Circus Immersion - Two Ropes, an Iron Bar, and Many Variations-Pro Exclusive

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Circus Immersion – Two Ropes, an Iron Bar, and Many Variations-Pro Exclusive

There’s the red nose, the lion’s mane, the fan used to cross a high wire, a bagful of popcorn. Those are the first images that come to mind when people think of the circus. Those, as well as an iron bar and two ropes hanging from the cupola. A minority of the world’s population earns a living flying through the air but each of us can relate to the joy and freedom it brings to an aerialist. We’ve all tried getting as high as we could on the playground’s swing. No one ever achieved a double twist or a salto mortale above the sandbox, but the excitement of reaching that highest point and floating in mid-air has gone through everyone’s spine. The swing being as universal an image as the trapeze might explain this act being a crowd-pleaser for decades. Initially developed under its flying form by French acrobat Jules Léotard in the 1800s, the apparatus has gone through several alterations over the years. No other discipline bears as many names as this one: static, swinging, flying, dance, triple, Washington…to name a few!
Stephanie Gasparoli on trapeze While many trapeze artists have made jumping from bar to bar a full-time career, one redefined what that meant by linking both bars and standing tall between them. Stephanie Gasparoli co-created the “Duplex” with her coach and riggers at Montreal’s National Circus School (ENC) in the 90s. “I was drawn to the trapeze the moment I set eyes on it in my hometown’s youth circus. I had the best of times up there, but also felt the need to explore new avenues, be different. This solid structure has allowed me to develop a vocabulary of vertical tricks, to go up and down rather than sticking to...
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Martin Frenette

Impassioned by performing arts, Martin Frenette started intensive dance training at a very young age before trading pliés and barres for ropes and somersaults at Montreal National Circus School. He has spent a decade performing in several shows in Europe, such as Circus Monti, Chamäleon Theater, Wintergarten Varieté, Cirque Bouffon, GOP Show Concepts or the Max Entertainment Palace, to name a few. Writing has always been one of Martin's passions and he's thrilled to join Circus Talk's team to share his views on shows, the stage and what's going on behind the scenes with other performing arts enthusiasts!