Requirements

Equilibristic skills clearly require a lot of balance, but they can also call for a number of other skills as well.  Depending on what act you are performing, you may also need a significant amount of strength, endurance, flexibility, body control, spacial awareness, and/or a quick reaction speed.  You must also not be afraid to fall because, frankly, it happens.

In the Circus

Circus acts which fall into the equilibristics discipline include, but are not limited to: stilt walking, rola-bola, tight wire, slackline, rolling globe, and unicycle.  There is, however, some debate as to what exactly falls within this category and what does not.

Balancing on a stacked rola-bola

Some consider a skill like circus bicycle to be a balancing act, while others consider it acrobatics.  Truthfully, the skill does require techniques from both disciplines; although, I consider it to be equilibristics since it requires more balance than it does strength and physical conditioning (especially when other acrobats are balancing on top of the bike).

Another skill that I believe belongs in this category is hand-balancing.  It has “balancing” in its name, after all!  Although, this is another skill that some place in the acrobatics category.  This distinction actually makes sense to me since hand balancing (as well as chair balancing) requires a whole lot of strength and a whole lot of conditioning.  It also utilizes the hands and arms as primary balancing points when most other equilibristics use the feet.  It is another legitimately gray area.

One area that does not strike me as gray, however, is the placement of acts like juggling, plate spinning, or devil sticks in the equilibristics discipline.  Some make the argument that these skills are “balancing” skills.  It is true that acts like these do require some degree of balance; however, these clearly belong in the “manipulation” discipline.  They are all acts which involve the use and manipulation of props or toys.  Equilibristics, for the most part, refers to the balancing of one’s body and not other objects.  Yes, devil sticks and plate spinning require balance, but the manipulation discipline almost specifically refers to these types of acts.  That is, naturally, just my opinion.

Outside of the Circus

Balance is a skill that is required for a number of different physical feats (including walking), so it is hard to say just what would fit exclusively into the equilibristics category.  Though balance is usually thought to be a slow, controlled activity, it can also be fast moving.  That’s why I would include skills such as surfing, skiing, snowboarding, and even roller-skating in the equilibristics discipline.  I could also include slackline here, since it is technically not a circus art.  Largely it depends on what types of skills and tricks you are performing since a lot of these could also fit nicely into the acrobatics discipline as well.

Challenges

I consider equilibristics to be my primary discipline because I find it the easiest, I find it fun, and I can do almost anything the discipline has to offer.  That’s just me.  I personally find equilibristics easy because I have always had a naturally good sense of balance.  When other kids were falling on their faces after being strapped into rollerblades for the first time, I was able to stand, walk, and roll around in them right away without a problem.  This has been an enormous help when I began to learn slackline, rola-bola, and rolling globe.

Posing on slackline

If you weren’t born with a keen sense of balance; however, you are not a lost cause.  Everyone learns at their own pace according to their unique skills and talents.  The problem most people have when learning a new balancing skill is form: people either struggle to get into the proper position for the particular skill, or they have trouble determining what the proper positioning would be.  Equilibristics tend to alter one’s center of gravity or force the person to keep it steady and under control.  This is not something people normally have to worry about unless they spend a lot of time at sea, engage in motion-based activities (skateboarding, rollerblading, skiing, etc), or they have injured a foot or leg.

One thing a lot of people tend to do is fear messing up.  As I mentioned earlier, in order to perform a balancing act well, you can’t be worried about falling.  You have to trust your body’s natural sense of equilibrium.  When you are afraid, you tend to think too much about your form, or about what would happen if you mess up, or about hurting yourself.  This in and of itself can cause your to wipe out, but these thoughts also cause stress, which causes tension in your muscles.  And when your muscles are tense, you can’t react quickly to a sudden change in your center of gravity.  The best thing to do is take a deep breath and trust yourself.

Most people are familiar with the five senses: sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing.  However, many do not know or recognize that these are not the only senses humans have.  In fact, many scientists make the argument that humans have at least five more.  One of them is the sense of balance (or as the scientists call it: Equilibrioception).  This fundamental sense is what keeps us from falling on our faces when we walk or stand up.  Another sense, Proprioception, allows us to recognize where each part of our body is without the use of the other senses (ie. the ability to touch your toes or your nose with your eyes closed).  This sense is important for spacial awareness and can also help with equilibristics.

But if you are high up, on top of another object(s), or upside-down for example, these senses become slightly disorientated.  Therefore, it can take a while for your body to recognize these changes and adapt to them.  However, if there is anything your body is great at doing, it’s adapting.  That’s why the main trick to learning a new balancing act is simply repetition.  Just like with learning how to walk for the first time, your body needs to develop a sense of comfort.  And once it does, it’s generally stored in your muscle memory.  That’s why riding a bike is so easy to pick up even after years away from one.

Benefits

Boy riding unicycle

One of the main benefits to learning proper balancing technique is that you become more confident on uneven surfaces.  A lot of the basic building blocks of equilibristics can be applied to just about any situation that requires balance.  So once you teach yourself how to balance on one apparatus, it will help when learning another.

This also extends outside of the circus arts, so you can impress your friends with your great sea legs, or when you try surfing for the first time.  One benefit I’ve noticed is that, after learning some balancing tricks, I always catch myself when I trip.  I’ve never had to worry about slipping on ice and falling on my butt.  That doesn’t mean mastering tight wire will guarantee you won’t have to grab the pole in the subway anymore, but you’ll certainly find it’s more difficult for you to be knocked off your feet.

Balance skills can help you with other circus acts as well.  It may even lessen a fear of heights.

Concluding Remarks

Whether you want to walk the high wire, several feet above the ground, or ride a unicycle around the town, equilibristics is a great skill set to develop.  Not only is it useful in the circus arts, but it can help you with more practical functions as well (that is, if you’re not a circus artist yourself).

Do be careful when attempting a new skill.  I highly discourage jumping straight to the high wire.  Try something smaller first, and lower to the ground.  You can try this at home, but only if you take the proper precautions: give yourself sufficient amount of space, use padding and/or mats, and have a friend with you.  Preferably one with equilibristics training (or an EMT).

In general, be safe, but most of all, have fun!

This article is part of the “Better Know Your Disciplines” Series.  Supplement to Circus Arts 102.