Terry Cavaretta aka Terry Cavaretta-St. Jules (born 1953) is an American aerialist. [1] [2] In 1977, she became the first woman to perform a quadruple somersault on flying trapeze. She is listed in the Guinness Book of Records for achieving the most triple somersaults. [3] She was also the first aerialist to perform a triple back somersault with one and a half twists. [4]
She was inducted into the Ring of Fame in 2009 [5] and the International Circus Hall of Fame in 2014. [6]
She initially gained prominence as a member of "The Flying Cavarettas," a teen trapeze group formed with sisters Kandy, Maureen, Molli, and brother Jimmy Cavaretta. The Flying Cavarettas gained widespread media attention in the 1960s and 70s, appearing on shows like The Ed Sullivan Show and The Hollywood Palace, and were recognized by Queen Elizabeth II following a performance in London. [7] [8] The siblings' athletic good looks and unique appeal as a teenage trapeze team garnered significant attention, with Cavaretta and brother Jimmy emerging as breakout stars of the day. [9] [10]
In 1968, The Flying Cavarettas began a multi-year engagement as the headliners at the newly opened Circus Circus hotel/casino in Las Vegas. After the group disbanded, Cavaretta performed with husband Roland "Ron" Eloy. Following his death, she reteamed with brother Jimmy, performing with him in Las Vegas and on tour until his 1990 retirement. [11] [12] [8] In 2012, Cavaretta founded a trapeze school in Las Vegas. [13]
Cavaretta married trapeze catcher Roland "Ron" Eloy in 1971. [1] Years after Eloy's death, she married Réjean St. Jules, a juggler, in 1983. [2] Cavaretta and St. Jules have one son, Sebastian St. Jules (b. 2001). [14]
Jules Léotard 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.
Acrobatics is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro dance, circus, gymnastics, and freerunning and to a lesser extent in other athletic activities including ballet, slacklining and diving. Although acrobatics is most commonly associated with human body performance, the term is used to describe other types of performance, such as aerobatics.
A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes, metal straps, or chains, from a ceiling support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, spinning, swinging or flying, and may be performed solo, double, triple or as a group act.
The flying trapeze is a specific form of the trapeze in which a performer jumps from a platform with the trapeze so that gravity makes the trapeze swing.
Otto Griebling was a German-born circus clown who performed for many years with the Cole Brothers and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circuses. He was one of four clowns given the title Master Clown by Irvin Feld.
Alfredo Codona was a Mexican trapeze artist who was a member of the world-famous "Flying Codonas" and was the first aerialist to continually perform the triple somersault. Alfredo came from an itinerant performing family whose origins lie with the Codoni family in the Italian speaking area of Canton Ticino in southern Switzerland.
Circus Flora is a one-ring circus based in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. It is a non-profit organization. Circus Flora has become a touring show yet it performs annually in St. Louis, usually at the beginning of the month of June. It combines the venue of a one-ring circus with the performance trappings of theatre. Performances include aerialists, equestrian artists, acrobats, and trained animals. Each performance is accompanied by a live band. Live musicians allow the mood to be tailored to the live events happening in the ring — down to every crash of the cymbal or beat of the snare drum.
Trapeze is a 1956 American circus film directed by Carol Reed and starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis and Gina Lollobrigida. The film is based on Max Catto's 1950 novel The Killing Frost, with an adapted screenplay written by Liam O'Brien.
The International Circus Hall of Fame is a museum and hall of fame which honors important figures in circus history. It is located in Peru, Indiana, on the former grounds of the Wallace Circus and American Circus Corporation Winter Quarters, also known as the Peru Circus Farm and Valley Farms. The property includes rare surviving circus buildings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and was designated a National Historic Landmark for its historical importance.
Henry Roland, also known as D.D. Roland, was an American daredevil and "human fly" who became famous for free climbing buildings around the country in the 1920s and 1930s. He began his high flying antics in 1924 to public acclaim. Roland identified himself as The Human Fly, a name that was also used by several other performers with similar acts.
