sideshow acts
Carnival oddity entertainers
Sideshow acts are performances traditionally found at carnivals, circuses, and fairs that feature unusual attractions—fire eaters, sword swallowers, contortionists, tattooed people, or individuals with physical anomalies once called "freaks." The term extends to anything secondary that draws attention from a main event: The scandal became a sideshow act distracting from the actual trial.
- jugglingSequential toss-and-catch performance
- knife throwingLaunching blades at targets
- contortionismExtreme flexibility as performance
- rubber manHyper-flexible circus performer
- card tricksDeceptive feats with decks
pinhead · conjoined twins · giants · bearded lady · tattooed lady · fat lady · dwarfs · acrobatics · geek · anomalies · snake charmers · barker · dog tricks · flea circus · fire eating · midway attractions · mentalism · disappearing acts
- entertainerssingers, actor, dancers, actress, musicians
- Victorianaseances, Dickens, spiritualism, Sherlock Holmes, phrenology
- folk entertainmentfolk dancing, folk theater, busking, street performance, street theater
- curiositiesoddities, curiosities, rarities, wonders, anomalies
- burlesquestriptease, fan dance, tassels, pasties, bump and grind
- fire performancefire eaters, fire dancers, fire poi, fire staff
sideshow actsmain attraction
Primary point of interest
headliner · main event · star attraction · top billing · centerpiece
sideshow actslegitimate theater
Live dramatic stage productions
high art · fine arts · Broadway show · opera · ballet
sideshow actsacrobats
Performers of athletic feats
trapeze artists · animal acts · ringmaster · dance performances