On our incredible International Circus Tour last January (WAY more to come on that) we saw a wonderful artist perform on the Sway Pole. His music and costume were charming. His act, entrancing and scary. Most definitely entertaining. As with everything these days, the video is on Youtube:
Julot Cousins - Budapest Cirkusz Fesztival 2020
In a Sway Pole act, the performer is perched atop a huge bendable tube high in the air. Performing stunts, acrobatics or gymnastic moves. Bending and swaying. Bowing. Balancing. Defying gravity.
All the while, the audience prays the pole does not snap.
I would say that is a good 80 feet off the ground.
How would you get to the top? Would you prefer a ladder? Or hand climb up the crazy tall pole? Check out the Nerveless Nocks climb to the top of the pole in this video! The climb alone! (begins about 41 seconds in)
If the act itself isn't nail biting enough, numerous performers end their shows with an upside down human free fall plunge to the ground below. Yikes.
FYI for my WI friends, The Nerveless Knocks performed at The Tommy Bartlett Show in the Wisconsin Dells.
Extreme strength
Flexibility
In some acts with multiple sway poles, the performers actually exchange sway poles mid air! As you can see in this Nerveless Nocks video!
Glad there was a roof on the building in Budapest. I would have had a heart attack if watching Sway Poles the height of those in the video.
