For circus performers, tours offer little time to clown around
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
Alexander Lacey working with the big cats during a show
from: dispatch.com
By Ken Gordon
The Columbus Dispatch
May 9, 2013
There is only one reason to put up with a job that involves traveling 30,000 miles and working 50 weeks a year.
“I love it — I absolutely love doing what I do,” said Alexander Lacey, a big-cat trainer and presenter for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. “I’m getting paid to do my hobby.”
The circus came to Columbus yesterday for the first of eight shows that will run through Sunday in Value City Arena.
Lacey is part of the “Dragons” tour — one of three Ringling Bros. tours crisscrossing the country simultaneously. He spoke by phone last week from Albany, N.Y.
The 300 performers and behind-the-scenes workers in the tour travel in a private train. Many are accompanied by their spouses and children — which can make the schedule more tolerable. The circus provides teachers, who conduct school for the kids while traveling.
Still, it’s a grind. “There are no hours; it’s 24/7,”said Alex Petrov, who helps take care of the animals and performs a high-wire motorcycle act.
Here is a closer look at three performers:
read more:
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/life_and_entertainment/2013/05/09/for-performers-tours-offer-little-time-to-clown-around.html
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