If you think traffic here this time of year is a circus, you might think differently after you take a class with Hamptons Trapeze Co. That’s where the real circus action is — in a good way.
Gregory Tiwald and a team of expert, very witty, very fit instructors have returned their 33-foot-tall trapeze apparatus to the campus of the Hayground School in Bridgehampton, continuing a 22-year tradition started by the company’s previous owner, Peter Gold. It’s definitely for those with a sense of adventure, but probably not for those with a fear of heights. The instructors say it is very safe — more so than people may assume — and that it makes for an effective workout as well.
“You’re going to learn a lot,” said Tiwald, who has performed in circuses all over the world.
On a recent Sunday morning, he and his team, Jessica Hampton of Sydney, Australia, and Lukas Weinbach, who grew up in Germany and more recently lived on the West Coast, began the class with easy warm-up moves like jumping jacks and stretching, then strapped the students (this writer included) into safety harnesses.
Then came a basic lesson on the ground. If you’ve ever done a “trust fall” at summer camp, you’ve already mastered part of the technique. The rest of the process comes a little easier, starting with climbing a narrow ladder, finding your “air” legs on the 22-foot-tall platform, chalking up your hands, grabbing the swing by its bar, then jumping as if doing a simple little leap off a diving board into a pool. While in the air, the instructors shout directions so that beginners can execute tricks like hanging from their knees or doing a backflip into the net below.
Tiwald, 39, started out as a fitness instructor at Club Med, which offered trapeze lessons. “I was immediately drawn to it, so I did it. I screamed the first time, after I jumped from the platform, but I immediately fell in love with it. It was such an incredible activity. . . . I’ve been doing it nonstop for the last 13 years.”
Be forewarned: Trapeze is so thrilling that it can be addicting. That’s how Tiwald, Hampton, and Weinbach all came to be trapeze professionals.
“I instantly fell in love with it, how much you can achieve so quickly, and how much of a workout it is,” said Hampton, who started “flying,” as they call it, four years ago, when she was 24.
Weinbach, 22, got his start at a trapeze school on the Santa Monica pier three years ago, falling in love with “the sensation of it, connecting with my body, and being present.”
“We learned the knee hang, just like everyone else,” he said. “I was looking for a job, and the trapeze school seemed like a cool place to work.”
“They liked me enough to say ‘training starts in two weeks.’ ”
For Weinbach, the best part is the camaraderie and kindness. “You have an instant community wherever you go, and there are people you can connect with over something you have in common.”
Tiwald says different trapeze schools have different mottos. At a different school it could be something like “forget about fear, worry about the addiction,” but he said, “what we like to say here is ‘first time for fear, second time for fun.’ ”
Hampton points out that one need not start flying at a very young age to be successful at trapeze. “A lot of older people tend to do this, as well. Some people think it’s for kids to do, but I think when you’re older, in your 20s and later, you have a lot more body awareness.”
To emphasize that point, Tiwald added, “The oldest person I’ve taught was 92 years old.”
Classes cost $120 each and occur multiple times each day throughout the summer. Discounts are available when buying multiple sessions at a time. There is no weight restriction, though those who are pregnant and those with shoulder, neck, or back injuries should not take part. The website is hamptonstrapeze.net — pun totally intended.