‘225’: Hanging by a thread

Twenty feet up, Ashley Gieg is in a pinch. Not a bind, so to speak, because the 23-year-old is in complete control—but a pinch, a maneuvered foothold that is her anchor on two golden silk ribbons, the only thing keeping her from crashing to the floor. Her bare feet are wrapped into silk suspended by rock-climbing equipment: black bands hung over tresses fastened into shackles, which are connected to a carabiner then a steel swivel then another carabiner. Her reddish hair sways like a pendulum with each meditative contortion of her body. The rig can sustain more than a thousand pounds of pressure, plenty to support Gieg’s petite frame; but as her body rolls and her leg revolves again and again, the image turns surreal. She looks like she can fly. This move is called the Rotisserie Chicken. The art is aerial silk performance, and a growing group of performers wants to make it the next hot trend in Baton Rouge. Read the full feature by 225 Editor Jeff Roedel here.