Raised in Santa Rosa, she ran away with the circus
The Flying Caceres, the trapeze act with the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus includes Santa Rosa trapeze artist, Erica Hause, second from left, next to George Caceres, far left, whose father, Miguel, originally created the Flying Caceres. Ringling Bros. Barnum & Baily Circus. 2010 (Photo by - Heinz Kluetmeier)By DAN TAYLOR, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Erica Hause loves living on a mile-long circus train, criss-crossing the country, but it's still nice to see friends and family.
Now in her third year with the Flying Caceres trapeze act and on her second tour with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Hause is glad to be back home in Northern California for a little while.
A former Santa Rosan, she'll appear — along with 130 other performers in “The Greatest Show on Earth” — through Sunday at Oakland's Oracle Arena and next week at HP Pavilion in San Jose.
“Most people ask how my family feels about my running away with the circus,” she joked. “My family is very proud of me, and very supportive of what I'm doing.”
Hause doesn't come from a circus family. Her father, Les, is a retired postal worker. Her mother, Linda, is a teacher's aide at Analy High School in Sebastopol. And her brother, Ross, teaches at Burbank Elementary School in Santa Rosa.
Hause got interested in trapeze while pole-vaulting at Montgomery High School, where she graduated in 1995.
“Pole vaulting translates over to trapeze really well, especially because I'm not really fast on the track,” she said. “So trapeze is a whole let better for me, because I don't have to run first. I just climb a ladder.”
Before she joined the circus, Hause taught trapeze skills at schools in San Diego and at the facility founded by author Sam Keen in Sonoma.
“I've been flying on trapeze for 10 years, first for recreation and then teaching,” she said.
Ultimately, she auditioned for the circus and got the job. Now, at 33, Hause has no intention of giving up the circus life.
“I plan to do trapeze as long as my arms are still attached to my torso,” she said.
While Hause spends much of the act throwing trapeze bars across to members of the troupe standing at other platforms, she also gets to fly a bit early in the show, and she enjoys being part of the circus.
“My most favorite thing is riding the circus train. I can't think of any other situation where a person can live on the train and move from city to city. We're in a new city almost every week,” she said.
“We have this family atmosphere, with all these people from different countries, speaking different languages. It's the most amazing life.”
This year, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is celebrating the 200th anniversary of co-founder P.T. Barnum. The circus performs in arenas now, not in old-fashioned tents, but a lot of the long and colorful history persists.
For example, when it's mealtime on the circus train, Hause doesn't go to a “dining car.”
“It's traditionally been called the pie car. That's our food car, where you can go and get a bite to eat during the train run. It's circus lingo,” she said.
“There are a lot of circus traditions. You have to watch out for those clowns on your birthday, or you might get a pie in the face.”
read the rest of the story at:http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20100811/ENTERTAINMENT/100809571/1320/entertainment?Title=Raised-in-Santa-Rosa-she-ran-away-with-the-circus
UNDER THE BIG TOP
What: Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey presents “Barnum's Funundrum.
”When and where: 7:30 tonight (Aug. 13); 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m. Saturday (Aug. 14); 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday (Aug. 15) at Oracle Arena in Oakland.
7:30 p.m. Wednesday (Aug. 18) through Aug. 20; 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m. Aug. 21-22 at HP Pavilion in San Jose.Admission: $15-$105.Tickets: (800) 745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com.
Information: www.ringling.com.
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