Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin
wire
Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm
A wire is a flexible strand of metal.
Wire is co ...
or
rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with 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 unicyclis ...
. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include
slack rope walking and
slacklining.
Types
Tightwire is the skill of maintaining balance while walking along a tensioned wire between two points. It can be done either using a balancing tool (umbrella, fan, balance pole, etc.) or "freehand", using only one's body to maintain balance. Typically, tightwire performances either include
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
or
object manipulation. Object manipulation acts include a variety of props in their acts, such as
clubs
Club may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Club'' (magazine)
* Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character
* Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards
* Club music
* "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album '' kelsea''
Brands and enterprises ...
, rings, hats, or canes. Tightwire performers have even used wheelbarrows with passengers, ladders, and animals in their act. The technique to maintain balance is to keep the performer's centre of mass above their support point—usually their feet.
Highwire is a form of tightwire walking but performed at much greater height. Although there is no official height when tightwire becomes highwire, generally a wire over high are regarded as a highwire act.
Skywalk is a form of highwire which is performed at great heights and length. A skywalk is performed outdoors between tall buildings, gorges, across waterfalls or other natural and man-made structures.
Ropes
If the "lay" of the rope (the orientation of the constituent strands, the "twist" of a rope) is in one direction, the rope can twist on itself as it stretches and relaxes. Underfoot, this could be hazardous to disastrous in a tightrope. One solution is for the rope core to be made of steel cable, laid in the opposite direction to the outer layers, so that twisting forces balance each other out.
Biomechanics
Acrobats maintain their
balance
Balance or balancing may refer to:
Common meanings
* Balance (ability) in biomechanics
* Balance (accounting)
* Balance or weighing scale
* Balance as in equality or equilibrium
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Balance'' (1983 film), a Bulgaria ...
by positioning their
centre of mass
In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the balance point) is the unique point where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero. This is the point to which a force may ...
directly over their base of support, i.e. shifting most of their weight over their legs, arms, or whatever part of their body they are using to hold them up. When they are on the ground with their feet side by side, the base of support is wide in the lateral direction but narrow in the
sagittal (back-to-front) direction. In the case of highwire-walkers, their feet are parallel with each other, one foot positioned in front of the other while on the wire. Therefore, a tightwire walker's sway is side to side, their lateral support having been drastically reduced. In both cases, whether side by side or parallel, the ankle is the
pivot point.
A wire-walker may use a pole for balance or may stretch out his arms perpendicular to his trunk in the manner of a pole. This technique provides several advantages. It distributes mass away from the pivot point, thereby increasing the
moment of inertia. This reduces
angular acceleration
In physics, angular acceleration refers to the time rate of change of angular velocity. As there are two types of angular velocity, namely spin angular velocity and orbital angular velocity, there are naturally also two types of angular accelera ...
, so a greater
torque is required to rotate the performer over the wire. The result is less tipping. In addition, the performer can also correct sway by rotating the pole. This will create an equal and opposite torque on the body.
Tightwire-walkers typically perform in very thin and flexible, leather-soled slippers with a full-length suede or leather sole to protect the feet from abrasions and bruises, while still allowing the foot to curve around the wire. Though very infrequent in performance, amateur, hobbyist, or inexperienced funambulists will often walk barefoot so that the wire can be grasped between the big and second toe. This is more often done when using a rope, as the softer and silkier fibres are less taxing on the bare foot than the harder and more abrasive braided wire.
Famous tightrope artists
*
Charles Blondin
Charles Blondin (born Jean François Gravelet, 28 February 182422 February 1897) was a French tightrope walker and acrobat. He toured the United States and was known for crossing the Niagara Gorge on a tightrope.
During an event in Dublin in ...
, a.k.a. Jean-François Gravelet, crossed the
Niagara Falls many times
*
Robert Cadman, early 18th-century British highwire walker and ropeslider
*Jay Cochrane, Canadian, set multiple records for skywalking, including The Great China Skywalk in
Qutang Gorge, China, , from one cliff wall to the opposite side above the
Yangtze River; the longes
blindfolded skywalk , in 1998, between the towers of the
Flamingo Hilton
Flamingo Las Vegas (formerly The Fabulous Flamingo and Flamingo Hilton Las Vegas) is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment.
