PARIS
Reuters
French tightrope artist Tatiana-Mosio Bongonga impressed hundreds of Parisians on Saturday with a performance that featured a walk on a rope suspended 35 meters (115 feet) above the ground in the city's hilly northern district of Montmartre.
Bongonga, 34, walked on a rope suspended by a crane at the base of the hill's steps toward the Sacre Coeur basilica without any security equipment, a gesture many in the audience found nerve-racking. A chamber orchestra accompanied her performance.
"It's very surprising and very dangerous. It really impressed me, actually. I noticed that she was not secured. There was a lot of acrobatics. I had a really good time," spectator Jennifer Mandelbaum told Reuters.
Acrobats practicing tightrope walking, also called funambulism, maintain their balance by positioning their center of mass directly over their base of support, a rope or a wire.
Bongonga, who prepared for the show for a year, has been practicing tightrope walking since she was 8.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.