THE BALLOON MAN

Alexander Lacey brings his rare lions and tigers act to Cleveland with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

 

Alexander Lacey and one of his big cats. They will visit Cleveland next week.

Kathleen Murphy Colan, Special to The Plain Dealer
from---cleveland.com
By Laura DeMarco, The Plain Dealer
on October 12, 2012
Alexander Lacey didn't pack light when he flew to the United States from his native England to join Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus this year.

"I flew on a regular commercial flight, just with some very unusual cargo," Lacey says.

That cargo was his brood of performing lions and tigers.

Lacey is the circus' new big cats trainer and presenter, currently on his debut tour across the United States.

"They traveled very well for their first time on airplane," says Lacey, a veteran of circuses in France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Belgium.

In fact, it was on one of his European tours, performing in Monaco, that Ringling Bros. representatives spotted his novel act, a rarity that includes lions and tigers.

"It's been nine years since that time," says Lacey, who was under contract elsewhere. "And I'm so very glad to be here with this legendary circus."
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http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2012/10/alexander_lacey_brings_his_rar.html