Extraordinary work as Jonathan Frantini photographs Shanghai acrobats

The strength of acrobats allows them to contort through space, seeming to defy gravity and a comprehensible level of grace that all other humanoids can only dream of. A performance is only as good as the years of practice put in and a single movement might be practiced a thousand times to resemble a contradictory act of effortlessness.

Looking at the practice and environment this training takes place in, Jonathan Frantini photographed a story called Shanghai Acrobats for Another magazine. These images are so calm and have so much information in them that they appear as if in slow motion with the time spent looking animating each part of the image. These photos play informal witness to the little-seen space and fitness and flexibility exercises of these artists, as well as offering candid portraits of the performers. His perspective often mirrors the unusual reality of their acts; moving between that of the acrobat and that of the audience, all with a quietly composed choreography.