EXPLORE CIRCUS HISTORY
Circus Acts and Performances
From aerialists soaring above the ring to acrobats, equestrians, wire walkers, clowns, and animal performers, circus acts have continually combined extraordinary skill with spectacle and showmanship.
Explore the acts, performers, equipment, and traditions that shaped generations of circus performance.
Explore by Category
Discover the many forms of skill, daring, comedy, and spectacle that filled the circus ring.
Select a highlighted act below to explore its history, performers, and traditions.
Aerial Acts
Above the circus ring, aerialists combined strength, balance, timing, and daring in some of the circus’s most spectacular performances.
Aerial Rings · Cloud Swing · Flying Trapeze · Iron Jaw · Spanish Web
Acrobatics
Combining strength, agility, balance, and precise timing, acrobats performed remarkable feats individually, in pairs, and in groups throughout the circus ring.
Contortion · Hand Balancing · Risley · Teeterboard · Tumbling
Balance & Wire
From the circus ring to heights above the audience, balance and wire artists combined precision, concentration, and daring in performances where every movement mattered.
High Wire · Tightrope · Slack Wire · Perch Acts · Rolling Globe
Equestrian Acts
Horses were at the heart of the early circus, with skilled riders combining horsemanship, acrobatics, speed, and spectacle in performances that helped define the circus ring.
Bareback Riding · Trick Riding · Roman Riding · Jockey Acts · Liberty Horses
Animal Acts
Trainers and their animals created some of the circus’s most memorable spectacles, presenting acts that ranged from displays of training and agility to elaborate group performances.
Elephants · Big Cats · Trained Horses · Dogs & Ponies · Exotic Animal Acts
Clowns & Comedy
Clowns brought comedy, character, satire, and carefully crafted chaos to the circus, entertaining audiences between—and often alongside—the ring’s featured attractions.
Clown Entrées · Walkarounds · Producing Clowns · Musical Clowns · Comedy Acts
The following is a selected bibliography of books and articles related to circus acts and performances.
Acts and Performance
Ballantine, Bill. Horses & Their Bosses, Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1964.
Brunsdale, Maureen and Mark Schmitt. The Bloomington – Normal Circus Legacy: The Golden Age of Aerialists. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2013.
Burgess, Hovey. Circus Techniques. New York: Drama Book Specialist, 1976.
Coxe, Antony Hippisley. A Seat at the Circus. Hamden, CT: Archon Books, 1980. An update of the original 1951 publication.
Gossard, Steve. A Reckless Era of Aerial Performance; The Evolution of Trapeze. Author, 1994.
Pfening, Fred D., Jr. “Human Cannonballs.” 2 parts. Bandwagon, Vol. 20, No. 6, 1976, pt. 1, pp. 4 – 15.
Bandwagon, Vol. 22, No. 6, 1978, pt. 2, pp. 4 – 14.
Spec
Thayer, Stuart. The Performers. Seattle, WA: Dauven & Thayer, 2005. History of the best-known circus acts. When they started, who performed them, what they looked like.
Thayer, Stuart. “Jackley Drops.” Bandwagon, Vol. 46, No. 1, 2002, pp. 20 – 22.
Clown History
Ballantine, Bill. Clown Alley. Boston and Toronto: Little, Brown, 1982.
Bratton, Jacky and Ann Featherstone. The Victorian Clown. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
Huey, Rodney A. “Social Construction of the American Clown: Production of Clowning in the United States from 19668 to 1997.” Dissertation. George Mason University, 2005.
Johnson, Bruce – Charlie the Juggling Clown. Clown History.
LeBank, Ezra and David Bridel. Clowns: In Conversation with Modern Masters. London and New York: Routledge, 2015.
Speaight, George. The Book of Clowns. New York: Macmillan, 1980.