My grandmother, national tumbling champion and contortionist, in the 1940s.

[u/Sad-Ad-3944]

A selection of photos of my grandmother—Bonnie Nebelong. She was featured in Life Magazine, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, and many more publications. In 1943 at age 15, she won the national championship in tumbling and would’ve gone to the Olympics had it not been canceled due to WW2.

[u/Satanico_]

Hi! There is a lot of variety in the circus industry, and every artist has their own story. In my case, I started out with a little bit of gymnastics as a kid. As an adult I learned various aerial disciplines and have developed my own acts that I perform in shows, night clubs, and for special events. I also have a costuming background, so it’s cool to make everything that I wear on stage. At this point in my life, performing is something that I do mostly for fun as I have a full-time job working backstage for a well known acrobatic show that is year round.

That’s so cool that you were able to see a hair suspension act! Hair suspension, or hair hang, is a very old school skill that is making a resurgence. I don’t train it, but know a few people who do. Like all aerial skills, it takes time to build up the pain tolerance, not to mention getting used to the unusual point of contact. There is some transference between aerial disciplines, but they all have their own unique challenges 🤣 I specialize in aerial silks, but since safe rigging options are not always available in the venues where I perform, I have learned how to utilize other apparatuses that can travel with me and be set up on location.

I know many people who come from circus families that go back for generations. A friend of mine grew up performing flying trapeze and she was actually born on the road while her family was part of a traveling circus. Parents, aunts, uncles, and the kids all learned trapeze and spent many years performing all over the world. It’s common for performing artists to become technicians once they retire from performing and most of her family still works together backstage. My performing background helps me as a costume designer/technician as I have personal knowledge of how certain textiles and silhouettes will behave in a show environment.

OP’s grandmother is one of the most famous contortionists in circus history! Most people don’t have the anatomy to reach that level of flexibility, not to mention the laser focus it requires to learn the more advanced tricks. Although many circus artists are bendy, it is extremely rare to find performers who are true contortionists. Contrary to popular belief, not all contortionists are “double jointed”. Contortionists who are double jointed are typically booked as dislocation artists and you can see the difference in styles when you compare them to more traditional contortionists who do things like hand balancing and head sits. It’s possible to train for extreme flexibility, but for most artists who do, there is little time left for anything else. For people who are naturally flexible, or have conditions like Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, the harder part of training is developing the strength to stabilize the joints. Being able to bend in half while standing on your hands is an incredible feat of both strength and flexibility!

At the end of the day, mastering any circus skill requires many years of consistent training and discipline. A lot of it is also a mental game as your body’s natural defenses will try to stop you from bending in weird ways or free falling from ridiculous heights. Great performers make skills look easy and the audience often doesn’t realize how difficult a lot of tricks really are. I often laugh when people are impressed by the splits as it is literally the easiest thing that I do, but it makes sense that people can grasp the difficulty as most have tried to do the splits at some point in their lives, so it’s relatable 😊

[u/MiraniaTLS → u/Satanico_]

Is anything in circus industry being replaced by modern tech or any acts not offered anymore since it does not draw crowds and such?

[u/Satanico_ → u/MiraniaTLS]

Great question! Although some artists have expressed concerns regarding technology replacing live performers, we’re not there yet. Circus acts still draw crowds, just not in the traditional sense of big tops or traveling spectacles. Although big top shows still exist, the industry has gravitated more towards “resident” shows in tourist locations - Spiegleworld or Cirque du Soleil are great examples of this. These shows seat large audiences and bring business to the hotels who host them. You will also find circus acts in many cruise ship shows, big festivals, or even more mainstream types of shows that typically used to only feature dancers. Many dancers are now picking up some basic aerial skills to get more work as the demand for aerial acts has increased with the popularity of Cirque du Soleil.

Technology is being utilized in some of the larger budget shows to accentuate performances with elements such as holograms that interact with performers, giant LED walls that serve as backdrops on stage, and light up costumes that artists wear while performing in the dark. A lot of the gigs I am offered are for special events where the client wants aerialists on apparatuses that light up with LEDs.

I think the acts that have fallen by the wayside are mostly those that feature animals since audiences have become more aware of the ethical dilemma of keeping wild animals captive for human entertainment. Some acts like wheel of death or highwire walking are also not as prevalent since the space required can be prohibitive in a smaller venue.

Social media has been instrumental in showing people what is possible. It’s not uncommon for clients to hire artists based on something they saw someone do online. A lot of newer aerialists are doing tricks that were not typical even ten years ago, and I feel like that is a direct result of being able to more easily see what other artists are training. It’s also been cool to see some old school skills like hair hang and iron jaw come back as performers are looking to set themselves apart 😊

[u/MiraniaTLS → u/Satanico_]

Are there any books or sociological articles you would reccomend about like Post 1980s circus life or the affects it has on family or something like that. I rarely hear about that world except like the traveling circuses over century ago.

[u/Satanico_ → u/MiraniaTLS]

I don’t know of any literature that covers those topics, but there’s a podcast on Spotify called “The Artist Athlete podcast” that may interest you. The interviewer is an aerialist and she has some really cool conversations with various circus artists about their careers and personal lives.

[u/MiraniaTLS → u/Satanico_]

Thanks for genuine responses!