Asheville’s Libravado Sister’s Aerial Dance Ensemble is a daring, witty and vivacious bunch. The buoyant group burst onto the aerial scene in October 2008 and has been lighting up festivals and private functions throughout the country on a regular basis since then. A huge success at the Asheville Fringe Festival, the Faces of Asheville, and Chinese New Year, they are now booking shows for a hot summer season.
Their practice studio, located in the artsy River Arts District, reveals trapeze, silks and lyra hanging from the ceiling as the four girls bounce and flit through the space like weightless fairies. They show me how they use the silks by hopping up, bare feet, and climbing all the way to the top of the ceiling and then dropping dramatically to a few feet above ground. My questions are answered from swinging trapezes in sexy Russian accents.
“We are the Libravado Sisters! We come all the way from Bilibino, in the Bilibinsky region of Russia,” says animated Zamitenova Libravado in a vivacious Russian accent. “Can fly through air! Will travel and make laughter!”
The aerial dance performance group consists of Sami’Te Lev (Zamitenova Libravado), Anna Holbrook (Annabella Libravado), Ambra Lionstone (Ambrastasia Libravado) and newcomer Renee Graziano (Renilina Libravado). They use a variety of aerial props, from trapeze, double trapeze, and silks, to lyra – a large metal aerial hoop covered in fabric. Their show far surpasses aerial stunts; it is energetic, theatrical and stunning, some would say death defying.
Though the Libravado Sisters as an aerial troupe are a new Asheville emergence, these four playful performers aren’t new to performance art or Asheville. They bring years of training to the table in bellydance, yoga, burlesque, theater, gymnastics, and fire performance. Their shows fuse their love of all the arts and are lively, character-driven, and humorous. Their basic show is 20 minutes featuring singles and doubles acts, but they offer a wide variety of shows from fun and energetic to slow and sensuous.
“We arrange performances from 20 minutes to over an hour, from birthday parties and corporate events, to festivals and private events,” says Ambra. “We can suspend from a ten foot ceiling or a fifty foot structure. It all depends on the event.”
Ambra, specializing in sling, lyra and doubles trapeze, has been dancing since she was a child and joined the Florida State Flying High Circus in 1995. She was trained as an aerial artist in California, taught aerials for years, and has performed all over the country and world, including Asia. In 2001 she joined the Surreal Sirkus in Asheville, and now she performs her special flavor of aerial burlesque with the area’s burlesque troupe, Seduction Side Show.
Sami’Te is a yoga and bellydance instructor with a studio in West Asheville. She is also a member of the Uni-Fire Fire Troupe. She started flying through the air in 2004 and became serious about aerial dance in 2007. Since then, she has performed all over the world. She now specializes in single point trapeze, doubles trapeze, aerial silks, and sling, and is thinking about teaching aerials in Asheville.
“I’m definitely thinking about teaching aerial arts classes,” says Sami’Te. “After years of dance, aerial arts gives me a space to challenge myself, grow and face really big fears. Aerial arts helps make me strong, literally, and helps me be a strong, assertive woman in the community. I would love to pass that on to others. Once you’ve faced your fears and dropped 30 feet in 3 seconds, you pretty much feel like you can do anything.”
Anna comes from a gymnastics background, is bellydance trained, and has traveled internationally lighting up audiences with her fire poi performances. She began aerial dance only a year and a half ago, but performs like a seasoned pro, especially on the sling and aerial silks.
“It’s a great way to improve your fitness, self confidence and balance. It’s a wonderful form of self expression,” says Anna. “I love that we put so much humor into our shows. We really add a lot of elements that make our performances unique.”
Renee is the newest addition to the Libravado Family. A chiropractor by profession, Renee’s appreciation for the body’s potential guided her to push herself physically, mentally and creatively, and she found inspiration in the aerial arts. She was introduced to aerial dance in the spring of 2008 and has performed locally and across the Carolinas. Finding aerials frighteningly beautiful, she is exceedingly excited to join her sisters in the air.
The Libravado sisters are open for booking at festivals, parties, music shows, weddings, corporate events, birthday parties and more. Their next performance will be on Saturday, May 16th at Forsythia Hall located at 28 Forsythe Street in Asheville with special guest musicians Sirius B. Doors open at 7pm.
For more information and booking, contact SamiTe at 828-273-9528, or visit http://www.Libravadosisters.com. SamiTe can also be found online at http://www.SamiTeRocks.com.