The property includes a casino along with 3,4 ...
in
Las Vegas, Nevada, and broadcast on FOX Network's "
Guinness World Records: Primetime" on Tuesday, February 23, 1999; In 2001, he became the first person to perform
skywalk in Niagara Falls, Canada in more than a hundred years. His final performances took place during Skywalk 2012 with a world record submission of in cumulative distance skywalking from the
Skylon Tower at a height of traversing the highwire to the pinnacle of the Hilton Fallsview Hotel at .
*
Con Colleano, Australian, "the Wizard of the Wire"
*
David Dimitri
David Dimitri (born March 7, 1963) is an internationally acclaimed tightrope acrobat who has been praised for his unique style.
Combining an education at the State Academy for Circus Arts in Budapest with intensive dance studies at New York’s r ...
, Swiss highwire walker
*
Pablo Fanque
Pablo Fanque (born William Darby; 30 March 1810 – 4 May 1871) was a British equestrian performer and circus proprietor, becoming the first recorded Black circus owner in Britain. His circus was popular in Victorian Britain for 30 years, a pe ...
, 19th-century British tightrope walker and "rope dancer", among other talents, although best known as the first black circus owner in Britain, and for his mention in
the Beatles song,
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
"Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Beatles for their 1967 album ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. It was written and composed primarily by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney.
...
*
The Great Farini, a.k.a. Willie Hunt, crossed the
Niagara Falls many times
*Farrell Hettig, American highwire walker, started as a
Wallenda team member, once held record for steepest incline for a wire walk he completed in 1981
*
Henry Johnson (1806–1910), British tightrope walker with Sanger's and Hughes' circuses (also equestrian gymnast and
acrobat
Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro d ...
)
*Denis Josselin, a French tightrope walker, completed on 6 April 2014 a walk over
the river Seine in Paris. It took him 30 minutes to walk over of rope, meters above the river. He covered his eyes halfway through without harness or safety net but police boats were on hand in case he fell.
*
Jade Kindar-Martin and
Didier Pasquette, an American-French highwire duo, most notable for their world-record setting
skywalk over the
River Thames in London
*
Henri L'Estrange
Henri L'Estrange, known as the Australian Blondin, was an Australian successful funambulist and accident-prone aeronautical balloonist. Modelling himself on the famous French wire-walker Charles Blondin, L'Estrange performed a number of tight ...
, 19th-century Australian; first person to tightrope walk across
Sydney harbour and early
balloonist
In aeronautics, a balloon is an unpowered aerostat, which remains aloft or floats due to its buoyancy. A balloon may be free, moving with the wind, or tethered to a fixed point. It is distinct from an airship, which is a powered aerostat tha ...
*
Elvira Madigan
Hedvig Antoinette Isabella Eleonore Jensen (December 4, 1867 July 19, 1889), better known by her stage name Elvira Madigan, was a circus performer who performed as a slack rope dancer, artistic rider, juggler and dancer. She is best known today ...
, Danish 19th-century tightwire walker
*
Bird Millman
Bird Millman O’Day (born Jennadean Engleman; October 20, 1890 – August 5, 1940“Bird Millman O'Day... Succumbs Here Monday Night after Long Illness”, '' Cañon City Daily Record'', August 6, 1940) was one of the most celebrated high-wire p ...
, American star of
Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus
The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (also known as the Ringling Bros. Circus, Ringling Bros., the Barnum & Bailey Circus, Barnum & Bailey, or simply Ringling) is an American traveling circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Ear ...
*
Fyodor Molodtsov (1855–1919), a Russian rope walker. Was known to perform numerous tricks such as rope walking while shooting, carrying another person, wearing stilts, dancing, and even being unbalanced by pyrotechnical explosions. Known to have defeated Blondin during a tightrope crossing of the
Neva river, by braving it at a wider place.
*Jorge Ojeda-Guzman, Ecuadorian highwire walker, set The Guinness Book of World Records, Tightrope Endurance Record, for living 205 days on the wire, from January 1 to July 25, 1993 in Orlando, Florida.
*
Rudy Omankowski Jr., French-Czech highwire walker, holds record for skywalk distance
*
Stephen Peer, after several previous successful crossings, fell to his death at the
Niagara Falls in 1887
*
Susanna Bokoyni
Susanna Bokoyni (24 April 1879 – 24 August 1984), also known as "Princess Susanna", was a Hungarian centenarian and circus performer who was listed in Guinness World Records as the longest-lived dwarf on record. Early life and career
Bo ...
