Spanish Web

The Spanish web is an aerial circus skill, similar in appearance and style to corde lisse. The name refers to both the apparatus and the performance.

The apparatus itself is akin to a larger kernmantle rope. Unbraided cotton/polyster blend rope are pulled through a soft, round, 2 inch in diameter cotton sleeve (a "web"). An eye is made in one end of the web, to which a swivel is attached. That is suspended at one end from the overhead rigging. Towards the top of the web, a hand, foot or neck loop is attached to the main rope through which a performer will secure an ankle, wrist or their neck and be able to hang freely while spinning.

In a typical Spanish web performance, there is a climber and a web setter. The web setter typically kneels on one knee, and the climber can climb first on the setter's thigh before ascending the web. Once the climber has ascended the web, the web setter can spin the web around the performer creating enough centrifugal force to push the performer into a near-horizontal position. Web setting is a specialty skill in its own right, with a lot more difficulty than one might expect just by watching it. While spinning, the performer can hold on to the web in addition to hanging from the loop or can release the rope and spin that way. With the addition of an extra swivel attached between the loop and the web, it is possible for the performer to also spin separately from the rope.

Spanish web skills are often combined with corde lisse skills which does not utilize a loop or a web setter, and instead is a stationary rope which the performer will wind into different knots around the body combined with various drops and locking positions.

One of the rigging challenges with Spanish web is arresting the torquing forces involved. These forces must be arrested within the rigging systems and that usually involves extra guy lines, gusset plates, diagonal bracing and other such techniques.

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