Silks

Two lengths of fabric that can be climbed and split for more complex tricks. As a discipline silks is fussier and poncier than its cousin corde lisse, but is widely used in giant/glossy spectacles for the dramatic effect of the flowing (high-visibility) fabric. It's this popularity for fabric aerial as a distraction at corporate events and car launches and mall openings that's caused silks to penetrate public consciousness – it probably has the highest recognition of the static aerial disciplines (people tend to assume that trapeze is flying trapeze).

There's a burlier, usually male, style of tissu that transposes the roll-ups from straps vocabulary, but for the most part silks performance is ruled by the 'aerial dance' subset: dancers who switch over to aerial without really training into the discipline, placing the emphasis on posing and flexibility rather than, perhaps a little ironically, actual movement.

a.k.a.: Tissu.