Low tightwire walking
by Matthew D. Wittmer
Last updated June 2016
The documentary ‘Man on Wire’ about Philippe Petit’s highwire walk between the New York World Trade Center towers on a ¾” diameter cable in 1974 inspired me to begin learning about the art of tightwire walking. Learning how to walk on a tightwire has taken me into the world of knots, ropes, cable, tensioning, rigging, balance, and the rather cloistered history/community of highwire walking. I instructed occasional tightwire workshops at the Los Angeles Cirque School in 2012, was called for advice about tightwire rigging/training for the television show Modern Family and the 2015 feature film “The Walk,” and have performed several times for the public in Los Angeles.