Today we’d like to introduce you to Russell Woo.
Hi Russell, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve always been a performer – whether it was on stage playing music, acting in a play, or dancing in a large-scale production, I’ve always sought out ways that I could have an audience.
But with many interests and passions, it’s been tough to find the one thing to train or the one thing that I love more than anything else. I spent several years getting my Master’s degree as a pianist in Europe, and then after performing for several years went back to dance and movement as I didn’t feel I was getting to move my body enough. I’ve always been bouncing back and forth between the types of performing that I love, and I never felt like I was able to be my full self.
Several years ago, though, I started to ideate on bringing my loves together – merging my loves – to create something really special, that I call “Piano in the Sky.” This is both an instrument (a digital keyboard) as well as an aerial circus apparatus, and it enables me to create an entirely different audience experience that mixes music and movement.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely not!
Building your circus apparatus comes with a lot of fears to begin with, especially when it’s never existed before and people aren’t sure how it should look. You never quite know how it is going to turn out when you draw the initial designs, and the steep price tag means that you can’t mess up too frequently. Safety is key, and it was important for me to define the right materials that worked for me, but that also enabled me to reach the vision I wanted for the apparatus.
Little things happened in the creative process as well that required a lot of problem-solving – from sound engineering in the air to finding balance while I play (the piano is very sensitive to movement), I’ve had to do a lot of trial and error to get to a beautiful final product!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I believe that what I’ve built and created is truly different than anything folks have seen before.
Circus artists have built incredible props to perform with, but the partnership that I have needed for my apparatus requires it to also be functional as an instrument. The concept of a floating grand piano is completely new, and I”m excited to share it with the world.
What makes you happy?
I get joy so much joy from connecting with others.
Whether it’s the little moments of creation with my duo partners on Piano in the Sky, or with performing an act to an audience, getting an authentic response from others and eliciting emotion from them brings me so many moments of gratitude.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.pianointhesky.org
- Instagram: @pianointhesky
