Circus Girl Falls but The Show Goes On

This was the shocking scene at the Shaherezada circus in Kirov, Russia as an acrobat fell from high in the big top and lay unmoving in the sawdust circle.

The show had just begun, the camels and horses of the animal parade had just left the ring. Angelina was hanging above them, waiting to begin her act when she lost her grip and fell.

Fortunately, she made a full recovery and wrote on social media:

"The circus is living art. It is not like a movie with many stunts.

"You polish your skills throughout the years. It seems that I made a terrible mistake somewhere along the way.

"Thank you very much to the amazing angel that protects me.

"I disappointed the whole crew and of course our guests.

"But this did not affect the show. Soon I will back and prove to myself that I am a true artist."

But the incident could have been far worse in a branch of show business where there is no computer generated trickery, just real performers taking real risks and sometimes taking fatal falls.

Click here to read my Daily Telegraph article on When Circus Stunts Go Fatally Wrong.

And click here to read an extract from Circus Mania in which I talk to aerial silk artist Eva Garcia just days before she fell and died during a performance at the Great Yarmouth Hippodrome.

The term bravery is often bandied in the arts. Usually it means no more than an unusual choice of song. For those with circus blood, it's a daily way of life and sometimes death.