A Balkan resident embracing British gymnast (7)
I believe the answer is:
acrobat
'gymnast' is the definition.
(acrobat is a kind of gymnast)
'a balkan resident embracing british' is the wordplay.
'balkan resident' becomes 'Croat' (person from Croatia).
'embracing' indicates putting letters inside.
'british' becomes 'b' (abbreviation e.g. in 'BBC').
'croat' placed around 'b' is 'crobat'.
'a'+'crobat'='ACROBAT'
(Other definitions for acrobat that I've seen before include "Circus athlete" , "circus artiste" , "One appearing head over heels" , "Performer of great agility and coordination" , "Gymnastic entertainer" .)