Acrobats

Acrobats are those individuals who perform different physical feats, all of which involve balance, agility and motor coordination. These feats can be broadly grouped under the umbrella of acrobatics. Acrobatics is a field that crosses over between the performing arts (ballet, acro dance, circus) and sports activities (gymnastics, skateboarding). Acrobatics can also be found in other disciplines that are more difficult to categorize, such as capoeira and parkour. Here at sickandmad.com, we will attempt to offer a brief overview of the history acrobatics, and delve a a bit deeper in some of the activities in which acrobats ply their art.

The word acrobat comes from the French acrobate, which in turns finds its origins in the Greek akrobates, meaning “walking on tiptoe”, or “climbing aloft.” In fact, Minoan art dating from 2000 years BC depicts acrobats on the backs of bulls, among other feats. The Minoan was a Bronze Age civilization that thrived in the Greek island of Crete from the 27th to the 15th century BC. However, acrobatics was not exclusive of Western culture. Chinese acrobats were in full swing (no pun intended) since the Han Dynasty, more than 2000 years ago. Even though acrobatics may be looked down upon by more serious art enthusiasts, the fact remains that acrobats played a major role of the Italian commedia dell'arte during the Renaissance. Today, acrobats can easily be encountered in the circus (which has a long history itself), most famously Le Cirque du Soleil.

Other than lion tamers, clowns and magicians, acrobatics is one of the main attractions in circus shows. Frequent acts that are performed by acrobats include aerial acts like the trapeze. The trapeze is comprised of a horizontal bar hung from a support by ropes. There are several types of trapeze, including static, swinging and flying. In static trapeze, the acrobats perform several moves around the bar and ropes. In the swinging trapeze, the acrobats perform the tricks while the trapeze is swinging. In the flying the trapeze, the acrobats grab the trapeze and jump from a platform. But as was said above, acrobatics is not only done for the purpose of recreation, but also for competition, as you will read next on sickandmad.com.

Acrobatics in sports is mostly seen in the gymnastic events that prove to be so popular during the Olympic Games. Some of these events are the vault (the gymnast runs down an 82 feet runway, jump onto a springboard and land on their hands into a vaulting table from which they spring off to a two footed landing), the asymmetric bars (the gymnast must complete a routine on two horizontal bars set at different heights), the balance beam (the gymnast performs leaps, somersaults and other acrobatic feats on a 16 ft long, 4 in wide padded beam) and the pommel horse (similar to the balance beam but shorter and wider, and with two handles or pommels).