The Beginner's Guide to Circus and Street Theatre

Home , Aerial hoop, Cigar box (juggling), Contact juggling, Contortion, Corde lisse, Devil sticks

The Beginner’s Guide to Circus and Street Theatre www.premierecircus.com Circus Terms

Aerial: acts which take place on apparatus which hang from above, such as silks, trapeze, Spanish web, corde lisse, and aerial hoop.

Trapeze- An aerial apparatus with a bar, Silks or Tissu- The artist suspended by ropes. Our climbs, wraps, rotates and double static trapeze acts drops within a piece of involve two performers on fabric that is draped from the one trapeze, in which the ceiling, exhibiting pure they perform a wide strength and grace with a range of movements good measure of dramatic including balances, drops, twists and falls. hangs and strength and flexibility manoeuvres on the trapeze bar and in the ropes supporting the trapeze.

Spanish web/ Web- An aerialist is suspended high above on Corde Lisse- Literally a single rope, meaning “Smooth Rope”, while spinning Corde Lisse is a single at high speed length of rope hanging from ankle or from above, which the wrist. This aerialist wraps around extreme act is their body to hang, drop dynamic and and slide. mesmerising. The rope is spun by another person, who remains on the ground holding the bottom of the rope. Rigging- A system for hanging aerial equipment. REMEMBER Aerial Hoop- An elegant you will need a strong fixed aerial display where the point (minimum ½ ton safe performer twists weight bearing load per rigging themselves in, on, under point) for aerial artists to rig from and around a steel hoop if they are performing indoors: or ring suspended from the height varies according to the ceiling, usually about apparatus. The artists will have the size of a hula hoop. their own rig for outdoor shows. Acrobatics

Acro: Skilful Contortion- An acrobatic balance, art that involves a strength and performer bending their gymnastic body into hyper-flexible, movement including extraordinary positions, body rotations, pushing the body to its twists, flips, limits. balances, jumps and turns.

Hand Balancing- An act Rola Bola- An act in which the majority of involving the performer skills involve the performer balancing on a flat board balancing on one or both that is placed on top of a hands. The performer cylinder, while juggling, can also rotate if or performing balancing on special handstands. apparatus.

Ladder Balance- An acrobatic/manipulation act where the performer climbs and balances on an unsupported free-standing ladder by using a rocking motion. Juggling, balancing objects on the performers’s head and performing handstands may be combined. Manipulation- The act of moving and controlling objects. This term covers juggling, contact juggling, diabolo, devil sticks, hat manipulation and cigar box manipulation, poi, staff twirling, yo-yo’s etc

Juggling- The skill of keeping Contact Juggling- The a number of objects in the air performer will manipulate a at the same time, by crystal ball, keeping it in continuously throwing and contact with the body. catching the objects. The Focuses on fluidity of performer can use different movement and gives the methods to throw and catch appearance that the the objects and will create ball has a mind of its own. different patterns. Examples of objects used for juggling are balls, clubs, rings, hats, knives, fire clubs, fruit, vegetables...

Hat Manipulation- An act involving several hats and Diabolo- This is one or more shaped like an performers. The hourglass and rests on performer will a string tied to two throw and catch, sticks. It is whirled and spin and pass the tossed into the air by hats. the performer. Fast moving. The performer may also use two diabolos on the one string.

Fire- Fire club juggling, fire club swinging, fire eating, fire poi (consisting of a ball and chain, one held in each hand by Cigar Box Juggling- finger loops, allowing the An act involving one performer to swing the performer who apparatus around their manipulates several body very quickly). rectangular wooden boxes catching, stacking and balancing on hand or chin. Hula Hoop- Circular plastic hoops that are used to twirl around different parts of the body. Performer can manipulate one or multiple hoops at the same time. Contemporary Slapstick- Physical Clowning- aka the comedy which uses international language slapping, kicking of silliness. Clowning and use of comic is about timing. Could communicating truth involve running into in its purest, rawest an object, form. It demands appearing to get great courage and hurt, and discipline from the exaggeration. performer, yet reaches Famous slapstick out with simplicity to comedians include engage the audience. Buster Keaton, It can involve mime, Charlie Chaplin, audience participation, Laurel & Hardy and comic timing, the Three Stooges. eccentric dance...

Stilts- Timber or Unicycle- A one-wheel metal apparatus that bicycle with a small seat is attached below the upon which the performer knee which the artist rides forwards, backwards, walks on. Stilts performs jumps and other come in different balancing skills. Unicycles heights and can be come in different heights up to several metres and different sized wheels. high.

Puppetry- Performance which involves the manipulation of puppets. These can either take the form of string puppets or can be large puppet characters, which are manipulated from inside or can be a stilts character If you are interested in seeing the whole range of performers, please visit www.premierecircus.com. You will see tags of pre-selected popular search items beneath the main tool bar. You will also find a search bar in the top right-hand corner which will search the text online.