Corset, acrobatic flying corset

The performer known as Azella likely started her career as a dancer at the Drury Lane Theatre, moving into trapeze and aerial performance with her husband working behind the scenes manipulating the wires required for her performance style. She probably performed aerially for the first time in 1865. According to her daughter, the act was so successful that it was used as the basis for a "flying ballet" that toured America for a few years before coming back to Britain.

This corset was worn by Azella for her aerial performances. The corset has a steel catch and metal spring where the wires, operated by her husband, were attached to the corset, to give the illusion of her flying without a traditional harness and visible wires. In the late 1860s, the San Francisco examiner remarked that "her performance is not a bit like any of the ordinary mechanical effects of the stage, for there is nothing in it to suggest the use of wires or pulleys or anything of the sort." However the construction of the corset reveals the truth behind the mystery of her performance. There are a number of visual depictions of Azella, but none of them show this garment, suggesting it was likely hidden beneath other elements of her costume.

Azella is generally credited as the first woman to perform and "fly" using the trapeze. This reputation was cemented in 1868, when she performed for a period at the Royal Amphitheatre and Circus in Holborn, London. In April 1868 The Sun newspaper reported on Azella's performance: "Azella, whose unrivalled performance on the flying trapeze, including a flight across the arena of 100 feet, terminating in a somersault at an elevation of 30 feet from the platform, has created a complete furore" Quoting the Standard from March 11th, the article continued: "The flying trapeze act is the speciality of Azella, a lady of faultless contour and prepossessing mien. The performances of the fair artiste excited the genuine enthusiasm of the house [...] and terminated amid deafening applause. She was honoured with a quadruple recall, and even compelled to appear a fifth time to receive the homage of her admirers." She also received some criticism for her performances from those who felt it was innappropriate for a woman to exhibit herself in this way, and to show off a muscular physique.

In early April Azella had an accident mid performance when she missed the trapeze she was swinging towards and fell around eight feet to the ground, landing on her front. She was carried off the stage and examined by a surgeon who announced that she had injured the muscles of her arm.

Azella toured around Europe for a few years, returning to London in 1872 for the grand re-opening of the Grand Cirque and Amphitheatre, Holborn. Mademoiselle Azella was now the "Directress". With new management, a renovated and redecorated venue, and performers largely new to London, Azella was the exception on the bill of a performer well-known to London audiences. An article pronounced her the "heroine of the flying trapeze". One of the new performers she brought with her was Mademoiselle. Rosita, who would perform alongside Azella in a mid-air routine. This may have been her sister.