Aufguss is a ritual sauna ceremony lasting twelve to fifteen minutes that intensifies heat with scented steam and towel techniques. Sauna masters create loyly by dropping essential-oil snowballs onto hot rocks and then use towel movements to distribute heat and scent. The practice has surged in popularity and spawned World and national championships with competitors judged on professionalism, heat increase, distribution, and performance. Towel techniques include named maneuvers such as helicopter, dirty copter, pizza, and super8. Theatre Aufguss incorporates dramatic narratives, blending theatrical performance with traditional heat-focused ritual.
An Aufguss-from the German word for "infusion"-is a ritual sauna ceremony that lasts for twelve to fifteen minutes. A sauna master fills the room with carefully curated scents by dropping snowballs containing essential oils onto hot rocks-the Finnish word for the resulting plume of steam is loyly-and waves a towel to distribute heat through the room. Alonzo Solórzano, the twenty-nine-year-old director of Aufguss at Bathhouse, where the competition took place, likes to say, "My job is to make the room very, very hot. And I like my job."
The ritual dates back thousands of years, but it has recently seen a surge in popularity; an Aufguss World Championship has been held every September for the past decade. Competitors are graded on five categories, ranging from Professionalism ("Eye contact, connection with audience, fitness condition") to Increase and Distribution of the Heat. Towel-waving involves an intricate flow of flips, curls, and twirls, each with its own name: helicopter, dirty copter, pizza, super8.
Collection
[
|
...
]