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The History of Aerial Hoop
When did people first start using this piece of contemporary circus equipment?
Aerial hoops make a regular appearance in modern circus shows, as well as featuring in pop culture: Pink descended to the stage at the 2019 Brit awards in an aerial hoop. Despite their recent prevalence, they don’t commonly appear in older circus photos.
The first circuses were created around 250 years ago when Philip Astley added clowns, strong-men and rope dancers to his trick horse-riding show in London in the 1770s. The idea spread across the rest of Europe and to Russia and America. Circuses continued to grow in popularity until their peak at the end of the 19th century and start of the 20th century.
It was around this time that the most popular types of aerial circus acts were invented. The first flying trapeze act was performed by Jules Léotard in November 1859. Vertical rope acts, such as Corde lisse and Spanish web, use techniques developed by the ancient Indian sport mallakhamb, which was revived in the 19th century. Aerial straps were first performed in China during the Qing dynasty, which ended in 1911.
Circus history isn’t common knowledge and many people will only encounter it from fictionalised sources, such as the 2017 film The Greatest Showman. This film, loosely based on the life of P. T. Barnum, features an aerial hoop during the song “Rewrite the Stars”.
From this, it’s reasonable to assume that aerial hoops were invented around the same time as other popular aerial disciplines. However, there is no evidence that aerial hoop as a circus discipline was practised during P. T. Barnum’s lifetime.
What is aerial hoop?
Aerial hoop, also known as lyra, aerial ring and circeau, is a steel or aluminium tube formed into a ring shape. They are suspended using a strap designed to withstand the high-force impacts generated by moving in the hoop and may use a pulley system to change the hoop’s height during the performance.
