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Circus Performer
Entertains audiences with acrobatics, juggling, tightrope walking, and other spectacular skills.
Did you know?
Cirque du Soleil was founded in Quebec in 1984 by Guy Laliberte and Gilles Ste-Croix, who started out in a troupe of stilt-walking street performers.
How subjects help
- Physical Education: Build the strength and flexibility to hold handstands and flips night after night.
- Dance: Link tricks together with graceful moves so an act flows like a story.
- Drama: Play a character in the ring and hold the audience's attention between big stunts.
- Physics: Use balance and momentum to stay steady on a tightrope or catch a partner in mid air.
A famous name
Jules Léotard: French acrobat who performed the first flying trapeze act in Paris in 1859; the leotard is named after him.
Try it yourself: Tell one story three ways
- Pick a tiny story, like "I lost my shoe and found it in the fridge".
- Tell it as if it is the funniest thing ever.
- Now tell it as a spooky mystery, then as big breaking news.
- Which version got the biggest reaction? What did you change: your voice, face, speed or pauses?
Actors, comedians and presenters shape the same words with voice, timing and expression.
Also try: Direct a frozen stage picture.
Known for it in
Canada, France, China, Australia, Russia