AERIAL PENCIL — Celebrating the “pencil test,” the moment when life first appears upon the animator’s paper, these initial stirrings of inspiration become the essence of the art form.

An acrobat guides an aerial pole, stylized as a giant pencil, across the stage to create their own animation before propelling dramatically into the air. Soaring across and above the stage while performing feats that mimic the first strokes of inspiration for an animator, the aerialist performs unbelievably controlled stunts, forming fluid and rigid lines as if their body itself is a moving animation. Aerial Pencil is lifted by the same inspiration that led Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men to achieve greatness.