Equestrian Gymnastics

Equestrian Gymnastics refers to a French circus troupe which visited Cape Town in late 1850 (October-December) under the auspices of the governor Sir Harry Smith, and featured pantomime-performances and dramatised equestrian displays as part of its repertoire. In advertisements the presentations were referred to as "Equestrian Gymnastics". Hauptfleisch (1997, p. 28)[1] has pointed out that that some of these performances are clearly related to equestrian style models familiar at the time in England and the United States (e.g. the "military re-enactment" or the "Wild West Show").

Among the acts included in their performances were Admiral Lord Nelson, or The Life of a Sailor, The Ballad of the Villagers, The Jolly Miller, The Golden Dream, Fra Diovolo, or The Banditti of the Anrouzes, The Shipwrecked Sailor, Par a Par, a Gar a Nous, or Harlequin Protected by the Magician, The Miser, or Happiness found in Gold and The Kaffir War, or The Burnt Farm.