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THE SHOW rncc am
tu migiey stands at the entrance of the large
red and yellow Circus America tent, as he does
every night, greeting everyone who comes in.
To Migiey, Circus America is many years of
studying, planning and dreaming.
The biggest challenge we face is the conno
tations others have made about the circus,” he says.
Kelly Noonan is one of the Athens residents
who called Mayor Gwen O’Looney to protest
against the circus. Noonan, who belongs to the
national organization, People For The Ethical
Treatment of Animals, says she received phone
calls from that organization .asking her to protest.
Noonan says she doesn’t know very much about
Circus America. She acknowledges that there may
be circuses that treat their animals okay but says
that by supporting any circus, she is also support
ing all the circuses that mistreat their animals.
Noonan would never go to the circus, because she
says she would think too much about what might
go on behind the scenes, like animals being
chained up all the time.
Dave Webber and his wife, an acrobat and
choreographer in the circus, went to Indiana University and
started doing the trapeze for fun after school. He has been work
ing with Circus America for four years. Referring to the sparse
crowds of the first two weeks, Webber says, “When the energy
isn’t there, it just doesn’t feel the same,” but he adds, “We put
everything we have into it, no matter what”
. Purple smoke rises into the air. Three family members with
silver Mexican makeup slathered all over their glowing bodies
balance and move in slow motion, one on top of the other.
“We put our own ideas and creations into this act,” says
Oscar Garza.
The best part of the act is just to satisfy the audience, when
they respond with the applause, appreciating what we do,” says
Mario Garza.
When their act ends, the trio <ays, they’ie going back to
their hotel room in the Days Inn, w here they will barbecue and
drink a few beers.
Throughout the show, Gordon Hampton sneaks in when
the lights are out. The stage is transfonned into a whole new
setting, and when the lights return, a new act is set up and
ready to go. He then looks on from behind the scenes, his face
covered with a childlike amazement at what he is seeing:
Traveling with them for two years, I ’ve seen a lot of per
formers. For Athens, they’ve really got the best”
Hampton says the payoff for all the hard work “is when you
have the children in the front seat, and you can see it in their
eyes. No words can match the feeling.”
During the day, Hampton can be found riding his bicycle
all around town. He says that after the shows, “There’s a few of
us that go out into the night life and mingle with the local
people.. .There's several different lifestyles down here and a lot
of really friendly people; I haven’t had one bad experience yet.”
Drums pound, ropes swing, lights blink, people clap and the
Gauchos, in their flashy purple costumes, dr nee around the stage.
Ricardo Ocampo met Sergio Martinez in a national ballet in
their hometown in Argentina. Soon after, they put their act
together. When their third member left, they replaced him with
Martha Martinez, Sergio’s wife, a seventh-generation circus
performer.
Ricardo says the constant traveling can be hard, but this is
the trio’s business: “If we enjoy home, we don’t have a job. This
is what ’ /e do Lest.”
“It’s in the blood. We’re gypsies," adds Sergio.
The clowns are painted in blue, white, red and other shades
of makeup, as their comedic pieces segue one act into the next.
During intermission, they choose children from the audience
to shoot soccer goals on the third clown, Hoopoe. Hoopoe al
ways misses, and the children always smile.
Kevin Holladay (Keystone) and Amanda Carrithers
(Trixstar) are in the circus club in Bloomington, Indiana, where
they met David Weber.
Holladay says he loves children. He can only do clowning
during his time off in the summer, because he teaches kinder
garten in Bloomington.
But sometimes he says the kids get scared of clowns:
“If they get scared, they usually stay scared.”
Holladay and Carrithers live in the back of an 18-wheeler
truck. It has no air conditioning. “It can get pretty toasty,” says
Cam there.
But both say they don’t mind. “I’ve done a lot of camping,”
adds Keystone.
The two aerialists in their purple and white outfits and feath
ers hanging from thei. heads, gracefully flip, twist and turn on
the ropes they barely hover from.
In the air, 1 don t think about anything else,” says Eliza
beth Feldman. She says that because it is one of only a few one-
ring circuses, it is very intimate: “The lighting is beautiful, and
the spotlight is on you."
Lance Ramos comes riding out looking like Tarzan on top
of an elephant named Kenya. The two do many tricks together,
and at one point, Ramos lies on the ground, and Kenya holds
her foot over him for many seconds. Finally, she steps over her
trainer and walks around in the ring.
Ramos is a sixth generation circus performer. He started with
animals when he was 9, and at 16 he took over his retired uncle’s
animals and trained his first elephant. Ramos also trains lions,
tigers, jaguars, black leopards, horses, camels, lamas zebras, bears
and monkeys. “Anything that shows up,” he says.
Elephants arc one-person animals. They’re not mean or
aggressive by nature, but they can be if you approach them the
wrong way.”
Ramos’ animals belong to him: “And I take care of them,
because 1 love them."
And Ramos says the elephant cares for the trainer too: “It’s
like a bond between elephant and man."
Ramos says he and the two people who work for him are
the elephant’s slaves: “There is someone with her 24 hours a
day, we wash her, hose her off three times a day, trim her feet,
fix her toe-nails, oil her eyes, give her a special diet; if the el
ephant uses the bathroom, she doesn’t stand in it There’s some
body right there to pick it up.”
Ramos says at other circuses the circus owner owns the animals,
and they are always hiring someone new to take care of them:
Thats why elephants kill people. The people who own
them, all they care about is making money; they don’t really
care about taking care of the animals.”
Paul Gaspar! in charge of all the programming; he cues the
acts, wntes the music and plays trumpet and keyboards.
In his hometown, Rochester, N.Y., Gaspar went to the
Eastman School of Music and started with Bamum and Bailey
Circus when it came to town.
“I fell in love with what it was,” he says. “Some of it is a
little silly. But once I became in control of all the ways the
music is sounding, it’s a musician’s dream.”
Gaspar has just purchased a trailer. He says hotels got ex
pensive, even though it was tax deductible.
“Parts of the traveling I like most is finding the local food
places," he says. But Gaspar says he hasn’t seen too much scen
ery-: “I’ve never been in this kind of heat before in my life. I
don’t want to leave the trailer.”
Keith Hurwitz
Circus America, at the comer of College Avenue and Dou^eny
Street, util be here unal August 4.
1 9 9 Prince Ave.
M-W Usw-Iopm Th-F
543-6592
w IIam-Jopm Th-F 11am-10 30pm
SAT 5pm-10:3Opm / Sun SPM-IOPM
Sat & Sun Bfunch 10am-3pm
k-urzweil - Roland
Ensdniij - Yamaha
Hie seiecTion
July 31, 1