Handstand Diary Sonja Smith-Novak

China, like the Ukraine, is known for bringing out incredible handbalancers and circus acrobats, some of them very young. Ellen Grow, who I met at the Bali Handstand Retreat spent 18 months training there at the Beijing International Art School. So I asked her if she would be willing to share her experience. Even though she was there about ten years ago, I thought it was worth sharing with you guys.



Today Ellen performs with her group One Fell Swoop Circus. Actually they are currently doing shows at the fringe festival! So go watch them if you have a chance!

Also go and check out Ellen’s Instagram:

@ellen_jayne

Feel free to leave any comments in the section down below. Of course everybody’s training experience is unique and it’s great to hear other people’s stories!



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It's never too late to do what you love,
Soundschi


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Guys, I’ve been dying to show you this one. I think I don’t need to explain who Yulya Mihailova is, as she is probably the most famous female handbalancer and contortionist in the circus world and the world of social media. After meeting her husband, Andrii Bondarenko, I was determined to get to meet her too and share our conversation with all of you.

She is a shining star and has been on stage with the Cirque du Soleil show Amaluna for over 8 years. At the time we met (in June 2019) she had just left the show and was generous enough to spend some time with us and share some of her story and why she decided to leave. In this interview she tells us about how she got started in handbalance and how her mother was against her going down this kind of carreer path at first. She also tells us about her relationship with her husband Andrii, her two daughters and how difficult it is to have the family in one place, given the nature of their jobs.

When I met her I was struck by her amazing charm and kindness. Yulya is such a sweet person, a strong woman and has so much to give. She has so many interesting stories to tell, she could easily write a book about her life as a performer, coach, mother and wife. I hope she finds the time someday to execute on that!

I was lucky, because I got to meet with her during an interesting time for her, where she was at the beginning of a new stage in her life, moving on to new projects. She and Andrii are not only stars on the stage, but are starting to teach more and more across the globe (#couplegoals).

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!

I’m sure you already follow Yulya on Instagram, but if you don’t, go do it right now!

IG: @djilieta



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It's never too late to do what you love,
Soundschi


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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/handstand-diary/support

In this interview Alexander Hart shares his path to becoming a high-level handbalancer with us and insights he had along the way. After our interview Alex shared a quote with me that I think describes his motives in a perfect way:

“No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable” – Socrates

Unfortunately we were very limited in time – Alex is a busy man. So we had to keep the interview short. Nevertheless I really hope you enjoy watching it and it inspires you to work towards your own full potential! Let your handstand practice be fueled by him, just like he was fueled by others he saw youtube videos of.

If you want to see more of Alex, go and follow him on Instagram: @alexanderxart



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It's never too late to do what you love,
Soundschi


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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/handstand-diary/support

Here's to all of you overthinkers out there. This message is one I needed to hear for sure: Think less and do more

Pieti was one of the amazing students we met during our visit at the Kyiv Academy for Circus and Variety Arts. I could talk to him for hours and hours, as he has quite a lot of thoughts on anything regarding handbalance and its practice. You can definitely tell that he likes to analyze things and has the mind of a scientist.   

I really hope you enjoy this interview as the main key takeaways are so valuable:

- Focus on the actual balance action in your hands/arms
- Stick with one technique and grind it out

Check out Pieti's Instagram and follow him:
@pietikirkkopelto



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It's never too late to do what you love,
Soundschi


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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/handstand-diary/support

Kaisa’s story is one of the most amazing I’ve ever heard. It shows that sometimes less is more and that a sudden breakthrough is possible in handbalance, too. She basically went from a wobbly straddle one arm to all the one arm shapes in a matter of a few months. She just finished her first year in Kyiv and has big plans for her future. When I saw her flags for the first time, I fell in love.

I’m so glad I can share this interview with you, since she was hesitant at the beginning, because of her language skills. So I hope you enjoy and appreciate that she went out of her comfort zone to share her story with us! 

Follow Kaisa on Instagram: @kaisaaurora



P.S.: Consider supporting us so we can keep producing content!



It's never too late to do what you love,
Soundschi


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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/handstand-diary/support

Here's to all of you injured people. Don't take it to serious. It will pass!

It's been quite a while since we last posted. Ivo and I had some big life changes going on and were quite overwhelmed. But we are back. And we are having a blast.

Stay tuned for more interviews with epic handbalancers and new tutorials!



P.S.: Consider supporting us so we can keep producing content!



It's never too late to do what you love,
Soundschi


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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/handstand-diary/support