CIRCUS acrobats have given tips and techniques to boxers at a gym as payment for it stepping in to give them a Fringe training venue.
Australia-based Company 2 arrived in Edinburgh with their show Le Coup, but were struggling to find somewhere to prepare for their performances.
The group approached Leith Victoria AAC – Scotland’s oldest boxing club – and were given access to the premises, in return for a few training sessions.
Head coach Gary Young: “Their boxing was way better than our acrobatics. Balance is a very big part of boxing – timing, co-ordination – and also it just shows the hard work that they put it in to make sure they’re the best acrobats they can be.
“They can take knowledge from that and know that if they put the same type of effort into their boxing, they could be on a big stage themselves one day.”
The sessions saw young boxers spar with the acrobats and try out some of the moves the performers do during their Fight Night-inspired Edinburgh Festival Fringe show.
Frances Heath, 15, is aiming towards competing in the 2022 Commonwealth Games and tried out a few balance-based stunts with the circus stars.
She said: “It’s been different to just doing normal boxing training. It’s taught me a lot of things. We normally spar with pads in the ring, we don’t normally go on people shoulders and go flipping about the ring.”
Circus star Casey Douglas added: “We started playing with some footwork, learning to box and use our feet at the same time – just swapping a bit of technique, getting ready for our shows.”
Le Coup is on show at the Circus Hub in the Meadows.
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