FROM AUSTRALIA......

Circus stars shine bright

BY FLORA CAUCHI

07 Sep, 2010

Sultry: Monique West and Dakota Weber in the lira act, where they display strength and flexibility by ``posing'' in a suspended metal hoop. Picture: Gene Ramirez

COMBINING traditional circus tricks with a South American flair under one big top Webers Circus has something for everyone.

Owners Natalie and Rudy Webers, who also toured The Great Moscow Circus, travel with their daughters Dakota, Wonona and Wonita and the rest of the crew. Their family arrived in Australia from Germany in 1972 and go back six generation in circus.

One of the main attractions of the show is the Russian swings in which eight performers fly off a heavy swing by doing somersaults and other tricks, landing on a crash mat.

Monique West, who does the Russian swings, the silks act and the dance sets, started assisting backstage when she was a five-year-old but first stepped into the arena as a performer at the age of 12.``I always wanted to do the flying trapeze 'cause they looked like fun, so I started with that,'' the 21-year-old said.

The youngest performer in the Russian swings act is Wonona Webers, 9, who has been travelling with the circus since she was only two days old.

West said Wonona is ``amazing''.``She flies off the swing and lands on a chair high up on a pole.

''The show also has a wheel of death act, dance performances, South American clowns, rascally miniature horses, fox terriers and more.

Webers Circus is on Galston Road next to the Aquatic Centre until September19.

Tickets cost from $14 to $30. Details: weberscircus.com or 0448247287.