A ZIMBABWEAN gymnast from Rayners Lane has swapped the rings and the pommel horse for performances on the stage and the streets.

If you are out and about in Harrow and see a man doing handstands on a post box or hanging horizontally from lamp-posts, don't be alarmed: you are probably watching acrobat Courtney Orange.

Courtney, 22, is a former international gymnast from Zimbabwe who lives in Rayners Lane. After representing his country at the Commonwealth Games in 2002, he suffered a knee injury which ruled him out of training for the Athens Olympics. British-based for the last three years, he now makes a living from his acrobatics in stage shows, TV commercials and street performing for tourists in central London. He also enjoys surprising passers-by with impromptu stunts using bins, benches, statues and other street furniture.

He said: "Some of the tricks are just for fun, but over the summer I was street performing in Covent Garden and outside the London Eye, which is very competitive and attracts performers from all over the world. Since I was young, I have always loved performing to crowds and being the centre of attention. If there was anything I disliked about gymnastics, it was that you only got to compete in front of crowds every couple of months."

The cousin of test cricketer Dion Ebrahim, Courtney comes from a sporting family in Zimbabwe and has been a gymnast since the age of 7. National champion six years in succession, he came 5th in the African Championships in 2000 and 14th in the Commonwealth Games two years later. Despite having his Olympic dreams dashed, Courtney now has other ambitions to keep him going. He has appeared in recent TV adverts for Smash Hits, Sony and Maxell, and featured in a BBC documentary. His friend and agent, Winston Ruddle, is a circus performer and Courtney hopes to one day follow in his footsteps.

"I would like to get into a big circus at some point in my career, like the Cirque de Soleil. I'd love to do more TV work too, because I've been in some advertising campaigns and it was great to get in front of the camera. At the moment though, I'm focusing on my stage act, particularly my chair trick."

Courtney's current act involves balancing on five chairs stacked in a pyramid, using one-handed handstands, aerial splits and other maneouvres borrowed from his gym experience on the pommel horse and rings apparatus. He uses wooden chairs imported from Tanzania, where he recently spent a month training with a circus in Dar Es Salaam. As the weather gets colder, he is making fewer street appearances and concentrating on the stage and business events. He is available for corporate functions and promotions in London and elsewhere.

Keeping fit is vital for Courtney's act. He said: "I train for two hours a day, and I always try to do at least ten minutes of handstands, because arm strength is so important. I do a lot of dancing, which also keeps me fit. I've always been a solo performer, so have never really got to be part of a team, and dance lets me do that." He has danced for promotional nights at the Area Nightclub in Watford, appeared in a music video for the Ministry of Sound, and doubles as a fitness instructor for Fitness First Health Club in Harrow.

For more information on Courtney's act call him on 07818 226993, or e-mail orangecourts@hotmail.com. His website, which is still under development, is www.sliceoforange.com.