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Circus Dome

Festival

HeadFirst Acrobats

https://www.headfirstacrobats.com/

As of February 2024, HFA own 4 domes made by the Dome Company.

  • a 20 metre diameter hemisphere with huge removable section
  • a new (2023) 20m dome with opaque one piece canopy
  • a 15m dome with opaque canopy and 5 doors
  • a 10m dome with lightweight opaque canopy. 2 doors

The domes are constantly on tour in a circuit of Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Wynnum (QLD) and Perth FRINGE festivals.

And also one of the 20m domes will be travelling to the UK for a tour.

 

Challenge

Desire to have rigging allowance to hold two acrobats doing combinations of static and swinging trapeze.

Ability to construct the 20m dome in one day with mostly unskilled crew.

Proviso for holding dome down with marquee pegs in lieu of ballast blocks

Solution

Engineering was done by Engineered Events in Melbourne to design an inverted section at the top of the dome.  20 extra frame struts are joined into the main frame to create what looks like a ‘lens’ at the frame apex.

A ring truss is supported off the third layer down and this is rated for a subsequent maximum load capacity of 150kgs (2 x 75kg acrobats)

The Dome Company supplied 10 sets of our proprietary lifting equipment (tripods and chain blocks) which are used to safely lift and let down the dome with the canopy on.  The dome is built from the top down without the need for cranes, boom or scissor lifts.  This means we can build the dome in remote areas, or where cranes cannot get access, and not have the expense of automated lifting equipment.  The dome can be built with battery tools and the need for only one experienced supervisor.  We have built the 20m dome many times with amateur crews (who had never seen a dome) in 8 hours.

The video below shows one of the final lifts of the 20m dome with 10 sets of tripods.

 

 

Setup and execution

Outcome and benefits

Testimonials

Conclusion