Eskil Rønningsbakken (born 24 June 1979) is an
extreme artist from Vallset in
Stange
is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Hedemarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Stangebye ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
.
[Berglund, Nina]
"Performer drops Letterman after US bombing."
''Aftenposten'', January 17, 2006. Accessed on August 9, 2010. Rønningsbakken travels the world performing
balancing acts at the tops of lethal
drops
Drop, DROP, drops or DROPS may refer to:
* Drop (liquid) or droplet, a small volume of liquid
** Eye drops, saline (sometimes mydriatic) drops used as medication for the eyes
* Drop (unit), a unit of measure of volume
* Falling (physics), allowin ...
, such as canyons and cliffs.
His feats include
tightrope walking
Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope ...
between two
hot air balloon
A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carries p ...
s in flight and doing a
handstand
__NOTOC__
A handstand is the act of supporting the body in a stable, inverted vertical position by balancing on the hands. In a basic handstand, the body is held straight with arms and legs fully extended, with hands spaced approximately shoulder- ...
on a pile of chairs balanced on a rock wedged in a crevice between two cliffs that were 3,500 feet tall. He practices
yoga
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...
,
meditation
Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...
, and
breathing technique
Pranayama is the yogic practice of focusing on breath. In Sanskrit, '' prana'' means "vital life force", and ''yama'' means to gain control. In yoga, breath is associated with ''prana'', thus, pranayama is a means to elevate the '' prana'' ''sha ...
s to stay focused, and prepares extensively for each act.
Rønningsbakken joined the
circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...
at the age of 12, but has been practicing in various forms since the age of five, where, as the youngest of three children, he spent his time in the Norwegian countryside climbing trees and playing on rooftops.
[Cheang, Michael]
"A Higher Art."
''The Star: Online,'' August 26, 2008. Accessed on August 10, 2010. At an early age, when watching
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
, he was inspired by footage of an
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n
yogi
A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297-299, 331 Th ...
balancing, and decided to devote himself to the art. He later improved his craft under the tutelage of
Moscow State Circus
The title Moscow State Circus is used for a variety of circuses. Most commonly, it refers to one of the two circus buildings in Moscow, the " Circus Nikulin" (the old circus, featuring animal acts) and the "Bolshoi Circus" (the new circus, feat ...
trainer Peter Jakob. He has also begun to teach others his techniques. Rønningsbakken has visited the slums of
Nairobi
Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...
in the hopes of inspiring lifelong confidence in the youth by teaching them acrobatics.
"Nat Geo AMAZING!: Unbalanced."
''Spotlight,'' July 15, 2010. Accessed on August 9, 2010.
Rønningsbakken’s current goal is to perform a one-handed handstand at the top of the Burj Khalifa
The Burj Khalifa (; ar, برج خليفة, , Khalifa Tower), known as the Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration in 2010, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is known for being the world’s tallest building. With a total height ...
in Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
, which, as of January 2010, was the tallest man-made structure ever built.[Croucher, Martin]
"Daredevil Plans Handstand on Top of Burj Dubai."
''Khaleej Times: Online'', April 20, 2009. Accessed on August 10, 2010. Explaining his motives, he says, "When you only have five fingers touching the building, you feel like you are flying."
References
External links
Photos from the Guardian
Global Balancing: Eskil
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ronningsbakken, Eskil
Norwegian stunt performers
Tightrope walkers
Norwegian artists
Living people
1979 births
People from Stange