Runners pounding along the seafront in the sunshine are a familiar sight.

But yesterday crowds watched performers take jogging to new heights with a display of Parkour, or free-running.

The show marked the Prodigal Theatre Company's launch of the UK's first mobile urban playground for the practice of Parkour.

Parkour, which started in the Paris hinterland of Lisses, takes its inspiration from local architecture and the opportunities it offers for runs, leaps and turns of gravity-defying bravura.

For yesterday's show at The Old Paddling Pool, beside the West Pier, the Brighton-based theatre group fused Parkour with breaking and contemporary dance.

The 15-minute performance involved six dancers, including a stuntman and a break-dancer, in a celebration of the human body's relationship with the urban environment.

It was choreographed by Prodigal co-director Miranda Henderson.

There were also presentations from some of the UK's top practitioners, including members of Team Traceur, Team 101 and Brighton's Seafront Freestyle - the largest regular group meeting of freerunners on the South Coast.

Prodigal's other co-director, Alister O'Loughlin, 32, who took part in the main performance, said the show explored a range of moves from pedestrian movements to acrobatic moments of flight.

He said: "Parkour is about the fluidity of movement.

"The way we work is about moving in a very smooth, fluid and often spiral way through obstacles in a way that favours using the skeleton rather than the muscles.

"We are trying to reach a better understanding of our potential for movement by looking at the environment as a series of obstacles.

"That philosophy is something you can apply to every part of your life.

"Parkour is about improving yourself.

It's a non-competitive discipline. It's not a sport.

"We are not trying to jump the furthest or the highest."

The Prodigal Theatre Company was awarded a £35,000 grant from Brighton and Hove Arts Commission to create its purpose-built urban playground.

The idea for the project arose from a trip by the theatre company to Parkour's birthplace, where members received expert training.

They will use the urban playground to deliver workshops in Brighton and Hove's schools, including at Patcham High School today, Varndean College tomorrow and Blatchington Mill School on Wednesday.

Mr O'Loughlin said: "There are lots of children who see it on television and try to do it themselves.

"We are creating an environment where we can train people, show them the basics and talk to them about safety and respect.

"A kid jumping off a lamp-post or a rail can seem very threatening for an older person.

"If you wait for the person to walk past, then you are respecting the space in which you work."

Parkour has been showcased in Channel 4 films Jump London and Jump Britain and is featured in the new James Bond movie, Casino Royale, and one of Madonna's pop videos.

Prodigal will perform again at Marine Parade on Friday and Jubilee Square on Saturday.

Both events will run from 1pm to 6pm and include open workshops and presentations from experts.