Circus cowboy grew up on horses, rodeo tricks in KC
Trick roper and animal trainer Andre McCain (center), a star of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, was joined by mentor Rex Purefoy and McClain’s fiancee, Daniele Giampaoli, on a recent visit to his alma mater, the Paseo AcademyBy ROBERT TRUSSELLThe Kansas City Star
Andre McClain was a grown man by the time he ran away to join the circus.
But that’s essentially what he did.
McClain grew up near 59th Street and the Paseo and often rode his horse Storm to high school at the Paseo Academy. He had been around rodeos since early childhood but had never seen a circus until he was an adult. That was in Denver, where he managed a clothing store.
He tells a story about how he auditioned for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which on Wednesday begins a five-day stand at the Sprint Center. He presented himself as a horse trainer and trick rider. But he had to do it without a horse. And he was auditioning for none other than Kenneth Feld, CEO of Feld Entertainment, which owns the storied circus.
Andre McClain was a grown man by the time he ran away to join the circus.
But that’s essentially what he did.
McClain grew up near 59th Street and the Paseo and often rode his horse Storm to high school at the Paseo Academy. He had been around rodeos since early childhood but had never seen a circus until he was an adult. That was in Denver, where he managed a clothing store.
He tells a story about how he auditioned for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which on Wednesday begins a five-day stand at the Sprint Center. He presented himself as a horse trainer and trick rider. But he had to do it without a horse. And he was auditioning for none other than Kenneth Feld, CEO of Feld Entertainment, which owns the storied circus.
Rex Purefoy, a frequent performer in the American Royal Parade, tosses a lasso over Ringling Bros. star Andre McClain and his fiancee, snake charmer Daniele Giampaoli. “They have talent scouts that go all over the country, so the scout said, ‘You know, Kenneth Feld wants to see what you do,’ ” McClain recalled. “I was living in Denver, so he said they’d pay all my expenses and everything if I’d go down to Austin, Texas, to audition for him. So I got my truck and trailer and loaded my horse, and in Oklahoma the truck broke down.”
At that point he had no choice but to hop in a car and drive to Austin.
“Everyone was there waiting,” he said. “I have no horse. I’ve got a rope, I’ve got a whip and I’m thinking, ‘Andre what are you gonna do? What are you gonna do?’
“So they had the thing the elephants stand on in the middle of the show, so I grabbed it real quick, pulled it into the middle of the ring, gave the sound guy my music and I said, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, I am Andre McClain and this here is my invisible horse, Jonah.’
Purefoy, a veteran trick-roper and horseman, instructs his horse to “laugh” during a recent visit to the Paseo Academy.“And I looked over and Kenneth Feld was crackin’ up laughing. And I sang the national anthem after that and I did some ropin’ and some whip stuff and after that he walked up to me and said, ‘If you want this job it’s yours.Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/09/05/3122508/ringling-circus-performer-grew.html#ixzz1XAKv9zCF
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