Let's take a detour this time from the sciences and humanities and delve into a truly obscure subject: that of the flying trapeze! The flying trapeze was invented in Toulouse, France by Jules Leotard in 1859. In so doing he concurrently invented a form fitting suit used in his trapeze acts called none other than... the leotard!
Jules Léotard, the inventor of the flying trapeze
Somehow Mr. Leotard became inspired to affix two pieces of ventilator chord to either side of a crossbar, and test out the aerial acrobatics capability of his new device over his father's gymnasium swimming pool as a safety net. In the early years of flying trapeze practice and performance mattresses were often used until the invention of the safety net.
Various flying trapeze maneuvers
Although the flying trapeze may seem like a very simple device, it turns out that there are a rather large range of maneuvers that can be performed, both solo and with multiple performers. Here are some of the most commonly used flying trapeze tricks:
- Half Turn
- Heels Off
- Hocks Off
- Splits (Front End/Back End)
- Straddle Whip (Front End/Back End)
- Feet Across
- Whip
- Bird's Nest
- Shooting Star
- Straight Jump
- Double Over
- Uprise Shoot
- Forward Over
- Forward Under
- Cut Catch
A pretty extensive list indeed! Please refer to the video examples below to see some of these aerial maneuvers in action:
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