Aerial silk is the name of a famous acrobatic trick you can see in most circuses around the country, but only a few perform it well. The trick looks deceptively simply because its acrobatic performers are so good at performing it, as they have done night after night for years. This trick can either be performed alone or with other acrobats. Those performing it perform acrobatic movements as they hang from a silk fabric that extends to the ceiling. It is beautiful to see such a daredevil acrobatic movement being performed by a professional.
This is just one of many fun family activities and entertainment to share with your son, daughter, or children of any age that you can find at the circus. After watching a performance, your children may want to join a gymnastics and acrobatic gym to try the aerial silk by themselves. With different types of fabrics available, as long as your child can lift themselves up, just like when using a climbing rope, they can achieve basic movements on the aerial silk as well.
Why Accessible Acrobatics Are Successful in the Circus
There are two types of circus performances that you can see at any performance: those that are relatable to the audience, and those that are not. Teaching a horse a repertoire of tricks and riding them under the Big Top is relatable because your son, daughter, or children of any age can go to a local stable and learn to ride a horse. By contrast, a performer riding the horse by standing on the saddle is not relatable because a child should not attempt such a dangerous trick without years or decades of experience riding horses and being comfortable around them.
Similarly, when children of any age watch acrobatic performs do tricks on the aerial silk, they also feel a connection to the performer and the performance mechanism as well. Most people have either climbed a tree, or the climbing rope in gym class, or have just performed pullups in the gym. Relatable tricks are more memorable to the audience, a reaction that every circus tries to solicit but few achieve.
Most fun family activities and entertainment are pure wish fulfillment, like seeing the newest Marvel movie in theaters. Although that can be an enjoyable family evening out, more relatable activities are more memorable activities, whether you are watching a sports game on television, or simply attending a night out at the circus.
A New Appreciation for Time-Tested Circus Acts
This is why, along with so many other staples of the circus performance, the aerial silk remains a crowd favorite. When an acrobat performs their highly technical repertoire many feet above the ground, it not only amazes the audience, it inspires them. It inspires parents like you to continue taking your children to fun family activities and entertainment.
More importantly, it inspires the children, who dream of becoming professional athletes one day of the limits of human athletic potential, and beyond. After seeing a show, a child might express interest in becoming a horse rider, or wanting to become stronger and build up their upper body for instance. They may want to learn to ride a unicycle or volunteer at an animal shelter. There are so many ways the circus can inspire children to open their minds and create their own reality, and all through the performance of tricks that are relatable to them.
If you want fun family activities and entertainment to share with your son daughter or children of any age, check out the Royal Canadian Circus on our website. We have upcoming performances in Red Deer, Grande Prairie, Fort McMurray, Calgary, Ottawa, Camrose, Drumheller, Edmonton, and Cold Lake.