Tell Teigen, or Trygve Teigen, 1923-1958 was an
acrobat
Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro d ...
born in
Høyanger
Høyanger () is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center is the village of Høyanger. Other villages in Høyanger municipality include Austreim, Bjordal, Kyrkjebà ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
.
His speciality was balancing on stacked chairs atop of masts over 35 meters tall. He performed without any form of safety provisions or nets, not wanting to detract from the audience's experience.
He performed all over the world, performing in the
Opening Ceremonies
An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event. of the
Olympics
The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...
in
Helsinki
Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
in
1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, ...
.
Tell Teigen was engaged by the circus
Ringling Brothers in the US.
He performed the first one-man show at
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
s. During a performance in 1958, he fell from a high mast and was killed.
In 2001, ''Balanse,'' a documentary was produced about the life of Tell Teigen.
In 2008, a memorial was erected in his hometown of Høyanger, Norway designed by local artist Geir Hjetland.
References
Tell Teigen på NRKBalanse
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Norwegian acrobats
1923 births
1958 deaths
People from Høyanger
Norwegian expatriates in the United States