Teeterboard

The teeterboard or Korean plank is an acrobatic apparatus that resembles a playground

seesaw A seesaw (also known as a teeter-totter or teeterboard) is a long, narrow board supported by a single pivot point, most commonly located at the midpoint between both ends; as one end goes up, the other goes down. These are most commonly found a ...

. The strongest teeterboards are made of oak (usually 9 feet in length). The board is divided in the middle by a fulcrum made of welded steel. At each end of the board is a square padded area, where a performer stands on an incline before being catapulted into the air. The well-trained flyer performs various aerial

somersault A somersault (also ''flip'', ''heli'', and in gymnastics ''salto'') is an acrobatic exercise in which a person's body rotates 360° around a horizontal axis with the feet passing over the head. A somersault can be performed forwards, backwards ...

s, landing on padded mats, a human pyramid, a specialized landing chair, stilts, or even a Russian bar. The teeterboard is operated by a team of flyers, catchers, spotters and pushers. Some members of the team perform more than one acrobatic role. In the early 1960s the finest teeterboard acts, trained in the

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...

countries, performed with Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Korean-style teeterboard called Neolttwigi is a form of teeterboard where two performers jump vertically in place, landing back on the apparatus instead of dismounting onto a landing mat or human pyramid. Korean plank acts are featured in the Cirque du Soleil shows ''

Nouvelle Experience Nouvelle is a French word, the feminine form of "new". It may refer to: ;Places * Nouvelle, Quebec, a municipality in Quebec, Canada * Nouvelle-Église, a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department, France * Port-la-Nouvelle, a commune in the Aude d ...

'', '' Mystère'', '' Dralion'', '' Corteo'', ''

Koozå ''Koozå'' is a touring circus production by Cirque du Soleil which premiered in Montréal, Quebec, Canada, in 2007. The show was written and directed by David Shiner, who had previously worked as a clown in Cirque du Soleil's production of ''Nou ...

'' and '' Amaluna''.

Flying Fruit Fly Circus The Flying Fruit Fly Circus is Australia's national youth circus, and the only full-time circus school for young people in Australia. History The Flying Fruit Fly Circus was one of the productions of the Murray River Performing Group, initially ...

, based in

Albury Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the ...

NSW Australia, uses custom teeterboards (handmade in-house) in numerous national and international shows. The Hungarian board (''bascule hongroise'') has a higher fulcrum, and the pushers jump from a height (e.g., from a tower). {{Circus skills Circus equipment Circus skills