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THE GREATEST SHOW ON ISLAND
Begun 20 years ago as an act commissioned for the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, S.C., Circus Flora has its historical tent pegs in the European circus tradition. Less brassy than the Ringling Bros. of old, Circus Flora eschews freakish sideshows and massive, three-ring spectacles for a more bucolic and accessible fantasy world, where no one is more than 40 feet from the ring. Featuring performers like The Flying Wallendas and the Zoppe Family - all descended from famous Italian circus performers - Circus Flora is a one-ring circus that tells a theatrical story, according to artistic director and co-founder Ivor David Balding, who added that the story changes every year, instead of the performers. "One of the reasons we started this - I wanted to work with people I enjoyed," he said. "The normal circus practice is to change acts every year, but I didn't want to do that. So I figured if I changed the story and they changed their performances, we could stay together every year."
Actions replace words as the vocabulary for the story, according to Balding. "It took us a while to figure out that what we don't want is a lot of words. We have to let the story be told through incredible feats." Based in St. Louis, this is Circus Flora's third year on Nantucket. Returning this year are the famous Flying Wallendas, Giovanni Zoppe, Katja Schumann and her "liberty" horses, Melinda Heywood, the St. Louis Arches and the Cortes Family on the Flying Trapeze. Making their debut: Andrey and Tanya Markov and their "Captivating Canines," equestrians Olissio and Gino Zoppe, and Sacha Alexandre Nevidonski, who debuts an aerial ballet on horseback.
"Melinda" is Melinda Heywood - dance artist, choreographer, juggler and "Ph.D." Like most of the performers in Circus Flora, she grew up in the circus, belly dancing with her mother since age 2 as a part of the Pickle Family Circus. "Family" is a word Balding used often in explaining the European character of Circus Flora, as in "We are one large family... like all families, we're dysfunctional on occasion, but it's a great place for children to grow up." Now 21, Aurelia Wallenda of The Flying Wallendas first performed for the Circus Flora audience when she was 3 years old. She performs alongside her father, Tino, her older sister (32) and younger brother (17). "Circus kids grow up seeing their parents performing, and they play circus in the backyard," said Tino, who called his children's decision to stay with the circus "a natural progression." "The choice has always been there - whether they wanted to perform or not. We wouldn't have forced it." The Wallendas perform a sevenperson pyramid that killed two of her relatives and paralyzed another 20 years ago in Michigan. The Wallendas resurrected the stunt in 1998 and have been performing it ever since. "It was certainly a big dream until we did it," Tino said. "And the fact that we've done it ever since is the mark of the legacy of our family." And it is a big family. Tino is the half-brother of Giovanni Zoppe, who plays the beloved clown "Nino," star of Circus Flora. Having been with Circus Flora for 18 years, Zoppe is the son of worldclass equestrian Alberto Zoppe, who was brought from Italy to the States in 1948 by John Ringling North (of Ringling Bros.) and filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille, who included Alberto in the film "The Greatest Show on Earth." Like most of the other performers, he runs his own circus (www.zoppe.net) when not performing with Circus Flora. A sixth-generation circus performer, he is the youngest person ever to be inducted into the Clown Hall of Fame. "Born to an Italian circus family, everybody is a clown in the ring when they're young," Zoppe explained. "When you are a child growing up, you step into the ring and make people go, 'Aww,' because that's easy to do when you're 3, but I've continued to do that." Zoppe called his style the "Italian style of clowning" - inherited from his uncles and grandfather. Unlike the typical American clown, with big hair, big shoes, a colorful costume and a face full of makeup, Zoppe wears a white buttoned-up shirt, a red bow tie, a little red hat and almost no makeup at all. "When I come in the ring, I don't go 'Boo.' I let you warm up to me," said Zoppe, who added that the European circus is typically "sweeter." "It should be," said Zoppe, who credited Cirque du Soleil for showing American audiences that the circus "can be something other than 'lions and tigers and bears, oh my.'" "Shows like Circus Flora show people what the circus is supposed to be - beautiful, charming, real," Zoppe said. "It's not about spectacle; it's about the ability of the artist." And like all artists, they suffer for their art. In 1990, Zoppe fell into a coma for four days after a trick went bad at a show in Ohio. Zoppe was back in the ring within months; he never considered changing professions. "I'm lucky. I have the best job in the world. I love what I do," said Zoppe. His sentiments are shared. "People who have seen Circus Flora understand that it has a sort of commitment to being built on real joy," Balding said. "We love doing it, and the audience gets that." I CIRCUS FLORA
Tickets for any of the events can be purchased online (www.nantucketatheneum. org/circus) or at the Atheneum Box Office, 1 India Street. For more information on any of the events, call 228-1110, Mon.-Sat., 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
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