek Arts festival performance came at the
end of a very long and active day. The heat was considerable,
and
my "dance floor" exceeded the width of the
entire stage: 60 feet or so. The first challenge was finding
the rhythm in the Latin Jazz composition. And then
interpreting that music in a very physical way, across the entire width
of the stage.
The choice of music is a factor as well.
Some stuff I
can't do a thing with. I'm pretty much moving in half time with my
feet and in full time with the ribbon . . . at least I think that is
what happening! I prefer a piece I am familiar with,
that way I can anticipate a little better. What usually happens, I show
up and then find out what the music is. Then
I either do it or not, no practice, just cold. Makes for an interesting
challenge.
I wonder if Sky Dancing would fit in a
circle (busking)
act some how, but haven't the faintest clue how to string all my
bits and pieces into a show. Some day I hope to figure it out.
The plate stalking piece is a little
more fanciful, but
not by much! I get a lot of laughs from it, every time. Its a
LOT of fun.
Maybe next I'll relate my "stilts on
stilts" stunt. I
walk on hand held stilts while wearing my strap on stilts!
stiltwalker-hires5.jpg
New efforts will involve a little more height with taller
stilts. Wish me luck!
I know you don't have to read this, but
I DID have to write it! Thanks for your patience and your comments.
Hope this helps.
Walking tall and stretching imaginations!
Bill "Stretch" Coleman
http://Stiltwalker.com/