The skanner., March 21, 2012, Page 9, Image 9

Arts & Entertainment
Fire, Bikes, Acrobats: Wow
T
his Saturday a unique spectacle show
hits the Portland Rose Garden. The
Nuclear Cowboyz are billed as “a
freestyle motocross drama combined with
outrageous pyrotechnic and laser displays
synchronized to heavy metal, rock alterna-
tive and electronic dubstep music.”
The event features acrobats on motorcy-
cles, acrobats and a modern-dance army.
The acrobat crew includes Bernard Lyght,
a member of the “Cyborg Army” who grew
up in Albany, Ga., and who now coaches
young people for United Cheerleading and
Performance Dance Center.
The dance squad includes Kacie Garland,
who is a “Nuclear Cowgirl” originally from
Gary, Ind., who has worked with Debbie
Allen, the Alvin Ailey American Dance
Company, Ballet Chicago and more.
We spoke with them via telephone from
their tour stop in Tacoma, Wa., about their
work, their regimen, and their vision for the
future.
The Skanner News: Tell me about what
you guys do in your show?
Kacie: I’m a dancer. I’m a part of the Sol-
diers of Havoc — so the “Metal Mulisha” is
one team, and then there’s another team
called the Soldiers of Havoc. It’s a lot of
fun.
Kacie Garland,
“Nuclear Cowgirl”
ages.
TSN: What got you both into acrobatic
work and movement?
Bernard: Well what got me into acrobat-
ics, I’ve always done it since I was a little
boy watching “Power Rangers” and “Ninja
Turtles” and things like that. So I’ve always
been involved in it and a friend of mine
gave me a call and said, ‘Hey I think you’d
be good for this show.’ So I came out and
got started from there.
TSN: So you guys are acrobats on bikes?
Bernard: No, no. Some of the riders, of
course they do acrobatic skills on their dirt
bikes but also have people specifically for
acrobatics and stunts, and you have dancers
as well.
Kacie: I was drawn into dance. I was
playing basketball and they told my mom to
put me in dance class because it would help
my footwork. So ever since then I fell in
love with dance, I fell in love with move-
ment. So auditioning for this was hard but I
was so glad that I got the job.
TSN: So it’s not just a sports show.
Kacie: No. It’s a theatrical show.
Bernard: It’s a theatrical motocross stunt
show. With major pyro – and a whole bunch
of things going on. Like it’s real good for all
TSN: What do you do in your workout
and do you do anything special to keep
yourself centered physically so you don’t
get injured?
Bernard:
With me I’m a coach locally at home in
Columbus, Ga., so every day I’m in a gym
and I’m always working on the skills that I
do; whatever I’m teaching the kids I already
know how to do, of course, but I’m also use
and apply the things I do in the show in
teaching them as well.
Of course you always have to watch what
you eat – you can’t just pig out every day
and all that stuff. Like you’re not going to
eat a huge meal before you go to bed. You
always want to make sure you wake up and
have a decent breakfast to hold you through
the rest of your day. And of course watch all
your extracurricular activities — older peo-
ple stuff as far as drinking and things and
little fun times like that.
TSN: Kacie is there anything you do to
take care of yourself in this way?
Kacie: I wish I ate healthier. But I’m
always training, I stay in a ballet class every
day. I dance probably eight hours a day
when I’m not on tour or the weekends. So
Bernard Lyght of the
Cyborg Army
as long as I’m in a ballet class and
my modern classes, I think that’s how I
maintain my shape and my stamina.
TSN: Are you both students?
Bernard: I was in school but I fend for
myself and I have for a long time and things
got a little expensive. But I am trying to get
back in – and that’s my plan as of right now.
We’ll see what happens.
Kacie: I’ve completed my junior year of
college, and now I’m on tour with the show
so I’m taking a break but I plan to go back.
TSN: We’ve all seen where the Ringling
Brothers Circus and the Circus Apollo are
doing more acts that use acrobats on motor-
cycles. What do you want to be doing 10
years from now?
Kacie: For me I know I would love to
have my own dance company, like Arthur
Mitchell. He dedicated a dance company for
little black ballerinas who wanted to be bal-
March 21, 2012
See NUCLEAR on page 11
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