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Aerial(ism) is the art of suspended movement, generated by aerialists working with equipment such as trapezes, ropes and harnesses. It is frequently but not exclusively associated with the circus and throughout its history has been dominated by non-disabled performers. Increasing numbers of disabled artists are however, now engaging with aerial.
This thesis therefore examines how ‘disabled aerialists’ are challenging aesthetic and methodological aerial practices in the twenty-first century.

As a professional aerialist working extensively with disabled performers, the research draws on my practice and direct correspondence with other disabled and non-disabled practitioners. It features two case studies in which I was aerial choreographer and trainer : Hang-ups!, a short film featuring Sophie Partridge who performs in a fabric cocoon and the Paralympic Opening Ceremony of London 2012 which included more than twenty ‘disabled aerialists’ using diverse aerial equipment. Historical and cultural perspectives of aerial are drawn from the few academic experts in the field, notably Paul Bouissac, Steve Gossard and Peta Tait; disability perspectives are guided by a wealth of theorists including Erving Goffman, P. David Howe, Tom Shakespeare and Rosemarie Garland Thomson.

The research shows how aerial has been connected to disability and/or impairment throughout its history. It provides evidence that ‘disabled aerialists’ existed in the past but have been forgotten, despite at least one unipedal aerialist contributing significantly to what Tait calls the ‘living history’ of the form. It demonstrates how twenty-first century ‘disabled aerialists’ offer significant opportunities to alter the form’s increasing aesthetic of conformity, but that challenges continue to exist in both how this can be done, and how the work might be understood. [author summary]

Acrobatic acts have attracted audiences for centuries. Despite a history of injury and death, performers remain driven to push physical boundaries and audiences remain eager to witness risky feats. This thesis introduces the concept of risk as a performative construct, and draws on reception theory to consider the use of physical risk in performance. It follows the development of aerialism in the circus from nineteenth-century England to twentieth-century America, and examines the ways in which a growing investment with risk management has shaped contemporary circus acts. It interrogates the perception of risk, and the limits of its appeal. It then explores how acrobatics have been used in the theatre as a mode of dramatic expression. Ultimately, it argues that physical risk-taking in performance holds the potential to deeply connect performers and spectators in a shared sensation of success, evoking a communal sense of possibility in the face of perceived limitation. [author summary]

This mini-thesis investigates some of the nineteenth century socio-cultural ideals that have structured a connection between virtuosic aerial skill and bodily aesthetics. It views the emergence of a style of aerial kineticism that is structured from the gender ideologies of the period. It investigates the continual recurrence of this nineteenth century style amongst contemporary aerial dance works and outlines the possible frictions between this Victorian style of kineticism and contemporary aerial explorations. From this observation, a possible catalyst may be observed with which to relocate and inspire a study of aerial kinetics sans the nineteenth century aesthetic component. This kinesiological catalyst may be viewed in conjunction with the theories of ground-based kinetic theorist, Rudolph Laban’s choreutic study of the body in space. Thus, it may be possible to suggest and introduce a possible practical dance scholarship for aerial dance. This mini-thesis includes an introductory choreological investigation that draws on and integrates the disciplines of kinesiology; choreutic theory; existing aerial kinetic technique; musicology; and the physical sciences.[author summary]

This studio-based research project explores ideas of gender performance through the digital manipulation of aerial acrobatics, resulting in a series of video works and installations. This paper explains the processes, artworks and conceptual developments of this project. Dubiously Wholesome’s focus on gender performance began as an interrogation of what it means to identify as female in contemporary society and how manifestations of gender are used to create an identity that interacts with the complexities of everyday life. An investigation into Judith Butler’s ideas of gender as a social performance instigated the project’s conceptual framework. This resulted in artworks that explore gender scripted from social repetition and then performed by the individual, whereupon the repetition works to validate gender signifiers and “instate” sex as naturalistic. The integration of aerial acrobatics into the project’s studio practice acted as both an aesthetic tool and a research methodology where my experience as a professional aerial performer informed my conceptual framework. The images created through this digital manipulation of aerial acrobatics were interspersed with fairytale imagery from Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel, drawing from the tales’ positions as social commentator and manipulator to subvert accepted views on gender roles. In my work, I used the idea of gender as performative and interpreted it, not through a text-based idea of script, but through an analogy of aerial performance. In this analogy, the red fabric I am suspended from came to represent the gender signifiers through which the body is bound by social constructions. The manipulation of the fabric around the body suggests the performativity of gender and that, like an aerial performance, gender is learned, rehearsed and performed. [author summary]

Cet article vise à mettre en question la catégorisation binaire des dispositions genrées selon une partition « masculin-féminin ». Il prend appui sur l’observation des socialisations corporelles « en train de se faire » des femmes spécialisées dans les pratiques aériennes à l’intérieur du cirque contemporain. Il montre que ces artistes incorporent des dispositions à la « prise de risque corporel » qui sont atypiques chez les femmes. Pourtant, les pratiques aériennes sont des bastions de féminité et les voltigeuses et trapézistes ne connaissent pas de socialisations « inversées » en termes de genre. Le texte proposé met ainsi en question le genre comme diviseur et force structurante de la perception.

Aerial circus and aerial dance are two styles of aerial performance that use a variety of suspended objects move the human body into a vertical performance space. Aerial dance and aerial circus arise from separate lineages with distinct aesthetic values. This paper will begin by identifying the individual aesthetics and historical roots of both aerial dance and aerial circus, and articulating points of natural conflation. Blurring between aerial circus and aerial dance is perhaps reflective of a similar, global blurring across numerous performance genre. The final portion of this paper will discuss specific examples of this aesthetic blurring between aerial circus and aerial dance. This type of analysis affords greater insight into the diverse influences potentially present in any aerial performance. [editor summary]

Among the different Circus performances, the aerial circus modality deserves a special attention. Despite of the artists recognition and prestige given to this practice, there are just a few studious of the circus art who investigate this modality nowadays, very different reality compared to other circus modality such as juggling and acrobatics. The teaching-and-learning process of the aerial modalities is still given by the oral transmission and is determinate by the empiric experience of its artists and teachers. Trying to contribute to the creation of a circus teaching pedagogy we have initiated a theory studies on circus aerial, presenting in this article a brief introduction of the modalities and its variation (hope, bamboo, aerial ring, flying rings, ladder, aerial cradle, aerial elastic, bungees). We hope to minimize the conceptual dispersion and the difficult found on the development of a standard terminology in this field. [editor summary]

No interior dos espetáculos de Circo as modalidades aéreas são merecedoras de grande destaque. Apesar do reconhe cimento e do prestígio que este tipo de prática possui entre os artistas, poucos são os estudiosos da arte circense que pesquisam com rigor neste campo, ao contrário do que ocorre com os malabares e as acrobacias. O processo de ensino-aprendizagem dos aéreos é ainda em grande parte fruto da transmissão oral (oralidade) e determinado pela experiência empírica que possuem
artistas e mestres deste universo. Buscando contribuir com a formulação futura de uma pedagogia das atividades circenses iniciamos um estudo teórico dos aéreos circenses expondo neste artigo uma breve apresentação das diferentes modalidades e suas variações (corda, bambu, lira, argola, faixa, escada, uadrante, anéis volantes, elásticos). Esperamos com isso, minimizar a dispersão conceitual e as dificuldades do desenvolvimento de uma terminologia estandar neste campo. [resumo del autor]