WHEN the ‘Wizard of the Wire’, Gamilaroi man Con Colleano was 19, he performed the world’s first forward somersault on a tightwire.

The year was 1919 and he was not wearing a safety harness. Now, over a century later, Wiradjuri highwire and circus artist Dylan Singh will reenact some of Con’s feats of balance and daring – but with a safety harness and a balancing pole. 

In Lismore, the town where Con was born in 1899, Dylan will take the tightwire to new heights in a breathtaking new show, The Xrossing. 

Just like Con, Dylan grew up in a circus family and trained in the circus from a young age. 

He grew up idolising Con Colleano, Australia’s first Aboriginal circus performer. 

Until recently, little was known about Con Colleano and his Aboriginal heritage. 

The Xrossing’s co-director, Munanjali man Kirk Page, said the show is a tribute to one of Australia’s greatest (and unknown) Aboriginal circus performers and athletes. 

“In the early 1900s, when it was difficult to be an Aboriginal person in Australia, this guy rose to International fame and was doing the most extraordinary things,” Kirk said. 

“Conjecture has it that Con withheld his Aboriginal heritage from people, but we don’t exactly know if he…