Jade Kindar-Martin
Encyclopedia
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
performer.
Kindar-Martin started performing on the wire at the age of 14 with Circus Smirkus
Circus Smirkus
Circus Smirkus is a non-profit, award-winning, international youth circus founded in 1987 by Rob Mermin. Based in Greensboro, Vermont, the mission of Circus Smirkus is to promote the skills, culture and traditions of the traveling circus and to inspire youth to engage in life-changing adventures in...
, a youth circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
based in rural Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. Following his graduation from Champlain Valley Union High School
Champlain Valley Union High School
Champlain Valley Union High School is a high school located in the town of Hinesburg, Vermont. The school serves the communities of Charlotte, Hinesburg, Shelburne, Williston, and St. George. The enrollment for the 2007-2008 school year was 1,388 students with 113 faculty...
in 1992, he went on to further his studies in the circus arts in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
at the Ecole Nationale de Cirque
École nationale de cirque
The National Circus School is a professional circus school located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is a school for higher education in arts; after the great schools of music, dance and theatre, the NCS also offers academic subjects at the secondary and college levels...
and then at the Centre National des Arts du Cirque in Châlons-en-Champagne
Châlons-en-Champagne
Châlons-en-Champagne is a city in France. It is the capital of both the department of Marne and the region of Champagne-Ardenne, despite being only a quarter the size of the city of Reims....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Kindar-Martin there came under the tutelage and mentorship of highwire artist Rudy Omankowski, Jr.
Rudy Omankowski, Jr.
Rudy Omankowski, Jr. is a France-based highwire walker born in 1937 in Czechoslovakia into a long line of circus and highwire performers.-Biography:...
and began his partnership with Didier Pasquette
Didier Pasquette
Didier Pasquette is a noted French tightrope walker.Pasquette studied with Philippe Petit and in 1989 received his diploma from the Centre National des Arts du Cirque in Châlons-en-Champagne...
.
Together, Kindar-Martin and Pasquette soon began touring worldwide, as well as performing their own brand of highwire theatre as part of the Camion Funambule. In the six years they performed together, the two became known equally for their highly technical bicycle acrobatics and dramatic skywalks, including their Guinness World Record-setting double skywalk across the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1997.
In 1999, Kindar-Martin was recruited by Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil , is a Canadian entertainment company, self-described as a "dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment." Based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy...
for a new show, La Nouba
La Nouba
La Nouba is a Cirque du Soleil show, which, like most Cirque du Soleil shows, is a circus-like performance featuring acrobats, gymnasts, and other skilled performers. The show's creation was directed by Franco Dragone, who also directed most of Cirque du Soleil's earlier shows. Its title derives...
, in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, where he performed until January 2004.
Château de Chantilly
The Château de Chantilly is a historic château located in the town of Chantilly, France. It comprises two attached buildings; the Grand Château, destroyed during the French Revolution and rebuilt in the 1870s, and the Petit Château which was built around 1560 for Anne de Montmorency...
in Chantilly
Chantilly, Oise
Chantilly is a small city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune in the department of Oise.It is in the metropolitan area of Paris 38.4 km...
, France. Kindar-Martin and his wife now split their time between Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and their home in the south of France
Southern France
Southern France , colloquially known as le Midi is defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Gironde, Spain, the Mediterranean, and Italy...
.
The Flying Wallendas
The Flying Wallendas is the name of a circus act and daredevil stunt performers, most known for performing highwire acts without a safety net. They were first known as The Great Wallendas, but the current name was coined by the press in the 40s and has stayed since...
, the world-famous highwire family, and performs regularly with them in the "Seven-Man Pyramid" (pictured).
In May, 2007 in Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, Kindar-Martin competed in the First World Highwire Championships
World Highwire Championships
-The 1st World Highwire Championships:Held May 3-5, 2007 in Seoul, Korea during the city's annual Hi Seoul Festival, the competition is a test of balance, agility, concentration and, more specifically, speed. Competitors race individually across a thin cable, 30-mm thick, which is stretched one-km...
. Kindar-Martin, along with 18 other highwire walkers from around the world, competed for the fastest crossing of the kilometer-long wire over the Han River
Han River (Korea)
The Han River is a major river in South Korea and the fourth longest river on the Korean peninsula after the Amnok, Duman, and Nakdong rivers. It is formed by the confluence of the Namhan River , which originates in Mount Daedeok, and the Bukhan River , which originates on the slopes of Mount...
. With a time of 0:11:35.54, Kindar-Martin won the bronze medal
Bronze medal
A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...
, 13 seconds behind first place. In completing the walk, all who made it across now also share a new Guinness World Record for longest highwire walk. A longer skywalk may have been accomplished by Rudy Omankowski, Jr.
Rudy Omankowski, Jr.
Rudy Omankowski, Jr. is a France-based highwire walker born in 1937 in Czechoslovakia into a long line of circus and highwire performers.-Biography:...
, Kindar-Martin's mentor.