Ali Lukin says people sometimes get confused when she tells them she is the 2008 Bouncing Girl (and actually she prefers the title Bouncing Queen).
‘Their first thought is, like, a bar bouncer,’ says Lukin. ‘Then, I look at them and say, ‘I only weigh 105 pounds — I don’t think so!’ So then, I tell them, ‘You know, we’re most commonly known through our appearances at the Winter Carnival.’
‘And when I explain that it’s a group of guys holding a canvas blanket and that I’m the flyer, I’m the girl that goes up, the one they’re talking about when they say, ‘One, two, three, up she goes,’ and then they usually know what I mean.’
Bouncing, inspired by an Eskimo tradition, is thought to be the oldest St. Paul Winter Carnival event, but the St. Paul Bouncing Team is a separate organization that bounces in parades and other special events all year long. The team is working on building up its archives, particularly in years prior to 1988, so it is inviting all past Bouncing Girls to a reunion during the 2009 Bouncing Girl tryouts on Jan. 30.
If you’re not a Bouncing Girl and don’t know much about this St. Paul tradition in which women are thrown as high as about 20 feet into the air, here’s a primer:
A is for age: All Bouncing Girl candidates must be 21 or older.
B is for bouncing, of course: ‘The St. Paul Bouncing Team is loosely affiliated with the start of the St. Paul Winter Carnival, which began in 1886,’ according to stpaulbouncingteam.org. ‘In the beginning, there were many squads of bouncers and flyers that would travel the parade routes and entertain the crowds every January. In the 1930s, the St. Paul Athletic Club began to sponsor its own team, and in 1937, Lucille Leopold became the first St. Paul Athletic Club Bouncing Girl. Since Miss Leopold, hundreds of intrepid women have flown with us, wearing the title of Bouncing Girl. When the Athletic Club closed its doors in the early 1990s, the core of that team reinvented itself and became the nonprofit organization it is today, supported by its members through roughly 12 appearances throughout the calendar year.’
C is for Carnival: Bouncing is the oldest St. Paul Winter Carnival event and has been featured in almost every St. Paul Winter Carnival since its inception in 1886, according to the St. Paul Bouncing Team.
D is for dress: If you want to try out to become the 2009 Bouncing Girl, it’s recommended you dress in athletic wear, such as tennis shoes and flexible clothing.
E is for the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics: ‘The St. Paul Bouncing Team upholds a long tradition of performing the blanket toss,’ according to stpaulbouncingteam.org. ‘It is believed that the blanket toss predates written history. (American Indians) in Alaska, Canada and the Pacific Northwest employed the toss as a means of elevating one of their clan to a higher vantage point — the better to watch for game, predators or other threats. From a little elevation one can see a long way across the tundra. The toss is still conducted as a team event at the Eskimo Olympics in Alaska. Eventually, someone started blanket tossing for sport. Some bounce for height, but all bounce for accuracy.’
F is for find: The St. Paul Bouncing Team is still trying to find many of the past Bouncing Girls. If you were a bouncer, you’re invited to attend the Bouncing Girls Reunion, which will be held during the 2009 Bouncing Girl tryouts.
G is for the King Boreas Grande Day Parade: During this opening parade, on from 2 to 5 p.m. Jan. 24 in downtown St. Paul, spectators can watch the St. Paul Bouncing Team in action.
H is for height: There are no restrictions on height or weight for a Bouncing Girl, but the lighter she is, the higher she flies. Bouncing Girls typically weigh less than 115 pounds.
I is for if: If you have any old newspaper clippings, photos or other archival materials regarding the St. Paul Bouncing Team, especially prior to 1988, please visit stpaulbouncingteam.org. and send the team an e-mail, or bring the items along to the Bouncing Girls reunion/tryouts.
J is for judging: At tryouts, Bouncing Girl candidates are judged on altitude, poise, control and, most important, enthusiasm.
K is for Garrison Keillor: The St. Paul Bouncing Team appeared on Keillor’s ‘Prairie Home Companion’ show in 1996.
“It’s surprising how well it played on the radio,” says Roger Anderson, past president of the St. Paul Bouncing Team and team historian. “It’s a visual thing, but the live audience response made it work — you could hear the crowd gasping.”
“It was thrilling to go and meet Garrison,” says Julie (Leitch) DeWitt, a former Bouncing Girl. “He’s a very large man, and we’re so small. I’m not even 5-foot-2, and he’s like 6-foot-8. It was different to do a radio show, even though it was live in front of people in the Fitzgerald Theater. We had to be really careful because the ceilings weren’t exactly high — well, they’re high, but there are the lights and everything.”
L is for length of terms: Each year, three Bouncing Girls serve three-year terms; there is also one alternate. The new Bouncing Girl should expect to perform in 10 to 12 events each year over the next three years.
M is for the Twistie move: This is a trademark of Ali Lukin, 26, a figure-skating instructor who is a 2008 Bouncing Girl: “I go straight up in the air and cross my feet down straight,” says Lukin. “I twist in a circle — the ability to turn and pull in tight comes from my training in figure skating. I’ve been known to turn four times around.”
Today’s Bouncing Girls are more athletic than they were in the past.
“If you compare when I was a Bouncing Girl (in the 1990s) to when my grandma was a Bouncing Girl (in the 1950s), they didn’t have any form,” says Julie (Leitch) DeWitt. “If you look back at pictures, they threw them up and they were up there just the way they were. Now you have to have the poise and the smile and the moves. I didn’t have the courage to do flips, but some of the girls did. I did the splits and put my arms up and waved to the crowd and smiled.”
