Professional Whip Artistry Training & Entertainment

Professional Whip Artistry Training & Entertainment


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  • 2022 American Western Arts Showcase at Annie Oakley Festival

    American Western Arts Showcase at Annie Oakley Festival

    Darke County Fairground, Greenville, Ohio

    Greenville, OH – Entrepreneur and professional whip artist Gery L. Deer and thrown weapons expert, Kirk Bass, of Xenia, will lead a full troupe of Wild West arts experts during the 2022 American Western Arts Showcase at the Annie Oakley Festival, on July 29 and 30 at the Darke County Fairground in Greenville, Ohio. The event is free and open to the public.

    Presented in the spirit of the stage-style Wild West shows of the late 19th Century, each production will include some detailed history of how these arts came to be and who still practices them today. In addition to performing, Gery Deer is also the show’s producer and chief backer.

    “This is a one-of-a-kind show in this region,” Deer says. “We have some of the best Wild West arts entertainment anywhere in the Midwest with real practitioners of each skill,” says Deer, who started the event in Jamestown, Ohio, in 2002. “These are talented performers with genuine ability, no fakery, no tricks. Everything you see in our show is real and all of our shows are in 3-D and high definition!”

    Champion knife thrower Kirk Bass, of Xenia, Ohio, is co-producer of the event. He and his daring wife Melodee are among the performers to take the open-air stage for a series of western arts perform the suspenseful Bass Blades impalement show, and much more.

    Whip marksmanship competitions headline the afternoon show beginning with the Whip Speed and Accuracy Exhibition Competition, the world’s first Bullwhip Fast Draw contest. Plus, there is a brand new contest taken straight from the big screen.

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    In the spirit of Dr. Jones’ proficiency, this year’s Showcase competition will include a special “blind fast draw,” where whip artists must mimic the move used in the film to turn, draw their holstered whip and shoot at a target with speed and accuracy. In 1981, a fedora-wearing, leather-clad archaeologist threw the crack heard round the world when he “whipped” a pistol from the hand of a jungle guide. At the beginning of “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” Indiana Jones demonstrated his skills with the holstered fast-draw of a 10-foot bullwhip, all while having to spin around to take aim first.

    “With the popularity of Indiana Jones among western performers, particularly whip artists, it’s odd this hasn’t been done before,” says Deer, who holds multiple, national whip speed and accuracy titles and is the director of The Whip Artistry Studio, the only permanent whip training facility in America.

    The event is sponsored by GLD Enterprises Communications, Ltd.The Whip Artistry Studio and the Annie Oakley Festival Committee. All performances are family-friendly and presented on the grounds of the Annie Oakley Festival. For links to the festival and sneak previews of the performers plus more information go online to ohiowesternarts.org.

    Production video from a few years ago showing some of the events

    Whip cracking, trick roping, knife throwing exhibitions going on throughout the day as well as educational sessions to learn about the Wild West Arts and how these performers are working to keep them alive today.

    FULL SCHEDULE

    Friday:

    • Space opens at 10 AM.
    • Informal workshops, practice, and demonstrations throughout the day.

    1:oo PM American Western Arts Showcase Performance

    • Bass Blades Knife Impalement Show
    • Gery L. Deer – The Whip Artistry Studio Show
    • Special Guests and More!

    4 PM American Western Arts Showcase Performance

    • Bass Blades Knife Impalement Show
    • Gery L. Deer  – The Whip Artistry Studio Show
    • Special Guests and More!

    Saturday:

    • Space opens at 10 AM.
    • Informal workshops, practice, and demonstrations throughout the day.
    • Contest Practice

    12:00 PM American Western Arts Showcase – Whip Marksmanship ContestsWhip Speed & Accuracy Exhibition Contests

    • Speed & Accuracy
    • Speed Switch
    • The World’s FIRST Bullwhip Fast Draw competition – Started in 2000, we’ve been the lead on bullwhip fast draw since!
    • PLUS! The Indiana Jones-styled turning fast draw contest, just like you see in the opening of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Contestants will use an 8-foot or longer bullwhip to face off against each other in an effort to recreate the dramatic first crack by Indiana Jones.

    1:30 PM American Western Arts Showcase Matinee Performance

    • Bass Blades Knife Impalement Show
    • Gery L. Deer  – The Whip Artistry Studio Show
    • Special Guests and More!

    4 PM American Western Arts Showcase Performance

    • Bass Blades Knife Impalement Show
    • Gery L. Deer  – The Whip Artistry Studio Show
    • Special Guests and More!

    Exhibitions and practice sessions are open to public audiences throughout the afternoon.

    Sunday: From 12 Noon until 3:30 PM Gery Deer Indiana Jones-Styled Bullwhip Shows

    Showcase producer Gery Deer will perform solo doing some Indiana Jones-style shows, talking about how the arts practices by Annie Oakley and her contemporaries were so important to the film industry!


  • Studio director, Gery Deer, thrills at Carnegie Music Hall during Indy event

    On Friday June 10, The Whip Artistry Studio director, Gery Deer, performed at the Carnegie Music Hall in Pittsburgh as part of the “Indiana Jones After Dark at the Museum” for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. The hour-long show included targeting, interactive segments and a surprise opening with Gery on the piano performing a comedic “Chopsticks” which rolled into the theme to “Raiders of the Lost Ark” on the hall’s Steinway grand.
    Continue reading 


  • The whip and television …

    For many years, variety entertainment has included some kind of bullwhip performer. From the days of Lash LaRue traveling the country to promote his movies to modern whip artists performing on daytime talk shows, the media has forever been tied to whip artistry.

    The Whip Artistry Studio director, Gery Deer, has performed on dozens of shows over the years. Here are a few segments from his 2008 performance on The Bonnie Hunt Show … in two parts.


  • Bill Franz, “Dayton at Work and Play” photographer visits The Whip Artistry Studio

    By Gery L. Deer

    In the 17 years since opening the studio, we have had literally hundreds of media requests for photo and video shoots, interviews or access for feature stories in the news. Most of them are refused for one reason or another. But a couple of weeks ago I was contacted by a local photographer named Bill Franz.

    Photo by Bill Franz

    Photo by Bill Franz

    Bill was interested in stopping by the studio to take some photos of me working the whips, just for artistic interest. Bill is a well-known photography figure in the Dayton, Ohio area and runs a Facebook page called “Dayton at Work and Play,” where he displays his talents by capturing the images that are Dayton.

    From the shorelines of the Great Miami to the parks and people that make this region so unique, Bill’s work clearly offers the rest of us a look at what a true artist sees through his lens.

    I had seen his work through a business associate and was impressed with some stock photography he’d given her to use in a promotional website. What I didn’t know was that his take on photography was one of genuine passion and interest.

    Usually, when a photographer wants to see something, he has a

    Photo by Bill Franz

    Photo by Bill Franz

    specific move or trick he or she would like to capture. But Bill was open to just about anything. Afterwards we talked about work, business and writing. I was fascinated by his view of local society, so I made it a point to take more time with his photos. Impressive doesn’t even come close to what I thought.

    In any case, Bill will be back soon to do some photos with me and Barbara (Scout) for a show taking place next year in Yellow Springs, Ohio. If you have time, take a moment to look through his work.  More to come.

    Update: Bill returned to our studio for a photo shoot with the editor of the Dayton City Paper, Sarah Sidlow, and took some more amazing shots …

    See more of Bill’s work At SmugMug – http://billfranz.smugmug.com/

    or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DaytonAtWorkAndPlay?fref=ts




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