,
Hungarian centenarian
A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100 years. Because life expectancies worldwide are below 100 years, the term is invariably associated with longevity. In 2012, the United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living cente ...
and
circus performer
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 unicycli ...
who was listed in
Guinness World Records as the longest-lived
dwarf on record.
*
Philippe Petit
Philippe Petit (; born 13 August 1949) is a French high-wire artist who gained fame for his unauthorized high-wire walks between the towers of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in 1971 and of Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1973, as well as between the Twi ...
, French highwire-walker, famous for his walk between the towers of the
World Trade Center in
New York City in 1974
*
Eskil Rønningsbakken, Norwegian balancing artist whose feats include tightrope walking between
hot air balloons in flight
*
Maria Spelterini, Italian highwire walker, first woman to cross the Niagara Falls
*
Falko Traber
Falko Traber (born in Besançon, France, October 13, 1959) is a German high wire artist.
He is a direct descendant of one of the oldest artistic families in Germany, the legendary Zugspitze tightrope artists. The name was given to the Traber f ...
, German tightwire walker, walked to the
Sugarloaf Mountain in
Rio de Janeiro
*
Vertelli, British-Australian tightrope walker, nicknamed "the Australian Blondin"
*
The Flying Wallendas
The Flying Wallendas is a circus act and group of daredevil stunt performers who perform highwire acts without a safety net. They were first known as ''The Great Wallendas'', but the current name was coined by the press in the 1940s and has sta ...
, famous for their seven- and eight-person pyramid wire-walks
*
Karl Wallenda
Karl Wallenda (; January 21, 1905 – March 22, 1978) was a German-American high wire artist and founder of The Flying Wallendas, a daredevil circus act which performed dangerous stunts, often without a safety net.
Personal life
Wallenda was b ...
, founder of
the Flying Wallendas
The Flying Wallendas is a circus act and group of daredevil stunt performers who perform highwire acts without a safety net. They were first known as ''The Great Wallendas'', but the current name was coined by the press in the 1940s and has sta ...
, died after falling from a wire on March 22, 1978, at age 73, while attempting to cross between the two towers of the
Condado Plaza Hotel in
San Juan, Puerto Rico.
*
Nik Wallenda
Nikolas Wallenda (born January 24, 1979) is an American acrobat, aerialist, daredevil, high wire artist, and author. He is known for his high-wire performances without a safety net. He holds 11 Guinness World Records for various acrobatic feat ...
, great-grandson of Karl, second person to walk from the United States to Canada over the Horseshoe Falls at the
Niagara Falls on June 15, 2012; with his mother Delilah (Karl's granddaughter), completed his great-grandfather's final attempt between the two towers of the
Condado Plaza Hotelon June 4, 2011. On June 23, 2013 he successfully walked over a gorge in the area of the Grand Canyon. On November 2, 2014, he crossed over the
Chicago River
The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center (the Chicago Loop). Though not especially long, the river is notable because it is one of the reasons for ...
from the west tower of Marina City to the Leo Burnett building, following it with a blindfolded trip from the west tower to the east tower of Marina City. performed a record-breaking skywalk of at
Kings Island on July 4, 2008, breaking Karl Wallenda's record walk
*
Adili Wuxor,
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of v ...
(
Uyghur), from
Xinjiang, performer of the Uyghur tradition of highwire-walking called ''dawaz''; record-holder for highest wire-walk, in 2010 he lived on wire for 60 days, at Beijing's
Bird Nest Stadium.
*Maurizio Zavatta, Holder of highest tightrope walk while blindfolded. Set on 16 November 2016 in Wulong, Chongqing (China).
*Rafael Zugno Bridi broke the world record of the highest ever tightrope walk, by walking between two hot air balloons more than a mile high above the ground.
Metaphorical use
The word ''funambulism'' or the phrase ''walking a tightrope'' is also used in a metaphorical setting not referring to any actual acrobatic acts. For instance, politicians are said to "walk a tightrope" when trying to balance two opposing views with little room for compromise. The term can also be used in satirical or acidic contexts.
Nicholas Taleb uses the phrase in his book ''
The Black Swan''. "You get respect for doing funambulism or spectator sports". Taleb is criticising scientists who prefer popularism to vigorous research and those who walk a fixed and narrow path rather than explore a large field of empirical study.
[Taleb, Nicholas. Black Swan. 2010 UK. p. 368]
See also
*
References
{{Authority control
Circus skills