Mighty Haag Circus was started by American entrepreneur Ernest Haag in Shreveport, Louisiana. His circus toured continuously for over 40 years, from 1891 to 1938. During these years, the circus used a variety of types of transport: boat, carts, trains, horse-pulled wagons, and trucks. It was one of the largest traveling circuses in the United States.
Thomas Munson Scaperlanda was a San Antonio jeweler and one of the foremost circus historians and collectors of circusana in the United States.
Lena Jordan was a Russian gymnast, who performed in circuses during the 19th century. In 1897, Jordan was the first recorded person to perform a triple somersault.
The Rieffenach family were circus performers who specialized in a bareback riding act that performed in Europe and the United States during the first half of the 20th century. Family members, daughters Maria (Mitzi) Rieffenach and Rose (Rosie) Rieffenach, were inducted into the Circus Hall of Fame in 1970. The Rieffenach Family Equestrian Act originated from the marriage of the mother Maria Enders of the Hungarian Circus Enders, and Simon Rieffenach Sr. The family performed their horseback riding act with the Sarrasani Circus in Europe from 1905 and were with the German Circus Carl Hagenbeck in 1921. The Rieffenach Family Riding Act came to the United States in 1922 after being booked to perform for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The Rieffenach Family Act was with Ringling Brothers for sixteen years through 1937. In her memoir, Tiny Kline, the famous circus acrobat, stated: "The Rieffenachs' riding act had been the feature in the center ring of the Big Show since their arrival from Austria". In 1939 the Rieffenachs went on the Cole Bros. Circus, performing through 1942 after which time the act was disbanded. One son, James Rieffenach, continued riding with the Poodles Hanneford Act, while the other members of the act retired. James died of a heart attack in 1945 while still performing with the Cole Bros. Circus.
Kaely Michels-Gualtieri is an American trapeze artist known for her work as a leading artist with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, often performing under the stage name "Electra". She is the winner of two Golden Flyer Awards as one of the world's leading swing trapeze artists. She won a Silver Ring, Russia's highest trapeze honor, in 2017. She is the youngest person ever nominated for membership in the Circus Hall of Fame.
Miss La La was an expert aerialist who served as muse to Edgar Degas and was depicted in his 1879 painting Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando. She was also depicted in a poster for the Folies Bergère. She was the star of Troupe Kaira, a traveling circus act, and performed with the Cirque Fernando, based in Montmartre.
Eva Clark was a headlining aerialist and circus performer. She was shot in the abdomen by her estranged husband, Lum "Roser" Clark, after a show with Cole Bros. World-Famed Triple Railroad United Shows on September 6, 1906, in Staunton, Virginia, and died on October 1, 1906, from surgical complications. In the years prior to her death, newspapers referred to Eva as the "Queen of the Air".
Norma Fox, also known as La Norma, is a Danish-born aerialist and trapeze artist who performed throughout Europe before moving to the United States with her husband, the Frenchman André W. Fox, in 1949. In 1952, she performed as a stand-in for Betty Hutton in the film The Greatest Show on Earth. La Norma retired in 1974 and now lives in Sarasota, Florida, where a "Ring of Fame" marker records her circus achievements.
James "Jimmy" Cavaretta is an American circus performer, trapeze artist, actor, and model, best known for his work in the famed trapeze act "The Flying Cavarettas," his regular television appearances in the 1960s and 1970s, and his performances as an original headliner at the Circus, Circus hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Flying Cavarettas were an American aerialist act that gained widespread popularity in the 1960s and 1970s for their acrobatic performances and international tour and media appearances. Initially composed of teenaged siblings, the team, inducted into the Circus Ring of Fame in 2009, is best known for its role in popularizing acrobatic and circus shows on the Las Vegas Strip, the brief pop cultural notoriety of catcher Jimmy Cavaretta, and the athletic accomplishments of lead flyer, Guinness World Record-holder Terry Cavaretta.
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