Philippe Petit celebrates 50th anniversary of walk between WTC towers with new show

High-wire artist Philippe Petit marked the 50th anniversary of his iconic walk between the World Trade Center's twin towers with a recreation at Manhattan's Cathedral of St. John the Divine on Aug. 7 and 8. This location lies about seven miles north of where the original towers stood, the location of his 1974 feat of daring.

With the grace of a dancer, the 74-year-old Petit appeared to float 20 feet above the ground as he walked across a wire in a mesmerizing display of balance and defiance.

Comprising 19 distinct scenes, the performance entitled "Towering" embodied Petit's journey to his historic walk, reenacted by dancers and musicians.

"I'd say it's a lifetime, 50 years, " Petit told Nightline's Juju Chang. "And yet it's nothing. I look and see all the detail of my walk then, as if it were yesterday."

Petit is a world-renowned performance artist known for daring high-wire walks without a safety net. He spent a lifetime trying to create a walk where his breathing mind, and body were in harmony with the cable.

Petit grew up on the outskirts of Paris and was quickly drawn to the world of aerial arts -- his fascination with wire walking began during his childhood.

"I remember that I start climbing," Petit said. "Many kids like to climb. And I think climbing is a way to separate yourself from the world below. And it's an act of rebellion."

In 1971, the Frenchman shocked Parisian crowds by walking between the spires of the city's iconic Notre Dame Cathedral. Two years later, he appeared on a wire between two towers at the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The following year, bright and early on Aug. 7, 1974, Petit became a New York City icon when he balanced 1,350 feet above the ground as he crossed between the World Trade Center's towers. He became comfortable enough to go back and forth eight times, but was arrested when he stepped off the wire.

The then-24-year-old was charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct, but the charges were dismissed on the condition that Petit puts on a free performance in Central Park.

His daring walk between the towers cemented his celebrity status, as depicted in the Oscar-winning 2008 documentary "Man on Wire" and the 2015 feature film "The Walk," in which Petit was played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He also lamented the towers' destruction when Nightline caught up with him the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

"My first thought at the loss of life and destroying of of those two giants was ... disbelief, and of course, sorrow for the the lost human life," he said at the time.

Nightline returned to Petit prior to his "Towering" performances for exclusive behind-the-scenes access, with a glimpse into his private training grounds in upstate New York as the artist prepared to commemorate his famous walk.

Petit explained to ABC what makes high-wire walking an art. He said he gets to invite people into his world in an entertaining way.

"I open the door and I invite people to peek into my world, which is a world of poetry," Petit said. "A world of a calm and beauty."

Nightline visited Petit on a hot summer's day at his home, just in time for his daily regimen.

"I have four high wires low, medium, high and I practice every day except one day of the week, I dedicate myself three hours a day," Petit said. "An hour and a half of warmup and juggling and an hour and a half on the wire."

Classical composer Henry Purcell's music played as Petit glided across a wire in front of the Nightline crew, unfazed by gravity or the effects of aging.

On Aug. 7, Petit stepped onto the high-wire at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in front of hundreds of people. It was the first performance of his "Towering" show, which even included the moment when he was confronted and arrested by an NYPD officer.

As the show came to a close, the audience got a special surprise: the first public performance of a new song from beloved musician Sting. "Let the Great World Spin" was inspired by Petit's walk, and their decades of friendship.

"I've known Philippe since 1980, and he took me to the top of the tower," Sting told Nightline. "And he told me the story, actually looking down. So I got vertigo. It was kind of easy to write that song because I've sort of lived it with him."

Petit also made it clear that this show isn't the end of his high-flying career.

"A couple of days after the performance in the church, I will be 75," he said. "That's ... very old. And yet I feel I am in complete control of my art, and I am more solid on the wire and probably more majestic than when I was a rebellious 18-year-old trying to prove things. It's a matter of passion. And when you're passionate, you stay young."