Spanish web
The Spanish web is an aerial circus skill, similar in appearance and style to corde lisse. The name refers to both the apparatus and the performance.
The apparatus itself is a long braided rope which has been covered by a soft cotton sleeve (a "web") and is suspended by a gimbal at one end from overhead rigging. Towards the top of the apparatus, a small loop is attached to the main rope through which a performer will secure an ankle or wrist and be able to hang freely.
While in this position, a "web setter" spins the rope in a wide arc around the performer creating enough centrifugal force to push him or her into a near-horizontal position. The performer can hold onto the web in addition to hanging from the loop or can release the rope and spin separately. With the addition of an extra swivel to the loop secured to the web, it is possible for the performer to also spin on a separate axis from the rope.
Spanish web skills are often combined with corde lisse which does not utilize a loop or a spinner, and instead is a stationary rope which the performer will wind into different knots around the body combined with various drops and locking positions.
For the training and rehearsal process, many companies may rig a stick of truss independent of any other stage trussing in order to isolate the aerobatic act. To limit any lateral sway, guy-wires may be run to structural anchors along a tangent.
Related to
- Corde lisse
- Tissu