Courtesy of Feld Entertainment
I didn’t exactly run off to join the circus, but I did get the chance to visit the winter quarters of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Ellenton recently. The circus offered a preview of “Circus Xtreme,” its show that combines the daredevilry of freestyle sports such as BMX Vert with traditional circus acts. I had a blast talking to some of the performers, particularly Gemma “The Jet” Kirby, the 25-year-old Minnesota native who launches across the arena as the human cannonball.
“I’m never actually a ball. I’m upright in the cannon,” she said, among other great quotes. She confided that it’s dark inside the 24-foot-long circus cannon, but because of show secrets, she couldn’t spill more.
Assan and I, courtesy of Trib photographer Jay Conner
Another thrill for me was meeting show veteran Assan, a 54-year-old Asian elephant. She weighs about 11,000 pounds and ate two loaves of white sandwich bread while talking to us. Peanuts are sometimes a treat for her, but she’s like a horse, her caregiver said. She loves grains.
Read more about the show in my piece for The Tampa Tribune here.