AARON FAVILA
Associated Press
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Real estate broker Angel de Rivera is hooked on the newest way to fly high in the Philippine capital: trapeze.
After a hard day’s work, she and other Manila office workers can go to trapeze school and experience the scream-inducing adventure of being an acrobat, even if de Rivera can’t describe how it feels.
“You can’t explain the feeling that you’re up there. The fear of falling, the fear of everything. It’s like an adrenalin rush,” the 29-year-old said, admonishing a visitor: “You should try it.”
The outdoor school opened by Chinese-American businessman William Hsu sits in a grassy clearing surrounded by high-rises in a metropolitan business district.
For a 1,000-peso ($23) fee, trainers teach how to take off from the three-story-high platform, hang on the trapeze bar with your hands or knees, execute a somersault and land on the safety net. In advanced lessons, a student flips off a trapeze bar in midair to be caught by the trainer hanging from a second bar.
“You kind of feel scared, but when you let go, it’s like, wow, it’s really fun,” 18-year-old Lori Besa said, still overwhelmed after two hours of swinging and flipping. “It’s harder than it looks, but I thought I could catch because I have fast reflexes from playing video games.”
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Associated Press video journalist Joeal Calupitan contributed to this report.
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