Zoppe Family Circus brings true family fun to our area
Zoppe: An Italian Family CircusZoppé:An Italian Family Circus hosts shows at noon and 4 p.m. today at Chandler Center for the Arts, 250 N. Arizona Ave. Additional shows continue through Jan. 2, 2010. $15-$35 per person. (480) 782-2680 or chandlercenter.org.By Allison Hurtado, Ahwatukee Foothills Friday, January 6, 2012I come from a very close-knit family, but even I don't feel close enough to any member of my family to climb a pole balanced on their head, do back flips off their feet or let them shoot me off of a swing into a net.
But these things are all everyday occurrences for the Zoppe family.
Since 1842 the family has been touring Europe and, eventually, America performing their family circus. Since Dec. 29 they've been here in Arizona at the Chandler Center for the Arts.
Giovanni Zoppe, a sixth-generation performer who plays Nino the clown during the performance, says circus life is all he knows. Now 45, Zoppe says he's been travelling and performing with his family all his life.
"I don't know what it's like to not have circus around me," Zoppe said. "I think it's the greatest life in the world. I would not change my childhood for anyone else's, but I know a lot of people feel that way about their childhood. It's all I know and it's all I ever want to know."
I asked Giovanni if there's a prerequisite to join the family. Seems like you'd have to be pretty committed to spend 24/7 with your in-laws and trust them to catch you during life threatening acts. He told me the only prerequisite is a love of life. His own wife already had some circus experience in her past, but he met her when she was working a "normal" job in Chicago.
They dated for a few years before they were married and she went back on the road with him. His sister's husband travelled with the family for about a year-and-a-half before they started dating, and another two years before they were married.read more at: http://www.ahwatukee.com/tukee_talk/article_72382c4a-37fb-11e1-bb79-001871e3ce6c.html
But these things are all everyday occurrences for the Zoppe family.
Since 1842 the family has been touring Europe and, eventually, America performing their family circus. Since Dec. 29 they've been here in Arizona at the Chandler Center for the Arts.
Giovanni Zoppe, a sixth-generation performer who plays Nino the clown during the performance, says circus life is all he knows. Now 45, Zoppe says he's been travelling and performing with his family all his life.
"I don't know what it's like to not have circus around me," Zoppe said. "I think it's the greatest life in the world. I would not change my childhood for anyone else's, but I know a lot of people feel that way about their childhood. It's all I know and it's all I ever want to know."
I asked Giovanni if there's a prerequisite to join the family. Seems like you'd have to be pretty committed to spend 24/7 with your in-laws and trust them to catch you during life threatening acts. He told me the only prerequisite is a love of life. His own wife already had some circus experience in her past, but he met her when she was working a "normal" job in Chicago.
They dated for a few years before they were married and she went back on the road with him. His sister's husband travelled with the family for about a year-and-a-half before they started dating, and another two years before they were married.read more at: http://www.ahwatukee.com/tukee_talk/article_72382c4a-37fb-11e1-bb79-001871e3ce6c.html
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