Cirque du Soleil star sets acrobatic world record while balancing on a trapeze

Cirque du Soleil star Enya White recently put her skills to test to set an incredible new world record.

She performed her favourite trapeze move, the “challenging yet elegant” infinity roll.

“It is accessible, yet still requires a high level of technique to ensure a smooth execution,” Enya explained.

Put simply, an infinity roll is a 360-degree side roll on a trapeze bar.

While suspended in the air, balancing on the bar using only her back, Enya rolled to her side, then her front, then to her other side and back again, repeating this over and over as quickly as possible, never using her hands to adjust her balance.

Averaging one roll every two seconds, she set a record for the most back balance trapeze rolls in 30 seconds (female) with a total of 15.

Enya undertook this challenge to step out of her comfort zone and prove her “true mastery in aerials”.

Despite having performed in front of large audiences for years, she revealed that she felt unusually nervous before her record attempt: “There were a lot of people watching me and you would think that I’d be used to having that much attention, but it was just kind of a different energy and the excitement of it all is different from when I perform on stage.

“It was a fun feeling but also stress and excitement, but it gave me the extra boost and motivation to really try to do my best for the attempt, and I think it worked because I now hold the world record.”

Enya, 31, started training to become a circus performer when she was nine.

In 2015, while at circus school in Montreal, Canada, she was approached by Cirque du Soleil to feature in their newest show, Luzia.

Enya’s been performing in the show since its inception and still enjoys doing it today.

She also works as an aerial coach, passing her knowledge on to the next generation of gymnasts and circus acrobats.

Speaking about her world record, she said: “It feels pretty unreal. I feel a lot of pride. It’s also inspired me to see how much further I can push my skills.

“Performing the same show night after night, I still want to find ways to push myself and stay invested in the work that I love, but also to inspire people. 

“If I inspire one other person, my job is done here.”