Toronto’s Stilting Sisters Stand Tall.

Our interview with Cherisse Thurab – stilt dancer and teacher.

Courtesy of Cherisse Thurab

Cherisse and Cheronne Thurab are typical sisters. They do their makeup together, pick out pants together – the only difference is that their makeup is fluorescent, and their pants are nine feet long. Why? Because these sisters are stilt dancers. The Cowgirls sat down with Cherisse to ask how she got into this wild form of contemporary dance, if it hurts when she falls, and what the weather’s really like up there.

Pony: So why stilting? Of all the sports?

Cherisse: I’ve been dancing since I was about four when my mum put me in ballet class. I eventually rebelled and tried out contemporary dance instead. This was all in Trinidad. When we moved to Toronto (at age 13), I started dancing at Ballet Creole with my sister Cheronne, and from there we got involved with various workshops and different artists around town. After a few classes, the Swizzle Stick Theatre approached us and offered to teach us stilting! We said yes, learned quickly how to walk, and then started incorporating our contemporary moves on them. Anything you can do on the ground you can do on stilts.

Pony: Uh huh. Including the moon walk?

Cherisse: Well, you can’t really slide haha, but you can imitate the moonwalk, sure!

Courtesy of Cherisse Thurab

Pony: Where do you get the costumes?

Cherisse: They’re made for us by Christopher Pinheiro who’s the artistic director at Swizzle Sticks. But ya, we had our first stilting show at only 13 years old (Cheronne was 10) and we played the part of corn in a theatrical show called Harvest.

Pony: Does Swizzle Sticks book you for all your events? Parades, shows, weddings, etc.?

Cherisse: Yes, the bigger events like Caribana, Pride, Harbourfront and our workshops there where we teach kids and adults how to stilt. Check out Art Starts for some more information on that, it’s a great activity to learn!

Pony: Does it hurt if you fall down? It must.

Courtesy of Cherisse Thurab

Cherisse: You learn to fall safely. I’ve never hurt myself falling on stilts, just falling on my own two legs. Your knees are padded so you try to land on them and cover your face with your hands. It’s getting up that’s the hard part! You need a lot of upper body strength to prop yourself up against something and climb back up again. But if there’s nothing around to do that with then you need to call for help haha.

Pony: How does the style of dance change for each event?

Cherisse: Every event requires a different character and that character will move differently. Like Afrofest for example, we had a very rhythmic African style of dancing. But for something like Caribana, it’s more structured. We wear wings and move faster – Cheronne and I work a lot together, challenging each other constantly and improving our skills.

Pony: Do you guys ever get into fights while stilting? I can’t imagine taking a kick from one of those things.

Courtesy of Cherisse Thurab

Cherisse: That wouldn’t be pleasant haha. We get into arguments on the way to gigs mostly, but we always shake it off and work together in the end. It works well, we practically share a brain.

Pony: Finally, have you ever cruised away from the event and gone to like, a McDonalds while on stilts?

Cherisse: You can’t get very far without someone stopping you! But one time, I did go to the washroom with my stilts on and I could see over the stalls.

Pony: Thank god I wasn’t in one of those stalls!

Cherisse: This one lady popped out and actually wanted a photo with me. But I was like “I need to pee lady!” So I aimed down and landed more or less on the seat. At the end of the day it’s all in good fun, and I’m lucky to be able to share that with my best friend.

Courtesy of Cherisse Thurab

– Emma Farquharson