Two performers took to the Williamsburg Bridge Monday night, one performed suspended over 300 feet above traffic.
Seanna Sharpe, one of the performers, dangled from the bridge only held on by a silk rope tied to the bridge. Thomas Skinner reportedly went along for the climb and provided support for Sharpe as she performed.
As hundreds of onlookers looked on in awe and applauded the daring dancer, cops were not so amused. Police arrived almost immediately and arrested the two.
According to the New York Post, the performer, Seanna Sharpe, 24, of Brooklyn and Thomas Skinner, 27, of North Carolina, were charged with reckless endangerment, obstructing governmental administration and criminal trespass.
The Wall Street Journal Blog reported that even before her ascent, Sharpe said she knew she would leave in handcuffs, but scaled the tower anyway, “giving a daring performance that sent her flipping and flying in the air without the aid of a harness or safety tether.” The Wall Street Journal Blog reported that it took under ten minutes for the two to scale the tower and perform for fifteen minutes in midair.
Sharpe’s website reveals that she began performing at age 16, studying Aerial Dance at Le Cirque Centre on the West Coast and training with Lorenzo SantaBarbara, Elsie Smith, Terry Crane, Laura Stokes, and Kerri Podgorski before founding Le Cirque’s Adult Program in 2007. She has since performed at nearly 300 parties, festivals, theaters, galleries and events across the globe. She has flown for Cirque du Soleil, The Guggenheim, Beyonce, SCOPE, to name a few.
