Thrilling audiences in the old-fashioned, wheel of death way:
A PERFORMER whose act runs rings around modern entertainment devices such as the X-box, Jensen Grant thrills his audiences in an old- fashioned way – in the Wheel of Death of a big top circus.
At 25 years of age, physically fit with piercing blue eyes, Grant could easily pass as an actor in an action movie or an up-and-coming investment banker. But the easy-talking, likeable Australian has chosen to follow in the footsteps of seven generations of his family and dedicate his life to the circus.
Grant’s death-defying Wheel of Death show is the grand finale of the McLaren Circus, the biggest circus in South Africa which will continue to entertain audiences in Port Elizabeth today and tomorrow before moving on to Jeffreys Bay.
Speaking passionately in sweltering heat in the big top circus tent yesterday, Grant made it easy to relive childhood awe of circuses.
Performers such as him keep alive the lore and traditions of circuses of bygone days.
“I represent the seventh generation of my family, which was and still is involved in circuses. My family is part of Ashton’s Circus in Australia.
“There are three of them there [Ashton’s circuses], all run by the same family, one of which is run by my immediate family,” Grant, the epitome of a circus performer, said.
“This is my life; I was born into it, I love it and this what I want to do for the rest of my life.”
He has followed in the particular footsteps of his elder brother and father, who also earned their fame in the Wheel of Death.
Skilled in welding and boilermaking in addition to juggling and a number of other circus acts, Grant, like his father did, constructed his own 7.2m steel Wheel of
This circus is my family, my home and my life and I have everything I need. Now why would I want to do anything else?
Death apparatus, which comprises two wheels and a connecting structure.
The apparatus, which is mounted on a supporting structure, spins around fast and nearly to the height of the massive tent.
Grant uses weights and his own body weight to make the device turn, and walks on the inside and outside of the wheel as it turns.
Testament to the danger the stunt presents is a huge shoulder scar he has.
Grant spent months recovering after falling from the wheel during a show in Cape Town last year.
He dislocated his shoulder and tendons in his arm were ripped in the accident.
“This is the life for me. I don’t think I could live in a house; my caravan is my home and I feel safe in my caravan.
“And of course I love travelling and meeting new people all the time.”
Grant said he would like to work with big cats such as lions and tigers.
“The holy grail of circus life for me, however, would to be able to work in a circus in Europe one day.
“My family and I have done many of the jobs and acts you get in a circus. One of my acts right now, the Spanish Web, I perform with my girlfriend Karen Mellet. I have also been a clown, cage boy and a ring master, among other things in the circus. My twin sisters, and brothers, have been clowns, but also trapeze artists, which is one of the acts my mother did.”
Grant said his first performance in South Africa was at Jeffreys Bay, and the return of the circus to that town would mark his first year with the McLaren Circus since his recruitment in Australia.
He said he loved performing in front of an appreciative audience, and that he could never do anything else.
“This circus is my family, my home and my life and I have everything I need.
“Now why would I want to do anything else?” he said with a wide smile.