The Russian Bar (or Russian Barre) is a circus act which combines the gymnastic skills of the balance beam, the rebound tempo skills of trampoline and the swing handstands skills of the uneven bars and the parallel bars. The bar (or barre) itself is a flexible vaulting pole around 4 meters long, typically made of fiberglass.

Technique

Two porters ("bottom people"), one at each end of the Russian Bar, control the bar and the movements of the "flyer" ("top mounter"), guiding him or her into tempo swings and transitional aerial moves. The flyer will prepare for the bar's catapult when the porters give a "ready" signal. With the advancement of highly intricate acrobatic-aerial techniques, two to three poles can be secured together, allowing for a higher lift, resulting in more airtime. At the present heights, aerial skills such as triple, "fliphess" (double twisting doubles{fact}) and "trephisis" (triple twisting double{fact}) somersaults are possible.

The Russian Bar act requires highly skilled acrobats, tumblers, trampolinist and/or sports acrobats. To perform, they must collaborate on many levels; the act requires not only physical skill, but psychological and communicative as well.

The act is "portable" in regard to the apparatus itself, although the height of the performance space is site specific.

External links

• A Russian Bar performance at the "Monte Carlo Circus Festival".