The team’s historian agrees.
“If you’re talking to women picked in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, occasionally you might get a cheerleader in the mix, while this year our second-year woman, who is heading into her third year, was an All-American gymnast in college,” says Anderson.
“The age has also gone up — generally they were often high school gals: 15, 16, 17 — but now we want to make sure they’re at least 21 years old. And I think the ones who are motivated to try out tend to have a background in gymnastics or cheerleading, but certainly that is not a requirement, and I can’t even say it’s a great advantage. It is a spectator sport, and we need someone with enthusiasm to inspire the crowd and reach great heights. You could say we’re looking for women who take themselves lightly.”
N is for the new 2009 Bouncing Girl: She will make her debut at the Torchlight Parade on Jan. 31.
O is for one: That famous phrase associated with the St. Paul Bouncing Team — “One, two, up she goes!” — relies on it.
P is for puller: That’s what each of the 14 men who hold the blanket is called. Each puller is responsible for pulling his two handles to stretch the blanket in sync with the men across from him. Typically, the team has 40 to 45 pullers on its roster.
What’s the appeal of such a role? “It’s just a fun thing, getting someone to fly high, and to be honest, looking at a cute girl,” says Rick Herlund, St. Paul Bouncing Team president.
Q is for queen: Today’s Bouncing Girls actually prefer the title Bouncing Queens.
“I’m the official 2008 Bouncing Queen,” says Ali Lukin. “The girls changed the name a couple of years ago.”
The terminology is sometimes an issue.
“If I’m talking to an old-time St. Paul person, I’d say Bouncing Girl, and they’d know what I meant,” says Anderson, the team historian. “But some people are offended by the idea of calling them girls. So, we also call them aerialists.”
R is for remembering: Reunion-bound Bouncing Girls — like former Bouncing Girl Julie (Leitch) DeWitt, whose grandmother, Audrey Leitch, was a Bouncing Girl in the 1950s — hope to share some memories.
“(My grandmother) went to do it just to get rid of some energy or something,” DeWitt says. “I don’t even know how she had energy, she had six kids, not to mention she and my grandpa ran an ambulance service and had a 200-acre farm. How in the world did she have energy?”
While DeWitt’s grandma had energy, DeWitt showed perseverance in her quest for the Bouncing Girl title. She tried out “faithfully every year for 10 years.” She was selected as an alternate bouncer a few times before she was named the 1995 Bouncing Girl.
“I definitely didn’t have an ‘in’ because of my family connection,” DeWitt says. “But I wanted to continue that family tradition.”
S is for the St. Paul Winter Carnival: The St. Paul Bouncing Team is not officially affiliated with the St. Paul Winter Carnival. It is a separate, nonprofit organization that performs aerial acrobatics at public and private social events throughout the year.
T is for trading cards: The St. Paul Bouncing Team is in the process of building up a complete collection of Bouncing Girl “trading cards” on its Web site at stpaulbouncingteam.org. .
U is for uniforms: “You’ve got to have some flexibility in your clothes and, in the winter, to get through the parade, you’ve got to have some warmth. We try to get stylish athletic leggings and something a bit more stylish than sweatshirts,” says Anderson. “Traditionally, the most senior Bouncing Girl will pick the garments for the season.”
V is for video: Watch videos of the Bouncing Team in action at stpaulbouncingteam.org/videos.html.
W is for Web site: You can find more information about the St. Paul Bouncing Team at stpaulbouncingteam.org. .
X is for X-marks-the-spot: The pullers watch the Bouncing Girl very carefully and make sure she lands safely. And although the crowds might think it looks like someone is bouncing on a trampoline, that’s not the sensation the Bouncing Girls experience.
“It’s more like free falling,” says Lukin. “You have no control where the bounce is going or what your body is doing — and it’s a canvas blanket, not a trampoline. When the guys toss you up in the air, that’s it. It’s their strength that is throwing you up. It’s a very strange feeling, and you have to trust the guys — and I totally do. I love the reaction of the crowd. They get so excited to see us. It motivates you as a bouncer to have a lot of fun and go for it.”
Y is for years gone by: “The last time I bounced was a couple of years ago,” says DeWitt. “I went to an alumni gathering that was held at the YMCA. They said, ‘Oh my gosh, what have you been eating?’ I’m quite a bit heavier than I was then!”
Z is for zero: The St. Paul Bouncing Team says that no Bouncing Girl has ever been dropped.
Molly Millett can be reached at 651-228-5505.
ST. PAUL BOUNCING TEAM’S 2009 BOUNCING GIRL TRYOUTS AND REUNION
When: 5 to 8 p.m. Jan. 30
Where: Landmark Center, 75 W. Fifth St., downtown St. Paul
The position: Each year, three official Bouncing Girls serve three-year terms. Supporting them is one alternate who serves for the current year only. The new Bouncing Girl should expect to perform in 10 to 12 events each year over the next three years.
Details: Candidates must be 21 or older; athletic wear is recommended; no experience is needed, and practice bounces are allowed; no height or weight restrictions, but aerialists typically weigh less than 115 pounds. Candidates are judged on altitude, poise, control and, most important, enthusiasm.
The reunion: All past Bouncing Girls and their families and friends are invited to attend the festivities.
Admission: Free for spectators with or without a Winter Carnival button
For more information: st.paulbouncingteam.org.
Copyright 2009 Pioneer Press.