Jules Léotard (French: [leɔtaʁ]; 1 August 1838 – 16 August 1870) was a French acrobatic performer and aerialist who developed the art of trapeze. He also created and popularized the one-piece gym wear that now bears his name and inspired the 1867 song "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze", sung by George Leybourne.
Bartabas (born Clément Marty, 2 June 1957) is the performing name of a French horse trainer, film producer and impresario. He created his first theater company at age seventeen, and later founded the performing troupe, Cirque Aligre. In 1984, he founded the equestrian performing show, Zingaro, which means "Gypsy". The name was taken from the name of his first horse, a spectacular Friesian horse who was also the star of his shows.
He also produced two movies: Mazeppa (1993) and Chamane (1995), both of which featured spectacular equestrian action. Mazeppa was entered into the 1993 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Technical Grand Prize.Though he is not a household name in the United States, among those who know horses he is considered one of the most talented trainers currently living [1]. In Japan, he is well known for his performances which blend equine acrobatics and explosive pyrotechnics. In 2002, he founded the Académie du Spectacle Équestre (Academy of Equestrian Arts) [2] in the Grande Ecurie of the Palace of Versailles.
Karl Wallenda (; January 21, 1905 – March 22, 1978) was a German-American high wire artist. He was the founder of The Flying Wallendas, a daredevil circus troupe whose members performed dangerous stunts far above the ground, often without a safety net.
Charles Blondin (born Jean François Gravelet, 28 February 1824 – 22 February 1897) was a French tightrope walker and acrobat. He toured the United States and was known for crossing the 1,100 ft (340 m) Niagara Gorge on a tightrope.
During an event in Dublin in 1860, the rope on which he was walking broke and two workers were killed, although Blondin was not injured.
He married three times and had eight children. His name became synonymous with tightrope walking.