Reference
A Circus Glossary — Apparatus and Technique Terms Explained Plainly
The vocabulary a first timetable assumes you already have.
Circus timetables are written for people who already train, which makes them close to unreadable for anyone who does not. A beginner scanning one meets corde lisse, lyra, rola bola and siteswap in a single line, with nothing at all to indicate which are apparatus, which are techniques and which are notation.
This glossary defines those terms plainly and groups them by family, so that a timetable becomes readable before you have to ask anyone in person. Each definition describes what the thing actually is and, where it genuinely helps a newcomer, what it will demand of them physically, so a beginner can decode a timetable without having to ask.
Aerial
- Aerial hoopA suspended steel ring, also called a lyra. Worked from inside, outside and hanging beneath, and generally kinder to the hands than fabric.
- Aerial silksTwo lengths of suspended fabric, climbed, wrapped around the body and used for controlled descents. Also called tissu.
- StrapsTwo hanging fabric or leather straps taken on the wrists. The most shoulder-intensive aerial apparatus and typically the last one taught.
- Static trapezeA fixed horizontal bar on two ropes, worked without swinging. Distinct from flying trapeze, which needs a catcher and a net.
- Corde lisseA single suspended rope, climbed and wrapped much like silks but with a firmer and less forgiving surface.
- InvertTurning upside down on apparatus under control, usually from a hanging position. The first substantial milestone in most aerial curricula.
- FootlockA wrap that secures the foot in the fabric so the arms can rest. The technique that makes longer aerial sequences possible.
- DropA controlled fall on aerial apparatus, stopped by a pre-set wrap. Looks like the simplest element and is among the most dangerous.
Manipulation
- CascadeThe fundamental three-object juggling pattern, thrown alternately from hand to hand in a figure-of-eight.
- SiteswapA numeric notation describing juggling patterns by throw height and timing. The standard way jugglers write down and share sequences.
- Club passingTwo or more jugglers exchanging clubs in a shared pattern. A social discipline in its own right rather than a solo extension.
- DiaboloAn hourglass spool spun on a string between two handsticks, thrown, caught and wound into tricks.
- IsolationHolding an object apparently still in space while the body moves around it. Central to contemporary hoop and cyr wheel work.
- Contact jugglingRolling and manipulating a ball across the hands, arms and body without throwing it.
Balance
- Cyr wheelA single large metal ring the performer stands inside, rolling and spinning it with the body.
- German wheelA pair of large linked hoops the performer moves inside, rolling in straight lines and spirals.
- TightwireA slack-tensioned wire walked at low height. Distinct from the highwire, which is tensioned hard and rigged high.
- Rola bolaA board balanced on a cylinder, the standard entry apparatus for equilibristics.
- HandbalancingHolding and moving through inverted positions on the hands, with or without canes. Slow to acquire and highly transferable.
- IdlingRocking a unicycle back and forth on the spot to hold position without travelling. The step after riding in a straight line.
Acrobatics
- Base and flyerThe two roles in partner acrobatics: the base supports and drives, the flyer is lifted and shaped.
- TeeterboardA seesaw-like launching apparatus that throws one acrobat into the air as another lands on the far end.
- AdagioSlow, strength-based partner acrobatics built on controlled lifts and balances rather than momentum.
Technical
- RiggingThe structure and hardware that suspends aerial apparatus. Inspected before every session and the reason aerial cannot be self-taught.
- Crash matThick matting placed under apparatus. Its presence and thickness is a reasonable first indicator of how seriously a venue takes safety.
- SpottingA coach physically supporting or guarding a student through a movement, standard practice while a skill is still unreliable.
Venue
- ChapiteauThe traditional big top: a tent pitched for a season and struck for travel, still the defining venue of touring circus.
Practice
- Open trainingSupervised access to rigged apparatus without instruction. Valuable for rehearsing known material, unsuitable for beginners.
- Social circusCircus skills used for participation, confidence and inclusion rather than performance training.
- DevisingBuilding a show collaboratively in the rehearsal room rather than staging a pre-written script. The usual method in contemporary circus.
The families at a glance
Grouping the vocabulary this way makes a published timetable readable far faster than working through the definitions in alphabetical order. The families below are the ones a school will actually organise its classes around, and knowing which is which tells you in advance what any given session is going to demand.
| Family | Typical terms | Rigging | Learn alone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aerial | silks, lyra, straps, static trapeze, corde lisse | Required | No |
| Manipulation | cascade, siteswap, diabolo, isolation, contact juggling | None | Yes |
| Balance | cyr wheel, tightwire, rola bola, handbalancing, idling | None | Mostly |
| Acrobatics | base and flyer, teeterboard, adagio | Matting | No |
| Technical | rigging, crash mat, spotting | — | — |
Using the vocabulary
Two distinctions do most of the useful work when reading a circus timetable for the first time. The first is apparatus versus technique: silks and lyra are objects you hang from, while inverting and footlocking are the separate things you learn to do while you are up there on them.
The second distinction is aerial versus everything else, and it has real practical consequences. Aerial disciplines need rigging, matting and supervision to be attempted at all; manipulation and balance disciplines need almost nothing, and can be practised at home, which is the difference that matters most to absolute complete beginners.
Next stepThe skills guides take four of these disciplines further, and the directory lists who teaches them.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between aerial silks and a lyra?
Silks are two lengths of soft fabric that have to be wrapped around the body to hold you; a lyra is a rigid steel hoop you can simply sit inside. Silks demand considerably more grip endurance from a beginner, while the hoop is generally a good deal kinder on the hands.
What does siteswap mean in juggling?
It is a numeric notation that describes a juggling pattern by recording how high and at what moment each object is thrown. It allows jugglers to write a sequence down precisely and share it with someone on the other side of the world without ever once demonstrating it in person.
Is a tightwire the same as a highwire?
No, and the two are not interchangeable. A tightwire is rigged low and left deliberately slack enough to move underfoot as you walk it; a highwire is tensioned hard and rigged high above the ground. The techniques involved and the risk profiles are quite different, and conflating them is the single most common error in casual writing about circus apparatus.