How to Juggle a Person

Mad Apple is Cirque du Soleil’s newest Las Vegas production, debuting in May 2022 at the New York-New York Hotel & Casino. Among the show’s dynamic makeup of musicians, dancers, comedians, magicians and circus performers is a sequence involving foot juggling, also known as the Icarian Games.

The Icarian Games are a time-honored acrobatic tradition. Other names for the Icarian Games include antipodism, foot juggling, or the Risley Act, which refers to the stage name of acrobat Richard R. Carlisle, who popularized the act in the 1800s.

Risley introduced children into his act, using them as props rather than the traditional accessories used by antipodists. Icarian Games may also refer to the image of Icarus from Greek mythology. The flyer, with outstretched arms, is propelled by the feet of the pusher, and appears to both fly and fall at the same time. The rotations of the body symbolize, mainly for Egyptian acrobats, the movements of the sun and can therefore also be associated with the unhappy story of the Greek hero. There is evidence to suggest that antipodism was historically practiced in the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America.

Typically, the Icarian Games act is composed of a flyer and a porter. The flyer is airborne and must maintain their body shape and weight to not add undue physical strain to the porter, whose lower body – including glutes, hamstrings, calves, and quadriceps – is likely to be more developed and conditioned.

Ethiopia has a bustling circus scene, likely driven by European colonial influence and a need for social release after decades of political turmoil.