Tightrope walking
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- Tightrope redirects here.
- For the Clint Eastwood movie, please see Tightrope (film).
- For the Stephanie McIntosh album, please see Tightrope (album).
- For songs with the title Tightrope, please see Tightrope (song).
Tightrope walking is a spectacle activity usually performed for the amusement of an audience. It involves a performer who walks along a thin wire or rope usually from a great height. It is also called funambulism. The "tightrope walker" may sometimes use a pole to aid in balancing while walking the rope. For heightened drama, the walker may perform the feat without the precaution of a safety net. A tightrope walking act is common for circuses.
Sometimes tightrope walking may be performed as a publicity stunt.
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[edit] Styles of tightrope acts
- Tightwire
- Highwire
- Slackwire
- Skywalk
- Freestyle slacklining (a.k.a. “rodeo slacklining") is the art and practice of cultivating balance on a piece of rope or webbing draped slack between two anchor points. Typically about 15 to 30 feet long and a couple feet off the ground in the center, this type of slackline provides a wide array of opportunities for both swinging and static maneuvers. A freestyle slackline has no tension in it, while both traditional slacklines and tightropes are tensioned. This slackness in the rope or webbing allows it to swing at large amplitudes and adds a different dynamic to the ancient art of tightrope walking.
- Funambule (French)
[edit] Biomechanics
An acrobat can balance if her center of mass is directly over her base of support. When the tightrope walker is on the ground with feet side by side, her base of support is wide in the lateral direction but short in the sagittal direction. Therefore her sway is from front to back. On a tightrope the reverse is true and her sway is side to side. In both cases her ankle is the pivot point.
She may use a pole for balance or may stretch out her arms perpendicular to her trunk in the manner of a pole. This technique provides several advantages. It distributes mass away from the pivot point and moves the center of mass out. This reduces angular velocity because her center of mass is now swinging through a longer arc. It takes longer to sweep out the same angle because the center of mass has a longer distance to go. The result is less tipping. In addition the performer can also correct sway by rotating the pole sideways. This will create an equal and opposite torque on her body.
Sometimes the pole is weighted and has a dip at the ends. This provides additional stability by lowering the center of mass.
[edit] Famous tightrope artists
- Blondin, a.k.a. Jean-François Gravelet, who wire-walked across Niagara Falls many times
- Phillippe Petit who walked between the towers of the former World Trade Center in New York City
- Jade Kindar-Martin and Didier Pasquette, highwire walkers, most notable for their world-record setting skywalk over the River Thames in London
- The Flying Wallendas, famous for their seven- and eight-person pyramid wire-walks
- Stephen Peer, circa 1800's Niagara Falls
- The Great Farini, a.k.a. Willie Hunt, who wire walked across Niagara Falls many times
- Jay Cochrane. Highwire walker.
- Elvira Madigan
[edit] External links
- Slackrope Walking (from Simply Circus)
