Putting Her Best
FEET FORWARD
Canonsburg dance student
hits bullseye on national
stage with foot archery.
By Paul Glasser
E
leven-year-old Bella Gantt hopes to use her expertise as a
contortionist to become a performer for Cirque du Soleil, the
famous contemporary circus troupe.
Bella began training as a contortionist three years ago and achieved
fame after she added archery to her routine. She resembles Merida, the
princess from the 2012 Disney film “Brave,” but created her own unique
routine by learning how to shoot a bow and arrow by only using her
feet.
“I love contortion,” Bella says. “We added a twist to it by doing foot
archery.”
First, she grabs the bow and arrow with her feet. Then, she performs
a handstand and releases the arrow at the target. Flexibility, strength
and coordination are required to perform such a feat. Bella uses a bow
with a 25-pound pull, so the first thing she had to do was build strength
in her feet, which she did by practicing how to grip a pen with her toes.
“I had to do it over and over again,” she recalls. “It was really hard at
first but it got a little easier.”
In addition, Bella has to rely on instinct when she shoots, because the
bow is above her head and she can’t aim like a normal archer would.
This summer, Bella hopes to confirm her claim to the world record
in foot archery. She submitted a video to the Guinness Book of World
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Records last year that shows her shattering the previous world record
for hitting the bullseye on a target 25 feet away. She’ll have to repeat the
feat in front of an official in June. Bella practiced her accuracy for several
months and kept moving the target farther away each week until it was
more than 30 feet away.
“It’s a really big accomplishment to be a world record holder,” she notes.
Earlier this year, Bella also performed on the NBC show “Little Big Shots.”
“It was like I was in a dream,” she says. “Stuff like that only happens in
dreams.”
She also appeared on the Colombian and Italian versions of the
same show. For the Italian edition, Bella performed her routine while
blindfolded. The stunt helped raise money for charities that support the
blind.
“It’s pretty hard to even do a handstand without being able to see,”
Bella explains. “Your eyes have a lot to do with it. It throws off your
balance.”
Bella also performs with Le Petite Cirque, a children’s circus in Los
Angeles. The show features young performers with many different talents,
such as trapeze artists. Bella has made friends with other young circus
performers around the country. She loves to watch videos of Cirque du
Soleil performances on YouTube and wants to move to Los Angeles and
join her favorite circus troupe.
She advises other young performers to follow their dreams and never
give up. Hard work is also important, she adds, “If you don’t work hard
you’re not going to get anywhere.”
It requires a lot of training to hit the target in front of a live audience.
“There’s a lot of pressure and you only get one shot,” Bella notes. “You
have to make sure it’s perfect.”