Kinesthesist

Risk is what makes performance admirable, entertaining and compelling. Any performer places themself in the lion's den the moment they step on stage.

Circus is special because of the absolutely absurd amount of risk that any given act involves. With seven objects in the air, the audience is absolutely terrified that one will fall. As the wire walker teeters 30 feet in the air, the audience clenches their knuckles white at the possibility that he might plummet to his fate.

...And these things happen. But as the age-old saying goes: the show must go on.

This video shows some absolutely harrowing spills. In a venue like Monte Carlo, performers are expected to show their very best, even if it doesn't go according to plan. That's why I love this - each performer recovers, does the trick again, and nails it. Even if they have to do it twice.

I was showing this to a friend and he asked me if it made me think about what I do. I thought about it for a moment, and then replied it doesn't make the think about what I do so much as how I do it. Only by endless repetition and total concentration are these feats possible. If I stopped to worry about how dangerous a trick was while I was doing it, I'd already be well on my way to an injury or even worse.