Charmion
Posted on Monday, August 13th, 2018 by John Wood
Laverie Vallee was a trapeze artist from Sacramento, California who took the stage name Charmion when she performed in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. At ten years of age, young Charmion became enamored with the circus, and through great determination (and some reluctance from her family) undertook a variety of physical training disciplines at a local gymnasium. Charmion’s physique, which would be just as impressive these days, well over a century later, was built through not only trapeze work, but training on the horizontal bars, fencing, bag-punching, wrestling, and hand-balancing. She also regularly lifted dumbbells in the 50-70 pound range. She stood only five feet tall and weighed 115 pounds but was said to have an arm just as big around as the prize-fighter James J. Corbett.