AirOtic Turns Acrobatic Feats Into Sensual Gay Tableaus
The "sexy, sultry, spicy" cirque AirOtic will play in Washington, D.C. for an extended run at Hook Hall.
It takes something more than trust for a cirque performer, dangling by their neck on a rope suspended over the audience, to put their life literally in the hands of their partner. But that trust comes naturally, according to aerialist and acrobat Kyle Kier, currently leading the sensual, burlesque-style AirOtic Soirée at Hook Hall.
“We all live together, we eat together, we travel together, we perform, we build everything together, so that trust, it happens quite fast,” says Kier. “You bond with your fellow castmates like super, super fast. And to be able to be onstage, you have to have more than just trust, I think. You all have to be in the journey together, and just having that experience together brings you closer.”
The experience of performing together certainly brought Kier closer together with partner Stephane Haffner, owner of AirOtic’s parent company, Les Farfadais & Co., and co-creator with Keir of their erotic, acrobatic circus production.
“I started working in the cruise ship industry for about three years,” says Kier. “And that’s when Stephane reached out and was like, ‘Hey, do you want to come to Europe to join Les Farfadais, the circus company?’ So I came over for a three month contract, and after that, me and Steph started dating, so I decided to stay a bit longer.”
Four and a half years later, the couple were engaged in front of a nationwide TV audience on Italia’s Got Talent. And in 2016, AirOtic was born.
“Initially, when we started the show, we were performing at Hunters in Wilton Manors, in Fort Lauderdale, a gay mecca,” says Kier. “We were performing in a gay venue, and the show is quite homoerotic. I don’t like using that term, but it is. Both the creators are homosexual — we’re married. So it definitely has that flavor to it. But after we opened up that show, we started realizing a lot of straight couples were coming.”
And not just straight couples. “Everyone across the board in the community was coming and supporting the show. And that’s when you kind of step back and realize: sexuality, sensuality is definitely part of it, but it’s a community, and it’s a show, and it’s something beautiful that we create, and we’re passionate about it.
“I think the audience members, when they see you so invested in something that you’re doing, and giving so much, they’re so happy to give back. And the show is diverse enough that it has something for everyone. So there’s something for the boys, something for the girls, something for everyone in-between as well. And I think that’s also playing into the success of this, because it’s not just catered to one audience.”
As the enthusiastic audience at a recent Hook Hall performance can attest, the performers’ moves and their physiques are built to impress.
“And I also think being in such an intimate setting works for us as well,” notes Kier. “Because you almost meet the performers. Like we’re very close to [the audience]. It’s not like we’re putting on another persona — we’re being authentically who we are onstage. I think it’s something that everyone can relate to, and that’s why it is received and accepted by such a vast variety of people.”
The performers progress through their own journey of acceptance simply to be able to bare (nearly) all onstage while exploring their art and executing amazing feats.
“You do see a lot in the show,” admits Kier. “It’s very sultry, sexy, quite spicy at times. Initially, like eight years ago, it wasn’t a shock, but there was a moment where it’s about accepting yourself, accepting the body you’re in, the skin you’re in, your own sexuality and sensuality.
“And then also being a performer, you have this constant craving to be onstage and perform. It’s kind of just like a combination of accepting who you are, and realizing it is a performance. For the audience, it’s an experience, but for us, it’s a job, and it’s a show at the end of the day. It’s all smoke and fog and mirrors.”
AirOtic Soirée runs weekends through May 31 at Hook Hall, 3400 Georgia Ave. NW. Tickets are $45. Visit www.hookhall.com or www.airoticshow.com.
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