◆ The circus is in town,
The circus is in town with clowns, an Orlando ringmaster, BMX riders and more
and a new Epcot festival is launching. Plus, get information about upcoming Florida concerts, including the Christian-music concert series Praise Wave and U2 in Tampa.
The first time that Kristen Michelle Wilson saw the circus, she was a girl living in the Florida Panhandle.
The experience changed her forever.
Seeing the myriad performers and animal acts for the first time sparked something in Wilson, prompting her to look beyond the confines of her grandparents’ farm and causing her mind to wander to unimaginable places. She saw a visit to the circus as a gateway to a vast world waiting with open arms.
“The circus has such a special place in my heart, because it is a microcosm of society,” Wilson said. “We have all different types of men, women and children. We have animals. We have all these amazing elements that come together and create a spectacle.”
Wilson, who moved to Orlando in 2010, is now part of the spectacle. This week she made her debut as the first female ringmaster in Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s 146-year history before a home crowd at Amway Center. Circus XTREME will be in Or- lando through Monday.
The show includes 50 animals but no elephants. Circus owner Feld Entertainment retired them last spring from shows amid protests from animal-rights groups and legislation that prohibited certain training methods.
The large animals now reside at the circus’ 200-acre Center for Elephant Conservation in Polk
City, about 45 miles southwest of Orlando.
“Ringling Bros. has survived for as long as it has by reinventing itself and keeping constant with the changing times,” said Feld Entertainment spokesman Stephen Payne. “The producers of the show recognize that the only way it is going to survive that long is by change. This was a bittersweet change, we admit, but we felt it was in the best interests of all concerned.”
The show will go on with Wilson and the more than 100 other performers, all of whom have been in her place at some point. Just starting out. Beginning an adventure of a lifetime. Accepting the challenge — and the adrenaline rush — of performing in front of large crowds.
Each circus performer remembers that first performance, as thrilling as a high-wire act, as hot with excitement as a ring of fire.
Dean Kelley, a clown, first performed with Ringling Bros. in January 2003 in Tampa.
“Every emotion was happening in a good way,” Kelley said. “It happened so fast.”
Nicole Sanders, a human cannonball, experienced a similar sensation when she debuted with the circus last January in Miami.
“Utter bliss,” Sanders said. “I was so happy to be performing in front of crowds like that. Also nervousness. I had spent my entire life performing, yet I was still nervous for my premiere with Ringling Bros. and having a jawdropping lead role.” Sanders was hooked. Nothing stopped her, not even her “strict Russian director” in circus school who inquired about what prompted her to enroll. Sanders, who had been a professional aerialist for six years after earning a psychology degree, replied she thought it would be fun.
“She quickly scolded, ‘Circus is not fun. It is work,’ ” Sanders said. “At the time, I thought, ‘What does that mean?’ Now I understand what she was saying. The lifestyle and training requirements are hard. Being away from your family is hard. Sacrifices are hard, but if you are passionate enough and dedicated enough, then circus is infinitely rewarding and indeed fun.”
Benny Ibarra, a performer on the Pendulum of Steel, has enjoyed his wild ride since joining Ringling Bros. for a show in Tampa on New Year’s Day in 2015.
“My nerves were so strong,” Ibarra said. “... I was full of adrenaline that I never experienced before. The audience, the music, everything was perfect.”
Director Rye Mullis, a 10-year circus veteran, said his advice for first-time performers is simple.
“Survive,” Mullis said. “Because once the train starts rolling, it is not stopping. What I try to tell all new performers is, ‘Learn whatever you can from whoever you can.’ Soak it all in. Everyone from around the world brings such a different, unique experience to the show, and the best thing that you can do is learn from them and learn how they do it and learn how hard it is and learn what goes into everyone’s act.”
Wilson steps in front of the bright lights with an open mind.
“Everything in my life has brought me to this moment and prepared me as well as it can,” she said. “I know this is a whole other level of excitement, but I do think I am ready for it. All of 2016, I felt like there were beautiful new colors on the horizon.
“I was really happy with the life I had here in Orlando, performing in two different [dinner-theater] shows, having my band and traveling all across Central Florida. I had a very comfortable life for a performer, but I knew there was more that I wanted to do.”