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Trapeze History

The term "Trapeze" is originally French word taken from the Latin "trapezium."  This comes from the Greek word "trapezion" literally meaning "a small table."  The derivation came to describe a quadrilateral which happens to be the shape formed by the crane bar, trapeze bar and the two supporting lines.  The term "trapezoid" also describes the same quadrilateral having only two sides parallel.

The general definition for a Trapeze is "a gymnastic or acrobatic apparatus consisting of a short horizontal bar suspended by two parallel ropes"

And it all began so long ago...

On a balmy day in the summer of 1859, a young Frenchman named Jules Leotard grew bored in his father's gymnasium.  He decided to connect a bar to some ventilator cords above the swimming pool and in doing so, created the world's first "flying trapeze"!  He became so adept performing tricks into the pool with his new invention; he ended up performing his act in the Cirque Napoleon (now known as the Cirque D'Hiver).  In the years of the young Mr. Leotard's performance, the trapeze didn't have the safety net as is typically seen today.  He would perform over a series of mattresses on a raised runway to give the audience a better view of his tricks or "passes."  To costume his act, Mr. Leotard created a tight fitting garment which would not catch on the bar like looser fitting fabric.  This piece of apparel still bears his name today.

Since that day numerous improvements have occurred including adding the net, adding the second trapeze bar for the catcher and changes in the geometry of the rig among other things.