Flying trapeze

The performance was invented in 1859 by a Frenchman named Jules Léotard, who connected a bar to some ventilator cords above the swimming pool in his father's gymnasium in Toulouse, France.

The flier then performs one of many aerial tricks and is caught by the catcher, who is swinging from a separate catch bar.

Once in the catcher's hands, the flyer continues to swing and is thrust back toward the fly bar in a maneuver called a "return".

In the early years of young Mr. Léotard's performances, the flying trapeze did not 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".