12 catches, each one more innovative than the last. Indeed – try to find one movement in this 5’50” that isn’t unique to this remarkable duo trapeze team of Rosalie Ducharme and Louis-David Simoneau who breathed new life into the discipline when they graduated from the National Circus School of Montreal in 2009.

Simply the circus world’s greatest cigarbox number? Eric Bates combines excellent juggling technique, the lines and grace of a classical dancer, and Kafka-esque everyman ennui.

With bleakly touching humor, Victorian aesthetic, and impeccable timing, our favorite DIY ray painting b-dandy A Dandypunk has done it again!

Russian Bar artists Alexandra Royer, Eric Bates, and Tristan Nielsen in a trio contemporary dance number that just happens to include a half-in, half-out as a denouement.

Jumping off a roof never looked so easy: Joao Paulo Pereira dos Santos takes a rarely-seen acrobatic discipline from the Chinese Opera's Monkey King character to a new level against the backdrop of a crumbling church in "O guadador de rebanhos".

See the most difficult trapeze trick in the world!  Eva Schubach and Yolaine Dooms of Passe-Pieds perform high-level technique without a net or music but still achieve what so many aerial artists see as the most difficult skill there is: making an authentic connection with their audience.

Flying acrobats cross mid-air within inches of each other in Diogo Dolabella’s and Pedro Sartori do Vale's intricately-choreographed, doubly-innovative Double Chinese Pole Duo.

Sensual identical-twin contortionists Jenny and Sara Haglund’s number made it to ZIRQUE’s final round – this video was also one of the semi-finalists and voted 'most innovative' in the AKROBATIKA contest!

Tumbling troubadours Quatuor Stomp innovate from group-tumbling roots with a comic, high-energy, table-acrobatics quartet.

Substance over flash: Artists of the Republic rewarded David Severins’ number for the clarity of presentation which amplified the effectiveness of his novel 3-ring figures.

The intense audience reaction to a missed colonne à deux salto vrille at 2:36 proves that when the technical difficulty of your hand-to-hand number is high enough, authenticity and risk-taking can be more important than perfect execution. Jonathan Julien and Antoine Morin of Quatuor Stomp demonstrate that this quartet’s talent runs deep.