Chair Balancing

Chair balancing is an acrobatic discipline in which the artist balances on a stack of chairs, building a tower one chair at a time and performing handstands and balances on top. Chairs may be stacked straight or tilted on two legs, set on a table or a pedestal, and rebalanced after each addition while the whole structure sways beneath the artist.

It combines the precision of hand balancing with the suspense of a growing, unstable tower, and demands strength, balance, nerve and careful setup. Chair balancing is a classic circus act, especially in Chinese acrobatics, and is often finished with a one-arm handstand at the very top.