A daring aerial act turned into a near catastrophe when a trapeze artist plunged 15 feet to the ground during a Labor Day weekend performance before 3,000 people at the Swap Shop circus.
Fabiana Bizarro was hospitalized after suffering a broken tailbone, a dislocated shoulder and a broken bone in her left hand, said Gerald Horner, a Swap Shop spokesman.
The accident occurred during the Sunday afternoon show at the Swap Shop, 3501 W. Sunrise Blvd., when Bizarro attempted to balance upside down on a trapeze swing.
“She just began balancing on her head when she was not able to hold her balance,” Horner said. “She grabbed the bar but was unable to hold on and fell to the ground.”
The act calls for the trapeze artist to flip upside down and place her head on a small metal place attached to the bar on the swing. The artist then balances on her head on the bar without holding on to the sides of the swing with her hands or feet.
“It’s a very, very dangerous act,” Horner said. “It requires an extensive level of concentration and skill.”
Charles Laser, of Deerfield Beach, witnessed the fall.
“It was instantaneous; she fell directly to the ground,” he said.
Bizarro was not using a net or safety harness.
Laser said circus performers should use a net.
“Why should they put these people’s lives in jeopardy?” he said.
Horner said accidents among performers are rare and are considered part of the job’s risk by the aerialists.
“When you deal with high-level performers like these, there is no safety equipment. They don’t want it,” Horner said. “It’s part of the allure of the act.”
The circus, which is run by the Hanneford Family Circus, has two or three shows each day at the Swap Shop. This was the first accident since the Swap Shop began offering the circus about two years ago, Horner said.
Bizarro probably will not return to the trapeze for about six months because of her injuries, Horner said. She was expected to be released from a hospital on Monday night, he said.
