Flying High

Looking at Bernadette Pace from a distance on the high-flying trapeze, one might expect to see someone young and agile, as she swings with grace and ease high in the air.\nUp close, one might be taken aback to find it is a 65-year-old woman soaring so fearlessly through the air.\nStill going strong into her 60s, Pace remains active with her group of aerial performers, the Bloomington High Flyers. The High Flyers perform locally and boast several acts including the trapeze, trampoline and Spanish Web. The group has an upcoming show April 27 at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. \n“(The show) is all choreographed with music,” Pace said. “It’s fast-moving and very dynamic. Even infants a year-and-a-half old will sit through the show totally mesmerized.”\nPace, who started the group in 1985, was a microbiologist for 28 years and is now retired. She lives with her two granddaughters Isabelle, 14, and Carmen, 10. Both share their grandmother’s passion for flying, as they take part in aerial acts themselves. \nPace moved to Bloomington in 1983. She had taken up trapeze a few years earlier when she began working out at a local YMCA.\n“I was not very strong and I wanted to get strong,” Pace said. “I went to the Y and found trapeze.”\nThe first house Pace moved into in Bloomington didn’t have the necessary yard space for her trapeze. When she saw a house on High Street up for sale a couple years later, she knew she had to have it. With a spacious front yard, Pace had a place to fly. But she still needed something else.\n“High-flying trapeze is like baseball,” Pace said. “You cannot do it by yourself. You need a group of people to fly with, and I just wanted people to fly with.”\nSo Pace invited people to come to her house and fly on her trapeze. When more and more people started showing up, Pace decided to set a limit. But she now had a group and figured they might as well do shows.\nOne of the people who started flying with Pace was Clint Bobzien. Now a full-time performer, Bobzien started 10 years ago with Pace. Though at the time, he was crazy about something other than the trapeze.\n“I actually got into it because a girl I liked in high school was in it,” said Bobzien, referring to fellow Flyer Hannah French, his fiance. “She invited me over to try the trapeze, and I was terrified of heights. But I had to try it, so I went for it.”\nThe group currently includes Pace, Bobzien, Steve Mascari, IU optometry assistant professor Nick Port, Janet French and French’s daughters Leah and Hannah and son Jake. Bobzien and Hannah French are currently working on contracts to perform in Las Vegas. \nWhen asked how often they train, Pace said emphatically that the group’s flying sessions are not training.\n“When you train, that means work,” Pace said. “We do this every day because we love it.”\nGroup members stress their passion for performing high-flying trapeze. \n“(Catching) is the best workout I’ve ever had, better than anything, hands down,” said Mascari, a catcher for the group. “Doing 15 minutes of catching is like three hours of pushups, sit-ups and chin-ups.”\nMascari, whose first trapeze session with Pace was a 21st birthday present from his friends, admits that during the winter when the season is out, he has to do other things to deal with not being able to fly. He even develops a sore back from not being on the trapeze.\n“A chiropractor told me ‘That’s what we do, strap (patients) down and have them relax their back,” Mascari said. “(Catching) is great for your spine. It relieves pressure and it’s free chiropractor work.”\nAlthough mainly a local group, the Flyers have traveled outside the United States to perform. In May 1999, they embarked on an eight-month performance stint in Japan, performing in the “Super Hero Circus.” All the performers dressed as various Japanese super heroes, and the Flyers were the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers.\n“I was the red ranger,” said Mascari with a chuckle, recalling flying in his red suit and ranger helmet.\nDespite the risks posed by performing high in the air, the Flyers have not had to deal with serious injury. They stress how uncommon serious accidents are.\n“If it’s controlled chaos, it’s not a problem,” Bobzien said. “If something goes wrong, you do what you can to get the flyer in a safe position. That’s how you prevent injuries.”\nThe Flyers admit they have to stop thinking about risks while performing their aerial tricks, but they also reiterate the importance of being in control. Serious accidents can happen, but with this group, it doesn’t happen often.\n“You’re very aware of how easy it is to get hurt,” Port said. “But you’re in control. You take the risks that are appropriate.”\nFor several of the Flyers, the risk is part of the fun.\n“I love adrenaline,” Mascari said. “We love doing (trapeze) because it’s such a thrill, and we enjoy letting other people try it. Everybody should try it once. When are you going to get another chance to go flying on a trapeze?”\nIndeed, it is a rare opportunity. But those less daring can always catch the show.