Jumping stilts or spring stilts allow users to run, jump and perform just about any acrobatics other than stand still.Adult Kangaroo Shoes, a stilt group from Mumbai, will perform this weekend at the Phoenix Market City.
CHENNAI: If you’re a fitness enthusiast, jumping stilts would have definitely come across your screen on those impassioned internet searches. The IPL last year saw youngsters, with their stilts on cheering with mindboggling stunts each time the ball cleared the ropes. Stilts also made an appearance during the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. Call it jumping stilts or powerbocking, the fitness fad has now taken over the entertainment industry. We caught up with Adult Kangaroo Shoes, a jumping stilt outfit from Mumbai ahead of their debut performance at the Phoenix Market City this weekend.
“Among other countries, Germany is one of the first to popularise and from there, we are seeing it spread across the world as a performing art and an exercise routine,” says Rohan Singh, one of the members of the troupe. Naming themselves after the close connect the equipment bears to the animal, this Mumbai-based troupe is all set to wow audiences with a concept that’s relatively new in the city. The stilts are usually made of aluminium and carbon fibre and are a step ahead of hover-boards in terms of look. As much fun as it is, stilt jumping also trains close to 98 muscles in the process helping you burn over 400 calories in 10 minutes.
“This helps increase the height and muscle tone and also works on improving the core strength and stamina,” Singh said. Along with teammates Anurag Jaiswar, Prashant Singh, Akash Singh and Jaideep Yadav, he will be seen in an electric stilt show generously laced with jaw-dropping acrobatics.
At about 18 inches off the ground, these durable stilts enable you to jump close to six-feet high and run at close to 35-40 kmph. “Each stilt weights about four kilos and you can do everything but stand still on them,” said Singh. Depending on the size, it costs between `10,000 and 18,000. It’s easy to have a set routine because stunts never lose their charm. But we try and make sure our choreography isn’t the same in any two shows,” said Singh.
The trend isn’t new to India as celebrities Dino Morea and Gauhar Khan have jumped on the stilt bandwagon quite early on Dino Morea and Gauhar Khan. Owing to the intensity and cost of equipment, it is still finding its feet in the country’s workout circuit.