True or False? It takes longer to learn to juggle three balls than it does to learn to back-flip off a flying trapeze. [Read on for answer]
Now that you know more about the different types of circuses there are, it’s time to learn about just what a circus artist does. As I mentioned in Circus Arts 101, there is currently very little documentation about the circus and its disciplines. However, I will let you know what is generally agreed upon.
In the professional circus arts, there are five main disciplines: Acrobatics, Aerial, Balance, Clowning, and Manipulation. Each of these disciplines is itself a type of umbrella for a number of other skills.
Aerial
First off, let’s look at the aerial arts. The aerial arts consists of acts which take place above the ground. For example, flying trapeze is probably one of the best known circus acts. Performers swing high above the ground and can do a number of impressive tricks while up there. Flying trapeze is one of the numerous aerial arts.
Acts in this discipline:
Flying Trapeze
Static Trapeze
Aerial Silks/Tissue
Aerial Straps
Lyra
Spanish Web
Cloud Swing
And More…
Essentially, any act which takes place in the air is an aerial act. Probably not for you if you fear heights.
Balance
Balance (also called equilibristics) is similar to Aerial in that performers are often above the ground; however, acts in this category primarily require a large amount of balancing ability (hence the name). The best example of this is the tight wire. Performers balance on and walk across a wire which is often suspended high above the ground. Though some often do, not every balancing act occurs high up.
Acts in this discipline:
Tight Wire
Slackline
Rola Bola
Rolling Globe
Stilts
Ladder
Chair
Unicycle
And More…
Though each act requires a different type of balance (using different muscles, limbs, etc), a performer who is good in one area is generally pretty good at all of them. Regardless of what act you are doing, balancing requires a lot of control over one’s body.
Manipulation
Manipulation is what many circus performers call, “the toys.” In this discipline, artists manipulate an object or objects with a tool or their body. The classic example is, of course, juggling. The performer tosses a number of balls (or other objects) into the air in a controlled and rhythmic pattern.
Acts in this discipline:
Juggling
Devil Sticks
Diabolo
Contact Juggling
Poi
Staff
Baton
And More…
Juggling in and of itself has a host of different variations and techniques, which makes manipulation as a discipline quite expansive. It is considered to be the most widely performed of the five since many of the “toys” are cheap and travel well. Manipulation acts can also be added to a number of other disciplines quite easily. For example, balancing on a tight wire leaves your hands free to do some juggling while you’re up there.
Clowning
As I mentioned in the previous lesson, clowning can be drastically different depending on what type of performance it is in. The basic definition is an act which utilizes a level of improvisation, audience interaction, and comedy. The clowns, in a way, are the cheerleaders of the circus. They get the crowd excited and bring them into the show (both figuratively and literally).
Some misconstrue clowning to be a ridiculous, frivolous, or even simple job. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Clowns, depending on the performance, are important for loosening up the audience. Without this interaction, the audience may lose interest or focus. Why do you think clowns are so often dressed in over-the-top, brightly colored outfits? They’re there for you to pay attention to them.
One might think clowning is easy, but these people have not tried it before. It’s easy to be silly, but public speaking alone is the most widely held fear in human beings. How much more difficult would it be to, in addition to your speech in front of an audience, go out and pull a person onto the stage? The answer is “a lot more.” It may also be the reason so many people are afraid of clowns. 
Acrobatics
Acrobatics is probably the most expansive of the circus disciplines. The main reason for this is that it consists of acts which, frankly, can’t fit in any other category. One could think of “acrobatics” as anything that isn’t covered in the four other disciplines. However, this is not necessarily the case. Each acrobatics act requires some amount of strength, skill, and conditioning on the part of the performer. Acrobatics requires a set of physical abilities that comes with a relatively large amount of practice.
Acts in this discipline:
Gymnastics/Tumbling
Contortion
Chinese Pole
Trampoline
Teterboard
German Wheel
Russian Bar
And More…
Acrobatics are ground skills, but some acts do require the artist to fly through the air (ie. teterboard, trampoline, russian bar, etc). The reason these acts are not considered “aerial” is because (1) the performer is not perpetually suspended in the air, (2) the apparatus which springs them into the air is on the ground, and (3) the apparatus does not require overhead rigging. Acrobatics can be blended with an aerial act, but by itself it is a totally different animal.
But Wait! There’s More!
Speaking of animals, you may be thinking of acts that are not accounted for in this list, animal acts being one of them. Though the above five disciplines are the most prominent, they are not the only ones. There are a number of factors which make it difficult to include other categories to the circus arts. One being that some of the arts used in the circus are not exclusive to it. Another being that some acts are too unique to be in a category with anything else.
As I mentioned, circus arts is difficult to pinpoint and there is no agreed upon standard. That being the case, the following are some of the disciplines/acts that are seen in circuses but, for whatever reason, is not cited as one of the primary five.
Other Circus Acts/Disciplines:
Animal Acts
Magic
Martial Arts
Xtreme Sports
Freak Show
Dance
Parkour/Free Running
And Many More…
I like to say that circus people are not picky people. If you have a skill that looks impressive, you can probably perform in a circus. In other words, not every performance you see at a circus is a “Circus Art.” At the same time, Circus Arts are not always exclusive to circuses either. Once you understand that everything about the circus is relative, the better understanding you’ll have of the whole operation.
And that concludes my introductory lesson in the circus arts. I hope you’ve learned something new. You can now consider yourself an informed individual on the acts and practices of the circus. Be sure to return because there is much more to learn. I’m only getting started! 
Related posts:
- Two Things You Need to Learn Circus Arts
- Equilibristics
- You Can Be A Circus Artist!
- Circus Arts 101
- Update: A Busy, But Funfilled Weekend
Tags: Circus
Eric,
We haven’t talked since highschool, but it’s cool to see your passion is in circus arts. My older sister picked up fire hula-hooping while she was studying at NYU (their hoop troup was called the GYRONAUTS). After graduating, she moved to Austin, but she made a lot of friends quickly who have similar interests. I’m filming a documentary about her, so I’ve been following her around for a few years. It’s awesome to see the underground circus-performing scenes all around the country.
Heres a teaser.
what do i do now? – FIVE YEARS teaser 1 from Dimitri Kouri on Vimeo.
Best of luck to you!
Dimitri Kouri
This is really awesome Dimitri, thanks for sharing! I look forward to seeing the video when you are finished.
I’m in the process of making a “Links” page on the site, so once that’s up I’ll add the Gyronauts to the list. They seem pretty awesome.
Thanks again for the comment!