Editing Acrobatics (section)

==History==
[[File:Hydria acrobat BM VaseF232.jpg|thumb|120px|A female acrobat depicted on an Ancient Greek [[hydria]], {{Circa|340–330 BC}}.]]
[[File:Antikensammlung Berlin 525.JPG|120px|thumb|Female acrobat shooting an [[Bow and arrow|arrow with a bow]] in her feet; [[Red-figure pottery|Gnathia style]] [[Ancient Greek pottery|''pelikai'' pottery]]; 4th century BC]]
[[File:Native acrobats in India (c. 1863).jpg|thumb|120px|Acrobatic performance in India {{Circa|1863}}]]
Acrobatic traditions are found in many cultures, and there is evidence that the earliest such traditions occurred thousands of years ago. For example, [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]] art from {{Circa|2000 BC}} contains depictions of [[bull-leaping|acrobatic feats on the backs of bulls]]. [[Ancient Greeks]] practiced acrobatics,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Iversen |first1=Rune |title=Bronze Age acrobats: Denmark, Egypt, Crete |journal=World Archaeology |date=June 2014 |volume=46 |issue=2 |pages=242–255 |doi=10.1080/00438243.2014.886526|s2cid=162668376 }}</ref> and the [[noble court]] displays of the European [[Middle Ages]] would often include acrobatic performances that included [[juggling]]{{citation needed|date=October 2013}}.

In [[China]], acrobatics have been a part of the culture since the [[Tang dynasty]] (618–907). Acrobatics were part of village harvest [[festival]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.redpanda2000.com/history.htm |title=redpanda2000 |access-date=2006-03-27 |archive-date=2018-01-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180114014021/http://www.redpanda2000.com/history.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> During the Tang dynasty, acrobatics saw much the same sort of development as European acrobatics saw during the Middle Ages, with court displays during the 7th through 10th century dominating the practice.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chinese - Languages and ESL Division - Pasadena City College |url=https://pasadena.edu/academics/divisions/languages-and-esl/foreign-languages/chinese/index.php/cultural/acrobatics.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220116101755/https://pasadena.edu/academics/divisions/languages-and-esl/foreign-languages/chinese/index.php/cultural/acrobatics.html |archive-date=16 Jan 2022 |website=pasadena.edu}}</ref> Acrobatics continues to be an important part of modern [[Chinese variety art]].

Though the term initially applied to [[tightrope walking]],{{citation needed|date=October 2013}} in the 19th century, a form of performance art including [[circus]] acts began to use the term as well. In the late 19th century, [[Tumbling (sport)|tumbling]] and other acrobatic and gymnastic activities became competitive sport in Europe.

Acrobatics has often served as a subject for fine art. Examples of this are paintings such as ''Acrobats at the Cirque Fernando (Francisca and Angelina Wartenberg)'' by [[Impressionist]] [[Pierre-Auguste Renoir]], which depicts two German acrobatic sisters, and ''[[:File:Vasnetsov Acrobats.jpg|Acrobats in a Paris suburb]]'' by [[Viktor Vasnetsov]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}