Human pyramid
Encyclopedia
Gymnastic formation
Gymnastic formation is a collective art based on gymnastic expressed by 30 to 5000 figurants using only human bodies without instruments. It is commonly presented in Japanese schools as a part of physical education curriculum. The expression of the collective beauty based on force, passion, and...
in which the participants kneel together in a row or other formation, forming a base for another tier of participants who stand or kneel on their shoulders, backs or thighs. A human pyramid is very difficult to make. In case that the participants stand up, it is called human tower
Human tower (gymnastic formation)
Human tower is a performance variation of gymnastic formation. Together with the human pyramid, it is exhibited frequently at the climax of the performance. In gymnastics, human tower is the highest and largest mounting. On the shoulder of the components of the base layer, put the feet of...
. Successively smaller tiers of participants may be added, each tier supported by the one below it. Lighter participants are placed at the top of the formation, while the strongest participants form the base of the pyramid.
Human pyramids may be performed by cheerleaders, by circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
acrobats
Acrobatics
Acrobatics is the performance of extraordinary feats of balance, agility and motor coordination. It can be found in many of the performing arts, as well as many sports...
—who may perform additional tricks simultaneously, such as juggling or making the pyramid travel—or less perfectly by amateurs (often for the fun of failing and falling).
Catalonia
- The "Castellers" of CataloniaCataloniaCatalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
form human pyramids, named CastellCastellA castell is a human tower built traditionally in festivals at many locations within Catalonia, Spain. At these festivals, several colles castelleres or teams often succeed in building and dismantling a tower's structure...
s, up to ten men high. In Catalonia, severals statues commemorate this old tradition. In TarragonaTarragonaTarragona is a city located in the south of Catalonia on the north-east of Spain, by the Mediterranean. It is the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the capital of the Catalan comarca Tarragonès. In the medieval and modern times it was the capital of the Vegueria of Tarragona...
the castellers form human towers during the Santa Tecla FestivalSanta Tecla FestivalThe Santa Tecla Festival is a festival held in Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain.Plunging into the festivities of Santa Tecla of Tarragona unavoidably involves becoming impregnated with fragrances that link the present times with history, with heritage legacy...
in September and during the Sant Magi festival, held annually in mid-August. - The Falcons are traditional teams in Catalonia who build human pyramids and towers. They follow different rules from the ones of the Castells.
China
- Human pyramids are often formed to reach for the bun during the Chinese Bun Festival.
Czech republic
- SokolSokolThe Sokol movement is a youth sport movement and gymnastics organization first founded in Czech region of Austria-Hungary, Prague, in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner...
is a youth sport movement and gymnastics organization founded in Czech region of Austria-Hungary, Prague, in 1862. it was primarily a fitness training center for the nation. The movement also spread across other Slavic regions. Some of the Sokol exercises included human pyramids.
India
- During the HinduHinduismHinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
festival Krishna Janmashtami in MaharashtraMaharashtraMaharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, young men form human pyramids to reach pots filled with curd and butter and suspended high above the ground as part of the Dahi Handi ritual.
Spain
- AlgemesíAlgemesíAlgemesí is a municipality in the comarca of Ribera Alta in the Valencian Community, Spain.The town of Algemesí is one of the major centres for the production of citruses in Spain, and several cooperatives are based there...
holds a Human Pyramid Festival annually on September 8 as a component of thee Fiesta de La Virgen de la Salud (Virgin of Good Health). The muixeranga, or acrobatsAcrobaticsAcrobatics is the performance of extraordinary feats of balance, agility and motor coordination. It can be found in many of the performing arts, as well as many sports...
, form the human towers.
United Kingdom
- The world record for most participants in a human pyramid is 15 men, as held by Warwick graduate alumni at Henley Royal Regatta. The university has a long tradition of human "pyramiding" dating back to early Tudor times.
United States
- It is used in bonding, e.g. as part of a North American college fraternityFraternities and sororitiesFraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
hazingHazingHazing is a term used to describe various ritual and other activities involving harassment, abuse or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a group....
ritual, or in a variation called a spanking pyramid, suitable as a collective punishmentCollective punishmentCollective punishment is the punishment of a group of people as a result of the behavior of one or more other individuals or groups. The punished group may often have no direct association with the other individuals or groups, or direct control over their actions...
, in which the pledges, often divested, are paddled on the conveniently protruded posterior.
- Boy ScoutsBoy Scouts of AmericaThe Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
and Girl ScoutsGirl Scouts of the USAThe Girl Scouts of the United States of America is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. It describes itself as "the world's preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls". It was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912 and was organized after Low...
may hold competitions where the patrol that builds a human pyramid using all the scouts in their patrol the fastest, wins.
Veneto
- In Venice there were human towers formed by Castellani and Nicolotti, habitants of different parts of Venice. Their human towers, maximum of 8 levels of men, were about 11 meters high. At the top there was a child, usually called the Cimiereto.
Cheerleading
Stunt
A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat, or any act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes in TV, theatre, or cinema...
sequences and gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
incorporated into routines. In cheerleading, pyramids are multiple groups of stunts connected aerially by the flyers. This connection may be made by simple linking of hands or having a multi-level pyramid. The flyers already in the air act as primary bases for another flyer or flyers on top of them.