High Bar

best act: 1980

The high bar was one of the original 14 acts performed in Gymkana’s first Home Show in 1947. Until 1963, the troupe could not perform high bar at road shows unless the schools already had the men’s equipment on hand due to rigging difficulty and safety concerns. The high bar’s origins can be traced back to the middle ages, but today, high bar routines can include swings, turns, release and regrasp skills, and thrilling dismounts. The act has included two troupers on the bars at the same time, swinging around each other and hopping over each other’s hands, adding a circus element to this traditional men’s gymnastics apparatus. Like many traditionally gendered acts within Gymkana, women have also performed on the high bar, with the first known appearance of a female trouper in the act in 2013.