Risley (circus act)

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A Risley or Risley act (also antipode or antipodism) is any circus acrobalance posture where the base person is lying supine, supporting one or more flyers with hands, feet and/or other parts of the body; spinning a person or object using only one's feet.

The act is named after Richard Risley Carlisle (1814–1874) who developed this kind of act in the United States.^[1]

Risleys can be separated into three general categories of skills:

• Skills that are based with the hands
• Skills that are based with the feet
• Other