The extraordinary story of a young manβs plunge into the
unique and wonderful world of the circusβtaking readers deep
into circus history and its renaissance as a contemporary
art form, and behind the (tented) walls of Franceβs most
prestigious circus school.
When Duncan Wall visited his first nouveau cirque as a
college student in Paris, everything about itβthe
monochromatic costumes, the acrobat singing Simon and
Garfunkel, the juggler reciting Proustβwas captivating. Soon
he was waiting outside stage doors, eagerly chatting with
the stars, and attending circuses two or three nights a
week. So great was his enthusiasm that a year later he
applied on a whim to the training program at the Γcole
Nationale des Arts du Cirqueβand was, to his surprise, accepted.
Sometimes scary and often funny, The Ordinary Acrobat
follows the (occasionally literal) collision of one American
novice and a host of gifted international students in a
rigorous regimen of tumbling, trapeze, juggling, and
clowning. Along the way, Wall introduces readers to all the
ambition, beauty, and thrills of the circusβs long history:
from hardscrabble beginnings to Gilded Age treasures, and
from twentieth-century artistic and economic struggles to
its brilliant reemergence in the form of contemporary circus
(most prominently through Cirque du Soleil). Readers meet
figures pastβthe father of the circus, Philip Astley; the
larger-than-life P. T. Barnumβand present, as Wall seeks
lessons from innovative masters including juggler JΓ©rΓ΄me
Thomas and clown AndrΓ© Riot-Sarcey. As Wall learns, not
everyone is destined to run away with the circusβbut the
institution fascinates just the same.
Brimming with surprises, outsized personalities, and plenty
of charm, The Ordinary Acrobat delivers all the excitement
and pleasure of the circus ring itself.
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