RIGGING AND SAFETY GUIDELINES VIVA FEST 2023
2" vinyl covered roll foam will be on stage for all aerial acts
The height from the rigging point will be approximately 22' from the stage
EQUIPMENT INSPECTION:
All aerial equipment will be inspected by Circus By Us, their booth will be located at the front of the venue. They will place a sticker on the equipment to note that it has passed inspection. The VIVA Fest backstage crew will look for the sticker when you arrive to rehearse. Please plan to give yourself enough time to pass inspection before you need to attend your rehearsal. The inspection team will be looking for things like severe wear and tear on straps, holes in aerial silks, faulty carabiners etc . . . if you have any questions about our rigging inspection procedures, do not hesitate to contact us in advance. If you are a ‘NOVICE’ competitor please allow enough time to have your equipment inspected before your competition as you will not be scheduled for a rehearsal time.
If you are performing as part of a group act, only one person from the group needs to have the equipment inspected.
DO YOU PROVIDE EQUIPMENT?
NO. You should use your own equipment at the festival or your coach/school should provide you with equipment. All hardware should be attached to your aerial silks, trapeze, hoop, etc . . . VIVA fest will have a swivel into which you will clip in your apparatus.
UNDER 18/UNDER 12
If you are under 18 your coach needs to accompany you backstage during your performance. If you are 12 years of age and under, you will be required to have a coach onstage with you during your performance.
BACKSTAGE ARTIST ENTRANCE:
All artists should enter through the performance entrance.
MATS FOR SAFETY:
Unless performing on a Cyr Wheel or other discipline that requires a hard surface, you will be required to perform over firm black panel mats. Please see specific aerial categories below for information regarding mat rules and safety by discipline.
AERIAL SILKS & ROPE:
-You will be required to perform over a 12” mat, a thicker mat can be provided upon request.
-All acts will be required to perform over a 12” MAT, you may request a 'pit' (24" thick mat) during your rehearsal & performance.
If your act requires flying/orbiting please contact us at info@thevivafest.com after you have registered so we can make sure to note that your act will not be static and may require the use of a motor.
-Novice aerial rope and silk artists will not be permitted to ‘orbit’ or make use of the motor for flying cues, beginner acts must remain static.
DUO TRAPEZE:
-VIVA Fest will have swivels affixed to 2 steel cable points, these points will be set at a distance of 40” apart, they will be lowered and you will clip your trapeze ropes via your carabiners into our cable points.
-Your trapeze will be lifted to a comfortable working height.
-A climbing rope will be rigged next to your bar - you will climb the rope to get onto your trapeze.
-For your safety, You will be required to perform over our ‘portable foam pit’ (Mat thickness 24").
-The crane bar to which our steel cables are attached is set at approximately 22'.
STATIC TRAPEZE:
-VIVA Fest will have a crane bar set at a height of 20’ to allow for stable working static trapeze conditions.
-Your trapeze will be attached to two points that will be set 38” apart; you and your equipment will be lifted to the crane bar.
-Note the average static trapeze with rope lengths of 9’ - 10’ will most likely be lifted to the full height of the crane bar and be required to work with a 12” mat under the trapeze. Should you have a trapeze with short ropes you may required to perform over a 24" pit.
-For safety reasons, if your trapeze ropes are 7’ or shorter, we may deem that lifting you to the full height of the 20’ crane bar is unsafe and require you to work lower. This will make your ropes feel longer and may affect the timing and technique of your routine and tricks. If you have short trapeze ropes and need more information regarding this scenario, please contact info@thevivafest.com
DANCE TRAPEZE/AERIAL HOOP/AERIAL STRAPS/HAMMOCK/AERIAL LOOP/SINGLE AERIAL POINT (with and without lifts):
-Novice category aerialists will NOT be permitted to make use of the motor or incorporate lifts into their act.
-If you do not require lifts via our motor during your act, you will be asked to specify at what height you would like your equipment rigged and proceed to perform your act on a static line. Please note for dance trapeze, loop, hammock, aerial hoop, or an unspecified single point aerial apparatus - the maximum height we can set the bottom of your bar for the act is 8’ from the mat. If your act is being performed as a static act, you will be required to perform over a 12” mat.
-If you have a specific set height to your act, and do not need to be raised up and down but plan on only ‘orbiting’ during your act, you do not need to have a coach available to call your cues to our rigger, you will be required to perform over our panel mats.
-If you plan on having lifts during your act, your coach or someone who knows your act will need to be available during your rehearsal and competition to ‘call’ your cues out to a rigger who will be operating a ‘winch motor’ that will allow you to be raised and lowered during your act. During your act, the maximum allowable height from the bottom of the bar/apparatus to the stage is SAFE CLEARANCE HEIGHT FROM YOUR LOWEST TRICK OR DROP (between 6" - 12").
-Please be considerate and try to avoid incorporating multiple lifts in your act and for safety, please avoid cues that require extreme precision with timing or height. If you do not have someone available to direct our rigger during your rehearsal and performance, you WILL NOT be allowed to have lifts incorporated into your act. If only one initial lift with spin is required, you will be permitted to request one without a coach/assistant present. With one initial lift, you will only be lowered at the end of your act.
-Static aerial strap acts will be required to perform over panel mats unless a crash mat is requested.
GROUP AERIAL ACTS:
Because of winch load limitations; acts of 4 people or more will not be permitted to incorporate lifts into their group aerial routine. Large group aerial acts of 4 or more will be required to perform a static aerial group act. We will permit setting the apparatus at a height that requires climbing to the apparatus with a rope. You can have a coach spin the apparatus once all students are on the apparatus and ready to begin.
ACT NOT LISTED:
If your act was not listed in the above mentioned categories or you need to discuss specific rigging requirements, please contact info@thevivafest.com to discuss your specific needs.
GROUND ACTS WITH PROPS:
If your ground act requires any unconventional props or equipment, please contact us so that we can approve your props and plan for your competition slot info@thevivafest.com