PRAGUE (AP) — A French tightrope walker has kicked off a contemporary circus festival in Prague with a high-wire trip across the Vltava River.

Thousands of people on the river's banks and a nearby bridge in the Czech capital applauded as Tatiana-Mosio Bongoga inched along a rope strung 35 meters (115 feet) above the water

Bongoga didn't have a safety cord connecting her to the tightrope during her 350-meter (1,148-feet) walk but performed tricks such as doing the splits and dancing on the rope.

The tightrope was stretched between a crane located near the InterContinental Hotel in downtown Prague and Letna Park, where the International Festival of Circus and Theatre is taking place for a 16th year.

The festival opened Wednesday and ends Sept. 1.