Traceuse's are getting their share of attention by the media lately. In this latest article the ladies of Australia demonstrate their moves for SBS news, and share their perspective on art and their desired direction for it.
Stephania is part of the growing number of Australian traceuses – otherwise known as women who train parkour - and she wants to see more.
“When I first started there weren't very many women. There was probably like one or two, and we didn't really know each other either, so it felt like a lot of us were on our own,” she told SBS News.
She says it’s only been in the last two years that “girl groups” who do parkour, really kicked off.
Parkour's physicality and audacity has meant it's been dominated by men for years, with more extreme examples of jumping between buildings and scaling walls going viral.
It’s meant uptake by women was slow, with many dismissing it as too dangerous.
Despite training for years, Stephania says her family still gets worried from time to time.
"My mum and my grandparents get really scared for me. They get worried that it's dangerous but I'm always reassuring them that I'm fine.”
Lawyer-by-day, traceuse-by-night, Michaela Smith claims the discipline is misunderstood.
“I think a lot of women don't understand that parkour isn't about crazy roof gaps, and it's not about trying to get the biggest jump possible," the 26-year-old said.
“It's about overcoming obstacles, and getting from A to B in the efficient way possible."
To train parkour, the women go in search across Sydney for public places with lots of obstacles.
Seats, bollards, railings, staircases – you name it – are just some of the objects used to leap on, roll over, and ricochet off.
To read more head over to SBS News
