Imagine living without sight, a dark world, deprived of your senses. Or, imagine being differently abled, confined to a wheelchair with limited mobility. This loss of freedom is a harsh reality for many people, these confines agonizingly restrictive.Now, Imagine finding a euphoric release that could bring back long forgotten sensations and pure joy. Imagine being able to offer that.That’s the basis that The Flying Project was built on. I’ve had the opportunity to watch it bloom from an idea; from the first exciting stages of planning, to slowly coming to form.
Beth Newell, The passionate founder of this project, is an Expressive Arts Therapist with a degree in Dance and sixteen years of experience in counselling therapy.
Beth has a background in Aerial Dance Performance. From her very first “in air” experience she was hooked- addicted to the freedom and sense of ability that came with flying. As generous and kind hearted as she is, her biggest hope was to one day open an aerial studio where she could offer the same beautiful experience to others. It wasn’t until she was in church and heard the line sung, “Help Me lift up the lame and weak” that she realized this dream could become something so much more powerful.
Her dream came to form. Circus bungees would be used to harness the participant in and raise them into the air. This suspension is good for anything from relaxing buoyancy to expressive movements. I had the opportunity to experience the bungees and train in aerial safety with Karen Fuhrman, Director of Grounded Aerial Dance Company in New York, along with the rest of the diverse group of volunteers. This project, and the beautiful intentions behind it brought together a range of people from volunteer artists to performers to spokespeople who have all added a little piece to the project. We are a group of people with different hobbies, backgrounds and experience in this sort of thing. Now, we all have one thing in common - a passion and sense of momentum when it comes to making this project work. Whether Flying or witnessing the flight of another, this experience is truly something life changing. This project goes far beyond reopening a world of movement. It’s an emotional, binding experience for all those involved.
Beth has brought this project a long way, but now we need your help. It’s not a cheap process, but the end result is priceless. We’re trained, inspired and ready to help people fly. All that’s left is to set up the bungee system. The Good Sheperd Church in Lawrencetown, NS has donated their multi purpose room to serve as our air space. The next step is to have the structure soundly tested by an engineer, the rigging itself has to be built, the gear - such as harnesses, the bungees themselves and the carabiners must be purchased and, finally, the space must be insured. The cost for all this reaches almost 10,000$. Any donation is helpful, as we’re excited to get this up and running so we can reach out as soon as possible. I also hope you will share our project, and a little piece of our passion. I hope this has touched you the way it has touched all of us involved and those we want it to speak to in the future.
Thank you,
Beth, Kayan and The Flying Project Team.