Rope-dancing is the general art and act of performing on or with a

rope A rope is a group of yarns, Plying, plies, fibres, or strands that are plying, twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have high tensile strength and can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger ...

. There are a variety of forms and techniques which have been used throughout history. These include: *

Chinese jump rope Chinese jump rope (), also known as Chinese ropes, jumpsies,Block, John and Block, Tina (2013). ''It's a Hop, Skip, and Jump for Fitness and for Fun!'', p.27. WestBow Press. . elastics (British English: Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain), ...

– in which a circular rope is used to make patterns in a technique which resembles

hopscotch Hopscotch is a playground game in which players toss a small object, called a lagger, into numbered triangles or a pattern of rectangles outlined on the ground and then hop or jump through the spaces and retrieve the object. It is a children's ...

and the

cat's cradle ''Cat's Cradle'' is a satirical postmodern novel, with science fiction elements, by American writer Kurt Vonnegut. Vonnegut's fourth novel, it was first published on March 18, 1963, exploring and satirizing issues of science, technology, the p ...

* Rope-sliding – in which the performer slides down a tight rope or cable somewhat like a modern

zip line A zip-line, zip line, zip-wire, flying fox, or death slide''Who Really Benefits from Tourism'', Publ. Equations, Karnataka, India, 2010. Working Papers Series. "Canopy Tourism"page 37/ref>Jacques Marais, Lisa De Speville, ''Adventure Racing'', ...

Skipping Skipping may refer to: * Skipping (gait), a rhythmic form of locomotion combining stepping and hopping * A game or form of exercise using a skipping rope * Exon skipping, in molecular biology * Stone skipping, throwing a stone so that it bounces ...

– in which the performer repeatedly jumps over a swinging rope *

Slackwire Slackwire (or slack wire) is an acrobatic circus act that involves the balancing skills of moving along a flexible, thin wire suspended in the air, connected to two anchor points. Slackwire is not to be confused with slacklining. Description an ...

– in which the rope or wire is slack and so a swinging technique is needed *

Tightrope walking Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope ...

– in which the rope or wire is tight and a balancing technique is used

History

Rope-dancers were famous among ancient Greeks and Romans. The Greeks called a rope-dancer/rope-walker as schoenobates (σχοινοβάτης) and kalobates (καλοβάτης) and the Romans, funambulus. In

Herculaneum Herculaneum is an ancient Rome, ancient Roman town located in the modern-day ''comune'' of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under a massive pyroclastic flow in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Like the nearby city of ...

there are a series of paintings representing rope-dancing.

Germanicus Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was a Roman people, Roman general and politician most famously known for his campaigns against Arminius in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicu ...

and the emperor

Galba Galba ( ; born Servius Sulpicius Galba; 24 December 3 BC – 15 January AD 69) was Roman emperor, ruling for 7 months from 8 June AD 68 to 15 January 69. He was the first emperor in the Year of the Four Emperors and assumed the throne follow ...

even attempted to exhibit elephants walking on the rope.A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, John Murray, London, 1875, Funambulus
/ref> In 165 BC, the first production of

Terence Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a playwright during the Roman Republic. He was the author of six Roman comedy, comedies based on Greek comedy, Greek originals by Menander or Apollodorus of Carystus. A ...

's play ''

Hecyra ''Hecyra'' (''The Mother-in-Law'') is a comedic Latin play by the early Roman playwright Terence. The story concerns a young man, Pamphilus, who has a girlfriend, the courtesan Bacchis, but is forced by his father to marry a neighbour's daughte ...

'' failed due to the rival attraction of rope-dancing, as recounted by the prologue.

References

Circus skills Performing arts Ropes {{theatre-stub

History

See also

References