High in the hills south of Carmel Valley, Samantha Melendy stands under a solitary oak tree, looking to the bird on her hand. Cali, a 6-year-old blue-and-gold macaw, returns her stare.
“What’s a dog say?” Melendy asks.
“Ruff!” Cali belts.
“Good boy,” Melendy says, offering a cashew from her other hand.
Next she extends her arm: “Perch, Cali, perch!”
Cali takes flight, and lands on a branch 15 feet high in the tree. Melendy then gets to work: After slinging one end of a 90-foot cut of silk over her shoulder, she begins climbing up a thick branch of the old tree that reaches low to the ground.
Once she climbs onto a level section about 10 feet high, she unravels the “silk”—it’s actually lycra—and sets to anchoring it to the tree by doubling it up, wrapping it around the branch and threading one end through the loop. When she finishes, two pieces of silk hang to the ground.
Melendy, who’s become a friend over the past year, is among a small number of locals who practice “aerial silk”—using fabric to wrap around parts of one’s body and, mid-air, swing, spiral and perform acrobatics.
The art resembles ballet, and proves beautiful, technical, but also physical.
“Aerial silks is aerial dance,” Melendy says. “However, you’re using the same muscles as rock climbing or climbing up a gym rope. It’s hard and intense, but you build up to stuff.”
She didn’t get into silks to get or stay in shape, but because she loves the feeling of being an acrobat.
“Getting fit is a side effect,” she says. “For people who are bored doing reps, maybe aerial silks are for them. It’s a full-body workout.”
Melendy stands at the base of the two hanging silks, climbs up a few feet, and begins wrapping them around her legs just below her hips. Once supported, she calls to Cali, who is now clawing to the silk above her.
“Cali, perch!” she says, with one leg extended.
Cali pops down off the silk and lands on her shin. “Ready?” Melendy says to Cali. “We’re going to spin.”
As Melendy starts twirling, Cali stays on her leg for a few revolutions, then darts off into a nearby field. A few seconds later, he careens back toward the tree—forming a long circle—and lands on my shoulder. Melendy tries to call him back, but he’s reluctant.
She laughs. “He’s a little skittish right now.”
At Om Studios in Carmel, Melendy leads aerial silks classes twice a week and aerial yoga once per week. In the near future, she’s also expecting to offer classes at Crossfit Monterey and in the barrel room at Folktale Winery in Carmel Valley.
Lynn Cordell, a yoga teacher at Om, has taken Melendy’s classes, and brought along her 11-year-old daughter as well. Both she and her daughter love it, she says.
“It’s nice being a 43-year-old woman and climbing up on these silks and feeling beautiful,” Cordell says. “It feels so fluid.” And she adds that—because of their inherent enthusiasm and fearlessness—it’s a perfect fit for kids.
For those weary that they might not be in good enough shape, Melendy says worry not, silks are adaptable to all skill and fitness levels, but she recommends trying aerial yoga first, which is less demanding.
“People can get acquainted with it that way, and see if it’s something for them.”
But don’t expect to see Cali at any of her classes—practicing silks with a bird is very much her own thing.
“I think I’m the only one who does that in the world,” she says. “It’s my ideal activity: a bird, silk and nature. It’s all my favorite things in one.”
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.