Chewy tries to walk the tightrope

_Elsa_

Katie apologizes for upsetting them and she gives both of them sweet hugs as she wipes away Tiffi’s tears. Katie gets them bottles of water and they take a few minutes to relax before moving on. She tells them that she will not talk about the animals anymore. Now it’s time to share what the acrobat artists do.

‘Tightwire is the skill of maintaining balance while walking along a tensioned wire between two points. It can be done either using a balancing tool (umbrella, fan, balance pole, etc.) or "freehand", using only one's body to maintain balance. Typically, tightwire performances either include dance or object manipulation. Object manipulation acts include a variety of props in their acts, such as clubs, rings, hats, or canes. Tightwire performers have even used wheelbarrows with passengers, ladders, and animals in their act. The technique to maintain balance is to keep the performer's centre of mass above their support point—usually their feet.

A wire-walker may use a pole for balance or may stretch out his arms perpendicular to his trunk in the manner of a pole. This technique provides several advantages. It distributes mass away from the pivot point, thereby increasing the moment of inertia. This reduces angular acceleration, so a greater torque is required to rotate the performer over the wire. The result is less tipping. In addition, the performer can also correct sway by rotating the pole. This will create an equal and opposite torque on the body.

Tightwire-walkers typically perform in very thin and flexible, leather-soled slippers with a full-length suede or leather sole to protect the feet from abrasions and bruises, while still allowing the foot to curve around the wire. Though very infrequent in performance, amateur, hobbyist, or inexperienced funambulists will often walk barefoot so that the wire can be grasped between the big and second toe. This is more often done when using a rope, as the softer and silkier fibres are less taxing on the bare foot than the harder and more abrasive braided wire.’ (Info here)

“I can do that,” Chewy says. “Watch me!”

Well he gets up on the wire but as he tries to walk he loses some balance. Have no fear because he caught himself on time! 

Katie looks at the time and realizes that the afternoon is going pretty fast. She doesn’t have anything to do except to wait here until some of the circus people show up.

Let’s continue - Arial acrobatics

Start at the beginning – The circus is coming to town!