Aerial acts

The flying trapeze act was invented by Jules Léotard, a French gymnast at the Cirque Napoléon in Paris in 1859 but acrobats and tumblers had performed tricks on a slack rope at 18th century fairs. Léotard’s act was called La Course aux Trapèze and consisted of two separate trapezes which he would set swinging, then jump from one trapeze to the other.

  • Signor Ferzi, 177

    Signor Ferzi, 1771, black and white print

    Signor Ferzi and his son and daughter could regularly be seen at Sadler's Wells Pleasure Gardens in Islington. His daughter performed with him from the age of three and was soon joined by her two year old brother. This caused some criticism from those who considered the children's performance a despicable exploitation 'to gratify the avarice of unnatural parents'. The Ferzi (or Farcis as they were also billed) also appeared in pantomimes, masques and dances at the Wells.

  • The Famous Polander, 1766

    The Famous Polander, 1766, printed newspaper cutting

    'The Famous Polander' was also billed as 'The Famous Balance Master' since his act consisted of balancing a pole in as many as 24 different ways. His career spanned the 1780s and 1790s and Polander performed his feats to great acclaim at Sadler's Wells in a run of performances in 1785. Polander used a pole or poles with which to do various balancing feats and the act was so popular that the Tiller Clowes' marionette troupe included a 'Famous Polander'. The Museum has a marionette of Polander as part of its collection.

  • Soeders and Chalis, 1948

    Soeders and Chalis, 1948, black and white photograph

    Soeders and Chalis revived a teeth-spinning routine as part of their bar-to-catcher act, where the acrobat jumps from his own bar and is caught by the partner swinging on his own trapeze. Aerial acts in Bertram Mills' circus were usually conducted without nets, since Mills believed that if they were performed properly they were not dangerous. Occasionally, a hand-held net was used. Then, eight to ten men from the circus emerged in the darkness to a drum roll, unseen by the audience, to hold the net during a particularly dangerous part of the act. Many performers are proud not to use a net, which they see as a kind of cheating. There are practical reasons for this reluctance too, as some performers have been killed or injured from a bad landing in a net.

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