Circus Pages comes to Knoxville
50-year-old group entertains at Knox County Fairgrounds
NICK ADAMS/The Register-Mail.Circus Pages performers Kayla Earhart, 8, rides an performing elephant Daisy on Thursday evening as a part of the circus show at the Knox County Fairgrounds.
By CHRIS ESSIG The Register-Mail
Apr 22, 2011
KNOXVILLE — For the Pages, the circus is a family affair.
Originating in Cuba in the 1960s, three generations of Pages have performed tricks and stunts in front of live audiences across the country. The latest incarnation of Circus Pages made its way to Knoxville on Thursday.
“It’s not your typical 9 to 5 job,” said family member James Earhart, who lives in Florida. “I couldn’t stamp metal pieces at a factory.”
During the show, Earhart juggled flames and directed trick-performing dogs. But the act was nothing new for Earhart, who’s been juggling for 20 years. He started in part because the hobby was cost effective.
Since then, he’s spent countless hours juggling whatever he could get his hands on. With that kind of commitment, Earhart noted he could have “learned the guitar and been a rock star.”
“I used get in trouble for juggling,” he said.
Earhart’s daughter Kayla, 8, and son James, 10, were also a part of the act. To cope with being on the road for most of the year, the family has a teacher with them 24 hours a day.
Originating in Cuba in the 1960s, three generations of Pages have performed tricks and stunts in front of live audiences across the country. The latest incarnation of Circus Pages made its way to Knoxville on Thursday.
“It’s not your typical 9 to 5 job,” said family member James Earhart, who lives in Florida. “I couldn’t stamp metal pieces at a factory.”
During the show, Earhart juggled flames and directed trick-performing dogs. But the act was nothing new for Earhart, who’s been juggling for 20 years. He started in part because the hobby was cost effective.
Since then, he’s spent countless hours juggling whatever he could get his hands on. With that kind of commitment, Earhart noted he could have “learned the guitar and been a rock star.”
“I used get in trouble for juggling,” he said.
Earhart’s daughter Kayla, 8, and son James, 10, were also a part of the act. To cope with being on the road for most of the year, the family has a teacher with them 24 hours a day.
NICK ADAMS/The Register-Mail.Colleen Pages handles a lion on Thursday night during the opening act at the Knox County Fairgrounds. Likewise, 20-year-old Colleen Pages grew up in the circus. She now handles exotic animals and swings high above awe-inspired onlookers.
“I’ve done a lot in my 20 years that most people haven’t done,” she said.
On Thursday, Colleen directed lions and tigers to walk in circles, stand on small benches and sit on themselves. Each of them weigh between 350 and 550 pounds.
She admits she’s sometimes fearful when handling animals much larger than she is. But she never gives the animal any hint she’s afraid.
“I call the white lion my baby,” she said. “But there are days when he doesn’t want to work.”
Colleen is following in the footsteps of her mother Freida Pages, who started riding elephants at age 10. She also handles camels and horses, noting the camels are much quicker to pick up on the tricks than the horses are.
Pages spends “a couple of hours a day” training the animals. She notes that most people underestimate how hard it is to get the animals to perform even the most basic of tricks.
“When you have to do it, it’s a different story,” she said.
She also trains tigers. But her favorite animal remains the elephant, a beast she has been performing with for most of her life.
“It’s like being married,” she said. “They have to come first every day.”
“I’ve done a lot in my 20 years that most people haven’t done,” she said.
On Thursday, Colleen directed lions and tigers to walk in circles, stand on small benches and sit on themselves. Each of them weigh between 350 and 550 pounds.
She admits she’s sometimes fearful when handling animals much larger than she is. But she never gives the animal any hint she’s afraid.
“I call the white lion my baby,” she said. “But there are days when he doesn’t want to work.”
Colleen is following in the footsteps of her mother Freida Pages, who started riding elephants at age 10. She also handles camels and horses, noting the camels are much quicker to pick up on the tricks than the horses are.
Pages spends “a couple of hours a day” training the animals. She notes that most people underestimate how hard it is to get the animals to perform even the most basic of tricks.
“When you have to do it, it’s a different story,” she said.
She also trains tigers. But her favorite animal remains the elephant, a beast she has been performing with for most of her life.
“It’s like being married,” she said. “They have to come first every day.”
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