Leona Dare was an acrobat and trapeze artist noted for her exploits on a trapeze hanging from a balloon. In the 1870's and 1880's Leona Dare's beauty and daring won her a wide reputation. She appeared with circuses in this country, and at the Follies Bergere in Paris. One of her greatest performances was while suspended 5,000 feet above the crowd at the Crystal Palace in London.In 1884 she was suspended by her feet from the roof of the Princess Theatre in London. She held in her teeth the ropes of a trapeze bar on which a male performer was suspended. For some unknown reason, explained in the newspapers of the times as a nervous fit, she released her grip and the male performer dropped to the floor. It is unknown if he died as a result of the fall. Miss Dare suffered a nervous breakdown after that incident.
Leona died in 1923 at the age of 67.
