Twirl baby, twirl!

I went to the Temple of Heaven last week with a couple of friends, and we paused as usual in the garden to watch the ribbon twirlers. There is something so entrancing about watching these ribbons twirl, they are so smooth and colourful and it looks so easy and effortless. This small boy was being taught by his grandmother. He was pretty good actually, only lacking a little height to give him more proficiency.

I figured, if he could do it, I could do it. The lady let me try her ribbons and showed me the basics: you twirl in a figure of eight, or in a spiral pattern. The trick is to keep your speed fairly steady and to not get your ribbons tied in a knot. The knotting thing is actually very easy to do, and takes forever to unknot! You can see the lady in the first picture has a massive knot in her ribbon. It didn't seem to affect the size of her smile though. Once you have mastered the basics of twirling, then you have to learn the swaying dance that goes with it and point your toes and stuff, all an integral part of the performance.

I must admit, I bought a ribbon. I dithered for a good five minutes but I thought, 'This is fun. And I can practice at home.' So I took it home and practiced twirling it in my flat. Once. It's quite good exercise for your arms. They certainly ache afterwards! Maybe I should dig it out again!